€6000 spent on travelling in 6 months. Am I blowing my money?

LegacyUser

I guess i'm just wondering if i'm being a bit of a reckless eejit for doing this. Being honest, I've no idea what I wanna do with my life, I just love to travel. I'm only out of college 2 years and I had a job for 1 year until February which was reasonably well paid. I used my annual leave to go to Asia for 3 weeks and now that i'm unemployed, i'm using even more savings for another trip to South America (this time 6 weeks).

I just totaled up my travel spending for these 2 trips and it's been around €6000. Am I being reckless? Would I be better off sticking this money into savings accounts or furthering my education to find a career I want? I'm mid 20's and I do love to travel. I've had some fantastic experiences and to be honest I can't even see this trip being the end of my long term travels. I'm already thinking of heading to Oz or Vietnam to teach in September. Travelling is the only activity that seems to make me a generally happier person. At home it's like i'm in a rut but seeing the world excites me.

If I take one of the above options (vietnam or australia) I'll have 3k left in the bank. If I hadn't of travelled at all it would be close to 12k. I guess i'm just wondering am I being irresponsible with my money or is travelling money well spent?

Tokyo

Hi OP,

I've seen people spend the same in the pub in the same length of time, so no, I don't think that you are wasting your money at all. Education is about more than learning from books - it's about experiencing life, and no better way to do that than to experience other cultures and countries.

I've done exactly the same as you are planning - many times in fact, and I have zero regrets about it and have learned so much about myself and others through travelling. My argument always is, when you are lying on your deathbed, you're not going to look back at 2015 and say to yourself "Look at all the money I made that year". You're going to look back on how you lived your life, and the experiences that you had along the way.

Good luck with your travels OP

R.D. aka MR.D

I spent almost 10,000euro in 3 months in the US and while I occasionally had a twinge of 'oh ****, that's crazy', I have some of the most amazing experiences and memories that shape me and they will be with me forever. It was the best money I have ever spent.

I teach english abroad and usually work a year and then travel a bit. A couple of months ago, I went to Hong Kong and Thailand. I only spent about 3000euro. I don't regret a penny of it.

I'm at the beginning of a another year of working/saving. I still have some savings from last years work because I only had 1 month between jobs this time.

You can't take money with you when you go. It's no good sitting in the bank, if you are miserable day to day.

Saying that, it's what I do. I never want kids, I never want to own property. I'm happy doing this with my life. It's only irresponsible if you are the kind of person who sees all those kinds of things in your future.

Also, be sensible about it. Work-earn money- then do it. Don't borrow and don't let your saving go below a nice safety net in case of any trouble.

CiboC

If it's what you want to do and you have the funds for it don't feel guilty at all!

This may be the only time in your life when you are are free enough of obligations and responsibilities to travel like you are doing. Enjoy it, learn from it, have no regrets.

miamee

wanderlust15 wrote: »

I've had some fantastic experiences [...] Travelling is the only activity that seems to make me a generally happier person. At home it's like i'm in a rut but seeing the world excites me.

You are spending money on something that makes you happy, broadens your horizons and gives you new and exciting experiences. Anyone who tells you that is a waste of money hasn't lived. Honestly, now is the perfect time to be doing all of this before you have any real responsibilites or meet someone and decide to settle down or get into a career/job that you love and are stuck with 'annual leave' rather than open ended holidays/travels. If you have the money, go for it and enjoy every minute

pookie82

I spent 5k on two relatively short but expensive holidays last year. They were both the holiday(s) of a lifetime.

At the time, when I was booking flights and accommodation there was the odd twinge of "oh sh*t, this is so much money" but the second they're booked, it's done, and you just forget about all you've spent and look forward to it.

I can't say I regret a second. It was a lot of money, yes, but the experiences and memories from them will last a lifetime; I still smile just remembering both.

Go for it!!! There are a lot worse things you could be spending your money on.

DoYouEvenLift

Great memories and life experiences are invaluable. Although, saying that, you don't want to return home in debt for thousands either. What part(s) of Asia were you in that you spent ~€3k for 3 weeks? That seems a bit excessive but maybe you're living well, it's just that I know people who went for a little bit longer that spent about the same.

galwayjohn89

I ended up spending around 8k in Asia last summer over 4 months. Yes it loads of money but don't regret it one bit. Learnt so much, meet great people and went to places people didn't think were possible. I know mates who'd spend 250euro on a night out. In comparison travelling is a great investment!

