Is it better to travel and live a fulfilled life of adventure, or is better to sit and home and save money for retirement?

I had zero desire to travel when I was in my 20s. History and other places bored me. I was busy exploring myself and my place ... traveling around the U.S. by car and having adventures right here at home. Learning guitar, playing with other people, learning carpentry and building things, gardening, trying to build brick barbeque in the back yard (major failure), enjoying my cats. I also slouched off for most of my 20s -- series of odd jobs, living cheap.

Then at about 28 I'd had enough f'ing around and decided to go to grad school. Found my path and have been working like a crazed person ever since. As a working person my job has sent me to England, Austria, Holland. I could go to asia if I wanted to but it doesn't interest me. And I've earned enough to pay for family trips to Mexico, Italy, and back to England.

I have absolutely NO regrets about how I've lived my life. I've taken care of myself so when I return at 66 I fully expect to still enjoy traveling as much or more than I would've in my 20s.

I understand that you should save money, but we are all going to die one day.

Some people on their death bed lived full adventure filled lives, others die in a great big house with money in the bank.

What's better?

I know it's best to have a bunch of money and travel but most people dont have the funds for this.

Pfft... people don't travel to have adventurous lives, they travel to brag about it to their friends.


True story.

I understand that you should save money, but we are all going to die one day.

Some people on their death bed lived full adventure filled lives, others die in a great big house with money in the bank.

What's better?

I know it's best to have a bunch of money and travel but most people dont have the funds for this.

Pfft... people don't travel to have adventurous lives, they travel to brag about it to their friends.


True story.

i am a traveller, ask me a question. :)

Well as i see it the issue here is that we somehow feel its a difficult/impossible choice. Society is more or less designed so that you work entire life. Its when you are young and healthy and strong, you should take yourself, and perhaps your family if you have one, on "adventures"...

i am a traveller, ask me a question. :)

I had a good friend who was a hardworking lady all her life. Her husband retired and she only had a year to go and they planned to travel Europe and Asia. Then she was dx'd with cancer and died before her retirement. Made me so sad that she wasted all those years sitting at a desk.

Shortly after she died the company portfolio lost nearly half its value due to the crash of 2008. So she would have gotten screwed anyway. My grandmother told me when she was young she always wanted to go to Hawaii. by the time she got there she was 50 and tired. She told me to do it while you're young, there's no turning back time.

Go see the world before it's gone.

I decided to travel first. I met people, retired people, who were travelling in the same places I was. Mainly Latin American countries. I was in my twenties then and living in those places. These people always made a point to tell me the same thing. "Don't question what you are doing even when times are tough, because if I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, I would not have worked all my life for retirement. Now I have the money, but I don't have the youth to enjoy it like you are. Life is to be lived and enjoyed. Don't waste the best years of your life working for the man just because that's what they say you should do. There is time for work and money, but you never get your youth back. It could all be over tomorrow. or not. The important thing is to live and get out there and enrich your life through experience. You can never study for these things."

Alot of older people that I met told me this or some variation of this.

People have asked me, well what about your retirement? and Social Security? My reply was always the same. When I'm old enough to retire, Social Security will be broke and the systems that we have now will not exist anymore. That was twenty years ago...and I still have quite a few years left to retirement age. My answer hasn't changed.

See the world, you won't regret it. And believe me, when you take the steps to put yourself into situations that are risky and may seem crazy to others, universe looks out for you and opportunities always present themselves just when you need them the most. Alot of faith helps.

A buddy of mine in his 40's has traveled all over the world, has played golf at all these awesome golf courses (he loves golf), and has had numerous adventures.

A lot of my friends in their 40's have a bank full of money but have never done shit. They have worked away their entire youth-seems like a waste of the good years.


I would much rather travel when I am younger and have some energy left and can do things. Traveling when I am 70 and not being able to do anything physical does not seem like too much fun.