Why Wait to Travel?

Often times, people tell me to try to save more money before leaving on my next backpacking trip. Or if I’m unlucky, I’ll hear the opposite: “Save your money to buy a house and settle down”. Which I mean, it is what most people look forward to in their twenties. But there are two types of people in life. Those who watch their life pass by and others who live their life. And I want to be that person who lives her life. Why wait? Money is rarely the issue when you want to accomplish something. You find ways to make money to do what you want to do. And houses will always be there. So what’s the problem?

There will always be excuses to forgo a trip. Bills, cars, home, over-consumption during the year and so on. It’s all about prioritizing. Once you master that, you’re good to go! Do you really want to spend $1,000 on electronics or would you rather spend it on a plane ticket? You make choices every day! And unfortunately, most of us cannot afford to have everything so we have to pick!

You’re healthy today but you may not be tomorrow. The next best thing I hear is: “I plan to travel when I retire”. This is by far the worst excuse in my books.  What normally happens at retirement is that you have more free time but unfortunately, most people are not healthy enough to travel the world and see all those places they’ve been wanting to see since they were young. Will you be healthy enough to travel when you retire? Who knows? Anything can happen in the next 40 years! So why wait?

There is one thing to keep in mind: Travel smartly! Setup a saving program so you can save enough money to travel but stay within your budget if you don’t plan to work abroad while traveling. The last thing you want is to be in debt because of traveling. That will stop you from delaying any future plans you have, such has buying a car, a home, etc. I’m all for living your life to the max but you need to do it smartly.  Be patient. Save your money. And go!

All in all, if you’re healthy, have some vacation weeks and a bit of money, just do it! Live today because you never know what can happen tomorrow!