So, you want to go traveling, huh? You fantasize about it, you read about it, you bookmark articles. But maybe you still feel separated from the idea of turning these bold notions into a reality. Maybe you still feel like you’re living in the land of “I wish” rather than “I will.”
The question is not “do you want to go traveling?” Most people want to go traveling. Just like most people want to write a screenplay. Some people do it. Some people don’t. Some people have VERY REAL, VERY VALID circumstances to blame for why they never chase their dreams (traveling, writing a screenplay, going back to school, etc.). Most people don’t.
With travel, the question is: How badly do you want it? Badly enough to stop going to bars in order to save money? Badly enough to sleep on a cheap mattress for another year? Or get a weekend job? Or give up soda, sushi, and Starbucks lattes? How much did your last haircut cost? Do you *need* cable TV? Could you cancel your data plan without the world tilting off its axis?
Some people have legit real world responsibilities or limitations or have been truly crushed by the system in ways that are outside of the scope of this article. But if you’re single, go to bars, eat at Tender Greens, have Netflix, watch cable TV, or upgrade your phone yearly, it’s disingenuous to say you “can’t afford to travel.”
Be honest, just say, “It’s not a priority.” That’s perfectly fine. It’s 100% a-okay.
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A little math: Let’s pretend you average six beers per week out at bars. $3.50 per beer x 6 = $21. Hopefully you leave a few pennies for your server, so let’s call it $25. You know I’m undershooting these numbers, right? $25 x 52 (allowing for some binge weeks and some sober weeks) = $1,300/year.
FACT: You could fly to S.E. Asia and live for a month on that. Comfortably.
The same goes for coffee-shop lattes. Or cigarettes. Or weed. Or your gym membership (Jog! Learn resistance exercises!).
Listen, we’re not the boss of you and we’re not trying to be (though every indication is that the real boss of you, your boss, values travel highly). We’re just saying that maybe your travel dreams aren’t as unreachable as they seem. Maybe you can access them with a little uptick effort or sacrifice and you just haven’t done it yet. Maybe you’re waiting for a little boost.
If that’s the case, we offer these nine quotes as extra motivation:
Where’s your next trip? What have you had to sacrifice to make it happen?
