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

Definitely the first option. My backpacking trips around Europe were some of the best times of my life. The last thing I'd want is to turn into my parents, always thinking they'll get to live it up when they're in their 70's. No thanks.

We travelled when we were younger, and I am glad that we did, since my husband has a terminal disease now. We saved, and paid off our house, and now that we have more money to travel, we don't have the desire to.

One of my friends spent every dime, travelled a lot, and didn't save anything. Her husband died a couple of years ago, and she lost her house, and is now living with her son. Very little income from social security for her. Now her son is unemployed, and about ready to lose his house.

The person who said "Balance" is right. Don't spend all of your money on doing what you want at the moment, or you may end up in a debtor's house.

Thanks to our last two presidents, those who have been saving are making zero on their investments. I can see the death panels being very busy with anyone who gets ill and doesn't have the money to have good health care.

I can tell you a couple of things. One, Traveling doesn't HAVE to cost a lot of money. There are great sales- I got tickets from Chicago to Ecuador for $600 per person. REnting a condo here in the best building with security, saunas, theater, 24 hour handyman, etc. $750 a month. Food is incredibly cheap- 5 avocados or 2 pounds of strawberries, 10 starfruit or kiwis, 3 giant mangos for $1. We eat in nice restaurants- with big plates of chicken, beans, rice, avocados, banana slices for $2.50. Street food is great, and tamale things and deep fried quesadillas are 50 cents.

Yesterday, in the park we met an Argentinian woman in her 20s. She was taking pictures of tourists with her high-end camera and would email them to customers when she got home. She asked for whatever one wanted to give her for the service. We gave her $1 and she was happy. She is backpacking across all of South America for 1-2 years. She walks and hikes, and, taking pics is how she makes money in the towns that she is going to stay at. She only uses money for buying food and Stays in hostals ($7 or less a night).

Travel doesn't have to be expensive, and, the life that the young lady is living, I would LOVE to live. She was with a couple other hippie friends who were teaching yoga and playing music in the park....

Last Edited by ladulce on 07/08/2012 12:44 PM

Do what you want, it really matters not what you do as long as it's what gives you joy.

live everyday as if it was your last

This is good advice. Many who stay home often get trapped (especially woman who have had children early). It would be best to have some adventure even before going off to college and incurring massive debt. Our one son became a Buddhist monk and traveled the world where he was somewhat safe with others of like mind. Another just stayed the course - college - work - perhaps in a few years a family. However, his work sent him all over the globe. Then there are the other family members who went into the military and traveled to places they would have just as soon forget. A year or two of traveling prior to going to college is a good way to go and there are many hostels for traveling students to stay at that aren't too expensive. Boats and trains are good modes of transportation if one really wants to see the terrain.

Live now. Save whatever you can, but don't sacrifice living for something that might never come. None of us know if we will live past tomorrow. I guess the bottom line is don't put all of your eggs in either basket -- balance them out so you can live a full life while making at least some effort to plan for a possible future.

Very sound advice...I would personally travel then stop and live a while (blend in learn new cultures), then move on to the next time you stop. I have traveled and still work towards my relaxing times (if I make it). If I do not live to see retirement, I will die knowing that I enjoyed it.

With all that said, I am also an American (I assume you are because of your flag). Most Americans do not even know what is in their back yard (it's the same in other Countries as well). Short answer is to " step out of your comfort zone and do both!!". Travel the US and see all it has and the different people. Every chance you get to visit outside of the US do it as well. It is good to view what you hold dearest "from a distance". It really makes you understand/appreciate what you have. But, when you do this "be prepared"...you will also see the "BAD" things about what you hold dearest. This you should use to grow yourself into a better person.

just my $.02

Your friends are wierd.

I travel...mostly internationally, and love it. Learning about other cultures is a passion of mine. I have had so many laughs and so many wonderful memories....none of which are sitting at home....unless it's with my children. That's fun.

What kind of question is that? The only true objective in this world is to have new experiences, evolve. That's it. We are God learning and living itself subjectively.

Why do you think we are rewarded with euphoria and happiness when we have new experiences or get out of our comfort zone?

Only blind people don't want to see it. :)

But i guess some people rather go old and look back and realize they never lived.

Try to do both but one may die before one retires and in retirement it's good to have some memories.

I plan on traveling the world during my retirement as well :)

Frater

live every day to the fullest. Having to answer to a "boss" to sustain life is bad enuf.

Screw retirement. Life is MUCH easier if you have money when you get old, cuz getting old is much, much worse than anyone realizes. With longer lives, we've only ratcheted down the quality of those lives. If you've got money, you'll probably end up spending your senior years running around to doctor's appointments - your eyes, your hearing, your bones, pain management, falls, dentistry or dentures, cancer etc. Doctors get you on the gravy train even with minor ailments and you're remaining years are just a battle for your retirement funds or Medicare or Medicaid between the doctors.

I also know many people who never made it to retirement or just barely did - and died. I remember well the woman who worked all her life to buy a Winnebago and travel. She bought it the day after she retired. A week later they found her dead in bed from a massive heart attack. Live now, screw tomorrow.

Education will become travel once the reset buttom is hit.

The one language thing is kind-of starting to work.

