Weighing up Saving/Investing vs. Fun/Spending/Overseas Travel

[notting]

From the age of about 17 to 28 your brain is at it optimum for study and setting up intelligence that can assist you for the rest of your life if you use it positively!

Lock yourself in a room, study your brains off, read the philosophers, biographies of great thinkers and people who have achieved great things. Listen to great music that was revolutionary at the times and effected the world.
Don't stuff up your brain with drugs and alcohol. (There's an edge!!)
Think!!
Question everything!
Learn the language of your own intuition!!
Be true to it, even when it seems to be pointing the wrong way!!
Don't indulge in pr0n, it can destroy your self esteem and create depression and make it a lot harder to get a real girl!!

Observe how you feel before and after the things you do - to get to know you.

Travelings a lost cause, for lost people.

Your mind is the great frontier space is for hollow men!

If that ain't a trip there ain't one worth taking.

It's cheap too!

So you can then invest in a proven system that certain smart people here recommend.

You'll be rich later on but will need to have a longer time horizon for the fruits than what most traders expect before they have lost all their savings a few times over!!

You will only end up where you are.

HERE!

When you know that and are totally at home, then go!

Spose you can do it all on the bus if you really must.


Love

Pop.

 

[Uncle Festivus]

Get yourself a wife and become DINK's
Save everything
Live frugally
Take a month (or 2) off every year to travel
Don't drink alcohol - it's actually a poison, not good for your body
Don't let anyone invest your money for you - do your study & do it yourself

 

[Klogg]

Travelings a lost cause, for lost people.

Wow, you sound a lot like a mentor of mine.

He told me most people waste their 'travel' experiences with getting blind drunk, rather than appreciate the culture and atmosphere. I didn't believe him at the time (I was 21 - now 25... yes, still much to learn), but I'm now starting to see what he was saying.

Sounds like great advice to me

 

[Smurf1976]

He told me most people waste their 'travel' experiences with getting blind drunk, rather than appreciate the culture and atmosphere. I didn't believe him at the time (I was 21 - now 25... yes, still much to learn), but I'm now starting to see what he was saying.

If you just want to get blind drunk then you can do that anywhere as long as you can get to a bottle shop first.

If you want to do it in a pub then you'll be allowed to get reasonably drunk in practically every town in Australia.

If you want a full on nightclub then then there's Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide or Perth all much closer than overseas. And if you're happy with smaller clubs then add Hobart, Darwin and plenty of regional cities to the list as well.

I really can't see any sense in going overseas and getting blind drunk every night unless you're only going to watch football or something like that. As I said, you can get drunk in every town in Australia and you can go clubbing in every reasonably sized city at far less expense.

I can't see any point travelling half way around the world simply to do something you can do as often as you like here in Australia. That's unless, of course, your sole reason for going is to party rather than actually see the sights and experience the culture. But again, you can do plenty of the same partying right here at home - there's not much difference in it.

 

[howmanyru]

Well, you are really talking about two different types of personalities here. On the one hand you want to party, travel, get drunk, spend everything. Then you want to save, invest, be thriftfull, think long term. Don't really think there is any way to get a balance as you are describing two different people. Which are you?

 

[Glen48]

Guess you can invite your mates over and get glassed in your very own house.
Would suggest a road trip to Mt Isa ,Darwin and some way out back country towns and see a different life style, Longreach Blackall, even up north Townsville and towards Weipa.
Then head to Dodge city and wait out the storm.

 

[Ves]

Travelings a lost cause, for lost people.

Your mind is the great frontier space is for hollow men!

This reminds me of one of my favourite quotes.

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.

Saint Augustine - from his Confessions book I believe - written 397 AD.

 

[ENP]

What's all this talk about getting drunk and going to parties/nightclubs?

I never said any of that and you are putting words in my mouth. I'm a pretty serious cyclist and am in bed by 9pm most nights. I want to travel to explore different cultures and people of the world. I don't want to spend all this money and time to end up in a pub somewhere in Europe, etc.