CINCLANTFLT

I never did such things... Straight into my grad job etc. However you are not spending an excessive amount and if you can make it into a career by TEFL or the likes then great.

Rubberchikken

as someone who's realising how quickly life goes by (sound ancient don't i?) i think if you love travelling then do it. if you can work abroad and save againg, then that's what you'll do. it sounds like you have a real bug or it so enjoy every minute:)

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Choccie Lover

Like a previous poster, I have a life that involves doing TEFL teaching contracts for a year or two....and then going off for a while and doing some travelling..... I don't regret a penny I have spent either!...Life is short!......South America and Vietnam were two of my highlights.... you're in for a treat!

TheBlock

I'm 42 with three kids and have worked since I left school at 17. The one thing I regret is not travelling more. Enjoy yourself but maybe start to save a little for the longer term. Not so much you can't enjoy yourself but a little over a long term can be a lifesaver.

danslevent

"Travel is the only thing that you spend money on but it makes you richer"


Go for it,enjoy yourself,live life

AgileMyth

I spent something similar travelling last year. No regrets. I'm currently saving to do the same again this year. Off to the states next week and probably China in May.

Look at ways to travel cheaper. Not to save money, just to make your money go further!

ThunbergsAreGo

Just enjoy it!

Very jealous!

I have spent a silly amount on "once in a lifttime" holidays the last few years. Do it while your are young.

Ah-Watch

I don't think its a waste. July just gone I spent a month living it up in Chicago with the lads, usual craic. In October I flew to Australia with thanks to one of the bargain alerts on boards and spent a month travelling around. I reckon all in it cost me €4500 which I consider good (don't disagree- I've rationalized it to myself ) and New Years Eve I moved to New York on the graduate visa and intend on staying here for the year. I had about €17000 saved at the start of 2014 and bought myself a new car for €7000 in Feb as well as all my travelling. I sold the car before going to Australia for €7000 again and still have about €8000 in my account and from time to time I'm like FCUK what am I doing but on the flip side I had a brilliant year even just between Chicago and Oz and for those two months alone I feel like I grew so much as a person and became independent. Alot of my friends think I'm crazy but the way I see it I've been working part time from 15 the whole way up through school and college and full time at every given opportunity. I was miserable at home, stuck in a rut, hating everything but I don't think I've been this happy in years and its all down to the get up and explore attitude I've adopted. I'm not making much living in New York at all but still glad to be living here and the different lifestyle to home.

Don't worry about it, go, explore and live your life. You can't take it to the grave and you'll grow as a person much and all as I laugh at everyone that used to say that to me. BTW I'm only 24 so in much the same position as you! Best of luck with your adventures

rustynutz

Travel is an education in itself, once you find a job you like it may be trickier to get a lot of time off so enjoy while you can.Also if you get married, kids, mortgage etc. It becomes even more difficult. Have fun you lucky sod 😊

dealhunter1985

Defo not a waste!
Your young. Do it now rather than later!

TheBeardedLady

Not a waste! Scientifically proven that spending money on experiences as opposed to things makes you happier. Enjoy it!

LegacyUser

I guess it's not a waste seeing as I enjoy it, but what makes me wonder if i'm blowing my money is that I travel alone and thus don't tend to have people to share the experience with. I am a pretty quiet, shy guy and tend to travel to these places and do my own thing kind of keeping to myself and just taking it all in. But all other travellers I see, whether solo or not seem to be the extroverted type having the time of their lives with constant partying.

I just doubt myself sometimes whether i'm doing the whole travel thing "right". Whether instead of travelling to places and wandering around alone I should be spending money on seeing a therapist to beat my shyness. I have had some fantastic experiences like motorbiking with a girl I met around the whole of North Thailand and on my first trip I was a bit more outgoing making friends with a few people then but I've gone into my shell a bit over the last year or so. I do love travelling but I always feel like i'm doing it wrong by not constantly having somebody to be with and talk to.

