Some people can't understand why I spend most of my money traveling instead of say, saving for a new model of cellphone (WHY?) or a car (ok that might be a necessity, given that Manila doesn't have a very efficient public transport system. But then again why?).
Well, there are many reasons why I love to travel – to experience new things, see new places, learn at a new level.
But on a more pragmatic note, I also travel to invest in my career. and this is more essential given that the media industry is getting more competitive.
I talked more about this in my first guest post at Constructively Productive. (Many many thanks Ali and Thursday for giving me the opportunity to guest post in your blog!)
I completely agree with you! I prefer spending my money on traveling (learning, meeting people, discovering) rather than any materialistic stuff!
Check out this video… it explains why we backpackers enjoy backpacking!
http://offtrackbackpacking.com/2010/07/21/why-am-i-backpacker-see-for-yourself/
Hi Tanya, I agree with you on that. I think materialism, the strong attachment to things, the need to impress is also one of the key reasons why a lot of people can’t do what they really really want -whether its volunteering, traveling or going on a career shift or simply being happy.
The biggest reason to spend money on experiences like travel instead of material possessions such as phones is because you’ll be happier about it. A university did a study on this and found that people who paid for experiences such as travel were much more happy about what they spent their money on than any physical item such as a phone or car.
Besides, the experience of traveling is money well spent in my opinion.
Hi Steve, I agree with you on that. I wish I could read that study you cited.
But I think fopr some people, their “happiness” is dependent on material possessions and showing off to their friends. I don’t know if they’re really happy. I was in that situation before and it did not make me happy.