I don't think you have to be one or the other. You can be a mix of both. You can save, invest and still enjoy life by spending wiseley on the things that give you the most satisfaction. Travelling to go to different bike races, Tour de France, etc would be great.

 

[Dowdy]

From the age of about 17 to 28 your brain is at it optimum for study and setting up intelligence that can assist you for the rest of your life if you use it positively!

Lock yourself in a room, study your brains off, read the philosophers, biographies of great thinkers and people who have achieved great things. Listen to great music that was revolutionary at the times and effected the world.
Don't stuff up your brain with drugs and alcohol. (There's an edge!!)
Think!!
Question everything!
Learn the language of your own intuition!!
Be true to it, even when it seems to be pointing the wrong way!!
Don't indulge in pr0n, it can destroy your self esteem and create depression and make it a lot harder to get a real girl!!

Observe how you feel before and after the things you do - to get to know you.

Travelings a lost cause, for lost people.

Your mind is the great frontier space is for hollow men!

If that ain't a trip there ain't one worth taking.

It's cheap too!

So you can then invest in a proven system that certain smart people here recommend.

You'll be rich later on but will need to have a longer time horizon for the fruits than what most traders expect before they have lost all their savings a few times over!!

You will only end up where you are.

HERE!

When you know that and are totally at home, then go!

Spose you can do it all on the bus if you really must.


Love

Pop.

That's terrible advice. Please no one listen notting's advice. Don't waste your early years stuck in your room. It's probably good advice from age 13-19 when you're stuck in school but don't waste your 20's doing that

My brother is like that. Sits in his room all day and reads, reads and reads. Very smart, very boring, lacks social skills. Is 10x smarter then me and has a degree in electrical engineering but can't find a job in his chosen field - despite all his knowledge, it not too good at selling himself in the interviews. Still stuck at his previous job he was doing before he was studying

He talked about going to New York but never had the conviction and drive to go out and do it. In the end, I went and saw half of USA and had the best time of my life.

While I was at Disneyland Florida, there was a plaque at one of the 'China land' attractions - "Hearing something 100 times is not as good as seeing it once"

 

[Gerkin]

Do it all...
Get a good paying job, work hard, save, buy property and travel overseas.
I do it all at the age of 28.

 

[Starcraftmazter]

That's terrible advice. Please no one listen notting's advice. Don't waste your early years stuck in your room. It's probably good advice from age 13-19 when you're stuck in school but don't waste your 20's doing that

My brother is like that. Sits in his room all day and reads, reads and reads. Very smart, very boring, lacks social skills. Is 10x smarter then me and has a degree in electrical engineering but can't find a job in his chosen field - despite all his knowledge, it not too good at selling himself in the interviews. Still stuck at his previous job he was doing before he was studying

He talked about going to New York but never had the conviction and drive to go out and do it. In the end, I went and saw half of USA and had the best time of my life.

While I was at Disneyland Florida, there was a plaque at one of the 'China land' attractions - "Hearing something 100 times is not as good as seeing it once"

I'd have to defend your brother here, everyone is different and you shouldn't generalise. I'm sure that to him you are equally boring.

Also, electrical engineering is not a good field to get a good job in Australia, I had a friend at work with that degree, but the company we worked at was not to do with electronics engineering. So it's probably not entirely your brother's fault.

The point is, people should do what they like, and what they consider fun - rather than some socially preconceived notions thereof.

 

[Julia]

I'd have to defend your brother here, everyone is different and you shouldn't generalise. I'm sure that to him you are equally boring.

Also, electrical engineering is not a good field to get a good job in Australia, I had a friend at work with that degree, but the company we worked at was not to do with electronics engineering. So it's probably not entirely your brother's fault.

The point is, people should do what they like, and what they consider fun - rather than some socially preconceived notions thereof.

I can't believe I' m saying this, but I do agree with SCM on this.