Stavro Mueller

If you like travelling alone and love doing that, I fail to see the problem. Travelling with other people has its downsides as well. When you're by yourself you are the one who's in control of where you go, how long you spend in a place etc. When you travel with other people, there'll inevitably be compromises. The sort of travelling you seem to enjoy doesn't sound like it'd be compatible with the people you've described. There's nothing wrong with that.

rustynutz

wanderlust15 wrote: »

I guess it's not a waste seeing as I enjoy it, but what makes me wonder if i'm blowing my money is that I travel alone and thus don't tend to have people to share the experience with. I am a pretty quiet, shy guy and tend to travel to these places and do my own thing kind of keeping to myself and just taking it all in. But all other travellers I see, whether solo or not seem to be the extroverted type having the time of their lives with constant partying.

I just doubt myself sometimes whether i'm doing the whole travel thing "right". Whether instead of travelling to places and wandering around alone I should be spending money on seeing a therapist to beat my shyness. I have had some fantastic experiences like motorbiking with a girl I met around the whole of North Thailand and on my first trip I was a bit more outgoing making friends with a few people then but I've gone into my shell a bit over the last year or so. I do love travelling but I always feel like i'm doing it wrong by not constantly having somebody to be with and talk to.

Look up CBT, very good for getting around issues like shyness, have a few sessions and then go travelling is my advice, should help with meeting people etc. When you are away

Turtwig

Two things to mention first.
We grew up in very much a culture where travel is encouraged and regarded as as a form of development and fulfilment. Our innate idea that travelling is a good thing may not be true.
Second. Anyone who spends money on themselves solely has a bias in saying they don't regret it. It's a heck of lot of money to spend on something that's waste. Sometimes it's better for us to deny we made a mistake than admit that €10,000 was wasted.

The cynical way to interpret the above is the following: If you travel you fulfil your culturally imprinted need to travel and are therefore likely to feel more content about it. Not only that you may experience a perceived elevated status among some of your peers (As long as you don't constantly berate them with your travel stuff!). Others may of course resent you for the fact you travelled and they didn't. If you spend a lot of money on something solely for yourself, unless it's an absolute catastrophe you're very likely to heavily accentuate the positives and convince yourself emotionally that you did the right thing. Therefore, regardless of whether it was the right the decision or not, the cynical way of looking at things suggest you'll most likely gain from your excursion - at the very least in a self delusional manner that makes you feel more content about yourself.

Mike mentioned that you could easily spend the same amount in a pub in Ireland. Can you imagine what the picture would be if you took the cynical attitude I did above and assessed spending that money in a pub? Or any of the other possible ways you could choose to spend this money?

At this point, I should add a third thing to the opening list. I'm incredibly biased. My gut instinct without knowing anything about you was to scream yes go! Do it! All from just reading the title of this thread. So keep that in mind as it may have biased my entire post. (Meh, most of the posters here are biased. )

A University course for a year costs about €8,000 euro. Now, I'd wonder would anyone disagree with me that spending €8,000 on an education course wouldn't teach yourself as much about the world and yourself as €8,000 spent on immersing yourself in various cultures for a period. There are so much worse ways you can spend the money. If you have the savings, can afford to do so keeping a reasonable safety net and you want to do it there's little reason why you shouldn't.

As for doing travelling the 'right' way. I'd argue there is no right way. Just do it. If there is a right way, then the only way you're going to discover it is by travelling, making the mistake of the 'wrong' kind of travelling, learning from that mistake and correcting it. There are no set rules. Some travellers like to party, other's like to meditate. You should do whatever you think is going to make you feel the most contented. That's ultimately what's going to matter the most.

Tokyo

Mod Note:

I'd like to remind out posters that requesting a PM exchange with the OP is forbidden, as per the forum charter.

Regards,
~Mike

davmol

I spent 6k for a week in dubai.Had a great time.

Do i regret it?

Absolutely not

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

traineeacc

davmol wrote: »

I spent 6k for a week in dubai.Had a great time.

Do i regret it?

Absolutely not

Wow would love to know how you manages that! I spent less for 2 of us for a month in Australia.!!

westernlass

30k being spent on a wedding which Is two days long. I did the study thing then it all went wrong and I was back to stage one. You are brave to travel, don't discredit that

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

donkey oatey

Aware run a CBT based program called Lifeskills online for free and for a small fee in a real life group. It's only 6 weeks so maybe you could do that before you go and then practice what you've learned while you're on your travels. Also, Richard Wiseman has a great book called 59 Seconds with some scientifically proven tips on improving mental health that only take a few minutes each but have long lasting effects (some need to be repeated daily).

I've traveled a bit and always met people who had met a traveling companion or partner while they were away. Maybe you will too!

Enjoy your travels!

