Bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?

[Sunny]

I am one of those who take the middle road. I don't throw money away needlessly (I'm still driving my 1999 Toyota, and probably will be forever, as it only has 71,000 miles on it). But last year, I did go on that fairly expensive trip to England, just because I wanted to, and I'm reaching the point of life where I don't know how many more healthy, active years I'll have left... so, I figured the time to do it is NOW! I'll never regret it, in spite of the dent it made in my bank account; it was the best vacation I've ever had!

It's kind of a balancing act that we all have to do, between what we want and what makes sense to us in terms of our need for security.

 

[Ameriscot]

I am one of those who take the middle road. I don't throw money away needlessly (I'm still driving my 1999 Toyota, and probably will be forever, as it only has 71,000 miles on it). But last year, I did go on that fairly expensive trip to England, just because I wanted to, and I'm reaching the point of life where I don't know how many more healthy, active years I'll have left... so, I figured the time to do it is NOW! I'll never regret it, in spite of the dent it made in my bank account; it was the best vacation I've ever had!

It's kind of a balancing act that we all have to do, between what we want and what makes sense to us in terms of our need for security.

Exactly. We've no idea how many healthy years we have left. We do go on a lot of long trips, but we always look for the best deal and make compromises. We don't need 5 star hotels and restaurants. We just get so much pleasure out of traveling that it's worth it and we never, ever get into debt or even pay interest on credit cards.

If anyone wants a real adventure, volunteer to work in an African or Asian country for a year or two. You get housing, an allowance, all your medical care. And you can explore the country and do the touristy things on your time off.