Peer groups place immense pressure on individuals to go with the herd.
Imo it takes quite a bit of courage to ignore that pressure and do what feels right for you.
We only grow by making our own independent decisions and living with and learning from the results.

 

[Dowdy]

Well it is true that you have to do what makes you happy and i'm sure he's happy with what he does. But for the record, I don't follow the crowd, I just prefer the outdoors more.


But the notion of exploring the world through your mind in ridiculous! Grand Canyon for example - You can read all the books on geology and watch all the clips on youtube about the grand canyon but experience it is a completely different thing...and you can't trek the grand canyon from inside your mind - you can probably fly there with certain drugs but that's a different matter :

 

[Bill M]

I don't think you have to be one or the other. You can be a mix of both. You can save, invest and still enjoy life by spending wiseley on the things that give you the most satisfaction. Travelling to go to different bike races, Tour de France, etc would be great.

Totally agree and there are various ways to get there. Sometimes I would work 2 years straight in order to save 2 Months Rec Leave, then I would take off somewhere. Other things I did was take ordinary non career jobs, save up for 6 Months then toss it in and travel. By age 40 I had been to 39 Countries and now in my 50's I'm still travelling and I managed to pay off houses and build an investment portfolio. Seeing as you don't drink much you could save a lot more. In my case while others were in night clubs on a Friday night paying $10 for a drink I was doing O/T on double money, then when I took off on a trip everyone would say "gee how can you afford to do that". You can do the lot, save a bit, spend a bit and enjoy life.

 

[Smurf1976]

What's all this talk about getting drunk and going to parties/nightclubs?

I never said any of that and you are putting words in my mouth. I'm a pretty serious cyclist and am in bed by 9pm most nights. I want to travel to explore different cultures and people of the world. I don't want to spend all this money and time to end up in a pub somewhere in Europe, etc.

Nobody said you have to do any of that. But there's an entire tour company (Contiki) which exists largely for the purpose of catering to this "party every night and see a few sights during the day" market and it's a very mainstream thing to do.

Going to France for a bike race I can see the point in. Going to USA to see New York and the Grand Canyon I can see the point in. I can even see the point in going all the way to London just to see a musical or theatre performance if that's what you're interested in.

But travelling half way around the world to get drunk I can't see any real point in since you can do the same thing right here at home (literally at home if you want). But huge numbers of (mostly) young people do it every year to the point of it being almost a rite of passage these days.

 

[prawn_86]

But travelling half way around the world to get drunk I can't see any real point in since you can do the same thing right here at home (literally at home if you want). But huge numbers of (mostly) young people do it every year to the point of it being almost a rite of passage these days.

While i agree with your sentiment, each to their own i say. At least they are experiencing (a little) of different cultures, and who knows, when they mature they might have got a taste for travelling and go back and see more.

Partying while travelling is a good way to meet new people and expand your friend base as opposed to just staying at home and getting drunk

 

[Eager]

Good thread.

ENP, do not beat yourself up because you might miss out on the sort of overseas holidays that your mates have. Do not be envious of them, just enjoy their photos instead. Besides, the age cut-off for Contiki is 35, I believe.

To show how much things have changed over the years, my wife and I bought a house and married at the age of 21 (!) and had the first of our 3 children just a couple of years later. It certainly restricted us from flashy possessions and holidays, in fact our first 'big' holiday was a family road trip to Coffs Harbour 13 years later when the youngest was 6! The upside is that here we are, late 40's, near-new dream home, good incomes, investments tucked away, and NOW we are ready to par-tay! If you muck up now, you will probably still have a half-million dollar debt at that stage of your life.:

Having said that, it is important to live a little along the way. Just remember that packing a suitcase and going to a village by the sea for a weekend can result in good times and memories just as important to you later in life than any exotic location overseas.

 

[Judd]

Save enough to buy a Maton EM325C for $1500 (or Cole Clark Fat Lady 2 for $1600) and an AER Compact 60 amp for $1800 (or Roland AC33 for $600) and earn your keep touring the world busking.

Just a thought.