Littlekittylou

It's your money I think.

If you are prepared for it guess. It's up to you. It depends on how much it means to you.

You are lucky to have it.

I guess try and get your money's worth. If you feel comfortable with then that's ok.

Is there something else that means more to you that you had in mind for the money?

Wompa1

Not a knock on anybody who has travelled a lot but I would say that it depends.

It's only really crazy if you don't have any support system in place. When I was finishing up college, many years ago, a girlfriend at the time was telling me to go abroad with her for the summer. She was going abroad with friends, none of them had jobs ahead of time and didn't seem worried about that. She said they'd find something. It took them about 3 weeks but they did all find something.

But I couldn't afford to take that risk. My parents were broke. Only my mother worked. I thought, if I didn't support myself. I couldn't ask them for help.

If you can ask a brother, sister, uncle or parent for help. Then I'd suggest throwing caution to the wind. Traveling is a great way to make the most of out of life

LucidLife

wanderlust15 wrote: »

I guess i'm just wondering if i'm being a bit of a reckless eejit for doing this. Being honest, I've no idea what I wanna do with my life, I just love to travel. I'm only out of college 2 years and I had a job for 1 year until February which was reasonably well paid. I used my annual leave to go to Asia for 3 weeks and now that i'm unemployed, i'm using even more savings for another trip to South America (this time 6 weeks).

I just totaled up my travel spending for these 2 trips and it's been around €6000. Am I being reckless? Would I be better off sticking this money into savings accounts or furthering my education to find a career I want? I'm mid 20's and I do love to travel. I've had some fantastic experiences and to be honest I can't even see this trip being the end of my long term travels. I'm already thinking of heading to Oz or Vietnam to teach in September. Travelling is the only activity that seems to make me a generally happier person. At home it's like i'm in a rut but seeing the world excites me.

If I take one of the above options (vietnam or australia) I'll have 3k left in the bank. If I hadn't of travelled at all it would be close to 12k. I guess i'm just wondering am I being irresponsible with my money or is travelling money well spent?

Enjoy yourself OP. What you gain adventuring doesn't even have a price tag. Take Dharma Bums if you indeed go. By Jack Kerouac. Will enhance your trip for a small investment. I'd give it to you if I wasn't On The Road (another great Kerouac book) myself.

Good luck

LucidLife

wanderlust15 wrote: »

I guess it's not a waste seeing as I enjoy it, but what makes me wonder if i'm blowing my money is that I travel alone and thus don't tend to have people to share the experience with. I am a pretty quiet, shy guy and tend to travel to these places and do my own thing kind of keeping to myself and just taking it all in. But all other travellers I see, whether solo or not seem to be the extroverted type having the time of their lives with constant partying.

I just doubt myself sometimes whether i'm doing the whole travel thing "right". Whether instead of travelling to places and wandering around alone I should be spending money on seeing a therapist to beat my shyness. I have had some fantastic experiences like motorbiking with a girl I met around the whole of North Thailand and on my first trip I was a bit more outgoing making friends with a few people then but I've gone into my shell a bit over the last year or so. I do love travelling but I always feel like i'm doing it wrong by not constantly having somebody to be with and talk to.

I travel alone often OP and faced the same questions your asking yourself. I enjoy my own company and love being in control of my situation, I don't have a phone/FB/Twitter/anything like it. I love that freedom. For me I find traveling with people restricts opportunities I would encounter otherwise and I travel because I love new experiences and opportunities so I normally am alone but by choice. You will meet lots of people traveling alone in my opinion. Its not uncommon at all. Its all down to our perspectives and if you deep down want to see these places for yourself you best get going. I've spent more of the last 10 years abroad traveling than at home almost. I mean it, it will eventually get to a point where you won't be able see new places.

Don't hesitate, go go go

davmol

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

It was our honeymoon and we just went loco.Spared no expense.
Stayed in a top hotel.Drank champagne that we would normally be shocked at the price of.
Ate in the Burj al arab,a 7 star hotel and drank like kings and queens.
Got a rolls royce phantom limo to places.Paid for VIP table in the Cavalli table and just lived it up.

In life,we worry so much about saving for this and for that so we just said for this one week in our lives we'd just throw budgeting and caution to the wind,we did and had a ball.

Now back to reality but Ill never forget that week.Memories can sometimes be better than that 50 inch plasma that you got or the new car you suffered for.