I once read somewhere that while you’re young, you should make the most of your time and put it towards earning money. The older you get, the less time you have, and thus, your priorities shift accordingly.
That time vs money balance, for me, is very skewed. I work some wacky hours – I haven’t had a weekend off since February. I do it because a) the money is good and b) professionally, the experience is invaluable, and I signed up to do it anyway, before the money factor came in. I know I wouldn’t want to do this for more than a year or two, but for now, well…
BF, of course, has time in spades. If he was on a solid financial footing, this would be the ideal time for us to take off and travel. It’s not peak season, and there are still some great deals to be had as the tourism industry fights its way out of the GFC. Not to mention the fact that it eliminates entirely the issue of the two of us trying to coordinate paid leave from work.
I would love to go on a big road trip this summer. However, if T doesn’t get work before then and manage to put some money away, it’s not going to happen. And if that’s how it turns out, c’est la vie. It would probably be better to go at the start of autumn or later, anyway, because what’s the point of hitting Queenstown and not going skiing?
I have my share of regrets for not saving as much when I was in my 20s, but I enjoyed those years regardless of the fact. My 30s is catching up on putting money aside and modifying my thinking/behavior. I think it’s ok to splurge on one’s self every now and again with old age in mind. I don’t want to be old and still paying mortgage or caring for a child. I somehow see myself as one of those grandpas and grandmas traveling the world 😛
My boss, the anti-Baby Boomer, has the opposite view. He keeps telling me to live life while I’m young, to make the most of my time, because I’ve got plenty of time to work and make money. While I enjoy the sentiment of making the most of my youth, the thought of being seventy (or eighty) and HAVING to work in order to support myself (because I didn’t save any money for retirement) scares the crap out of me. There must be some way to balance enjoying your youth AND making the most of youthful energy to make money.
It’s funny…I don’t regret getting into debt–it was for a good reason–but I do regret not traveling more when I was younger. In fact, my debt was due to traveling to see my parents and family halfway across the world when I was in grad school 5,000 miles away from them!
I’m with Bexi’s boss–I definitely regret not living it up in my 20’s, when i was young and in cool places that I’ll never live in again. My excuse at the time was that I didn’t have the money or time off from work, but honestly…I could have found a way to do it cheaply and asked for more time off. It takes more coordination and running around to do that, but that is what makes it fun to look back on in the end!
Basically, I really regret putting in extra billable hours and sitting in front of the TV trying not to spend money in my 20’s. I should have been doing more, trying more, etc. It seems like a big waste now! I wish I would have worked really hard to save money, and then taken a year off to travel to Europe. One day I will make that happen, but I’ll never have the experiences that my friends have had, being the same age as many other backpackers, late teens or 20’s, in Europe. I feel like I really missed out!
Kyle’s mom is always telling us to travel more (and by more, I mean expensive vacations) but we just don’t have the time OR money. Hell, I haven’t had a full day off work since July 1. Oy!
Buying a house and moving into Phase 2 of our lives is more important than travelling at the moment for us. We both work like crazy to meet our goals, but in the end, it will hopefully be worth it and THEN we’ll be able to enjoy the finer things and life.
I suppose everyone is different though.