Spending all your money on travel experiences might sound like a foolish thing to do. But every year, thousands of people take the plunge and actually do it. How do they make it work?
It turns out that spending money on travel isn’t the money pit many people imagine it to be. In fact, it typically brings assets into your life that pay off in the future.
For many people new to the idea, this concept can be a little hard to swallow. But remember, investors swap their cash for assets all the time. A stock is nothing more than a piece of paper that says that a person owns part of a company. It’s no more “real” than anything else.
Here are some of the reasons why investing in travel always pays off (even if your common sense says that it shouldn’t).
Travel Fires Your Curiosity
Why is it that some people are able to do such incredible things in the world? Usually, it’s because they became super curious about something and continued pursuing it for many years.
Travel can be a catalyst that fires your interest in cultures, countries and languages. It can be the spark that motivates you to pursue something new that has economic value. It takes you out of your comfort zone and encourages you to improve. In other words, it becomes your “why.”
Travel Teaches You More About Yourself
Travel also gives you an opportunity to learn about yourself. Going through the same motions and routines at home doesn’t take you out of your comfort zone, but travel does. It shows you that you can do things that you never imagined doing by yourself. It teaches you about your limits and what you can achieve.
Just traveling to a place by yourself teaches you things like self-reliance. You prove to yourself that you don’t need anyone helping you.
Don’t underestimate the value of life lessons such as these. Travel turns you into a more effective person and brings hidden talents you didn’t know about to the fore.
Travel Deepens Family Bonds
Travel rarely goes 100 percent smoothly. If you travel as a group, there will inevitably be crises where you all have to work together to solve a problem. But far from being a disaster, these situations can actually bring you closer together. All of a sudden you have to rely on each other in ways you don’t have to when you are at home.
When families come together, it benefits everyone. It gives permission for people to be themselves and take risks. They are much more willing to step out and do something meaningful and economically valuable when they have blood backing them up.
Travel Builds Your Network
Top flight entrepreneurs spend the majority of their time networking and building connections with others. That’s because they know that other human beings are their greatest resource.
Travel is a great way to build your network because you’re forced to interact with people wherever you go. And because you are in a new place, you have all the excuses that you need to make deep and meaningful friendships with people.
Building your network can bring you all kinds of benefits. You might find somebody who can offer you your dream job. Or you might find a partner willing to start up a company with you. Even more simply, you could bump into somebody willing to offer you “mate’s rates” on a vacation home. It all ultimately benefits you.
Travel Introduces You To New Cultures
Taking out finance products explained on sites such as Buddy Loans and using them for travel experiences can also help you access new cultures – something that can pay off in many areas of life.
Take the world of work as an example. There are all sorts of companies looking for people who understand local markets and can provide them with guidance. If you like travelling to a particular location a lot (and you have plenty of knowledge about it), they may want to leverage your skills. Sometimes they just need people on the ground who know how to get around.
There are also benefits to learning about other cultures in the dating market. You can go on dates with people from all over the world, more confident about their needs and what is likely to appeal to them.
Travel Improves Your Knowledge
In the modern economy, they say that knowledge is power – and they’re not far wrong. The more things you understand, the more money you’re likely to make.
But the knowledge you get as you travel is nothing like what you learn in school or from books. Instead, it is more practical. You learn more about reality from an intuitive perspective. It’s less about gaining knowledge and more about applying your powers of attention. You get to grips with how the world really works outside of the classroom.
Travel Gives You Memories That Matter
If nothing else, travel gives you priceless memories that stick with you for many years. You can think of these as an investment in life itself. There’s no monetary payoff, but at least, when all is said and done, you can say that you were there.
There are many kinds of wonderful memories that travel gives you. It could be standing outside the Taj Mahal in the evening and watching it lit up with floodlights or the sensation of white sand running through your toes. Whatever it is, these are memories that will bring a smile to your face and brighten your day.
Travel Gives You New Eyes
The ultimate purpose of travel isn’t to introduce you to new landscapes, it’s to give you new eyes. Travel allows you to unravel the beauties of the world while, at the same time, uncovering new mysteries. You finally get to see what it is like to live the life of somebody else. When you immerse yourself in another culture, you take a real peek at the rest of the world and leave narrow-mindedness behind.