N.W.O.

I bought my house 10yrs ago for really cheap & when I did a course for becoming a travel agent at 36 I decided I want to travel. I could have put my savings into my house (renovations) but I thought 'It'll be there when I get back'.

I went to Thailand, loved it & didn't want to come back. Then a few years later went to Egypt & Kenya. I'm very glad I did that course because I saved thousands doing everything myself & I stayed in 1* places (which wasn't all that bad honestly).
Then again I wanted to experience the culture not have a 'vacation' as such. Thing is the house is still here & has been jumping in resell(?) price for years so when I go the kids will have money & I have my home based business to keep surviving until then (though I would love another job to be able to save & go again) Traveling is great & I wouldn't change my experiences at all.

Spend it while you can because when the economy crashes the money won't be there but the memories will.

retirement is a long-con. half the people don't live that long and the other half die soon after they put their feet up....

this excellent 'coin-flipping topic' ( messagethread subject ) allows-for, but only to a few, an extremely discreet avenue by which to 'analyse certain GLP reply-post member's 'cerebral depth-perception' foremostly 'latent homeland security threats', exemplified by one ( 1 ) ideally 'seen here' now.

can anyone identify what is occurring in this one ( 1 ), of several post-reply similars?

initial reply poster ( further above ), envisions 'traveller majority being their self-purposeful bragging-rights' while counter-poster ( immediately above ) envisions initial reply-poster ( further above ) comment as 'shallow', however 'if' the initial reply-poster was weighing their comment based solely on 'travel majority purposes for leisure' - knowing full-well that majority's 'lacking level of life-retaining educational benefits of such', then that poster's reply-comment would be without doubt, correct, and instantaneously demonstrate the counter-reply poster's comment as being a 'hurriedly inaccurate rush-to-judgement', however the coin-flip to that of my stupid little perceptions here would be - the latter reply-poster was capable of extrapolating rewards from travel encounters to-which my hat his doned in favor to 'that' which few are even able to accomplish.

in actuality, the two ( 2 ) aforementioned posters are more 'alike in certain areas of perceptability intelligence', therefore they should expound beyond this so others may benefit more.

thank them both for their valued comment-replies!

not having studied either of the two's previous contribution-posts, within this forum elsewhere, i can not provide nor address any exemplars as-to 'security assessment' for either's prior information posts within this forum, however someone else might; dependent only upon certain information quality within posts possibly dropped previously.

bottomline, this topic allows exposure withon all replies of individual's perceptions.

"i could be wrong, but that's my opinion." - Dennis Miller

- RE

that there is a prophetic statement if I ever heard one.. dang that hurts!!

[link to www.e-forwards.com]

If you don't enjoy yourself just a little what is the point, right?

And then you have the entitlement crowd that makes up half the population of most Industrialized nations today who are the excuse for governments around the world to strip you of your hard earned money to redistribute it to these do nothing slugs of society.

Take one big trip a year. From the East Coast, airline costs to Europe aren't expensive. If you have AAA, they will help you plan the trip. You don't need to take tours anywhere you go. They are sometimes costly. For example, on one of my trips to Paris, we wanted to see Versailles. Bus tour was around $30 or $50 per person (from those broshures you get at your hotel). We took the subway for a dollar or two.

For example...a trip Italy...

fly into Venice, use the bigger cheap ferry boat from the airport to Venice..spend 2-3 days there. Food is not expensive...eat where you see locals. Island of Murano is pretty...cheap, very short boat ride there from Venice..

don't take expensive gondola rides or private water taxis!

From Venice, take the train to Florence...walk to your hotel from the train station..

Try not to fall asleep on the train. Your suitcase will be missing when you awake. Never happened to me, but I have heard about it.

see the statue of David in Florence....short train ride to Pisa to see the leaning tower. You'll waste your time if you look for anything more in Pisa. Sienna is a short train ride also...pretty place.

Train to Rome, and you know what to see there.

Fly back to the USA from Rome.

Just watch your wallet/purse wherever you travel! Italy and many other places have gypsy kids and women who divert your attention on the sidewalks. You can usually walk to sights in Rome. Subways are where a lot of people get robbed, so be careful.

What to see and where to stay...great online info:

[link to www.tripadvisor.com]
[link to www.fodors.com]
[link to www.fodors.com]
[link to www.frommers.com]

Pack a carry-on suitcase with wheels.. 21-22 inch. I do, even if I stay somewhere for 10 days, and I'm a woman. Wear comfortable walking shoes! Have fun!

Very Good Question

I'm in my 50's and know people who were waiting for retirement to live their lives.

The thing is that you may not make it to retirement.

when you work, work hard.

when you play, play like a child.

when you love, love with true passion.

i have listened to my father and his friends (most of them now deceased) as they talked in their waning days.

never did anyone say " i wish i had worked a few more hours"

I'm glad I'm never travelled anywhere only lived in my mother's basement, this was such a fulfilling life!

Just joking, OP already answered his own question so why ask when he knows the answer? lol

90 % of sane people would say travelling is better than sitting home.

You can travel to a lot more places than you can legally work and retire to. Countries have funny rules like that.

LIFE OF ADVENTURE ... you can never save enough money to retire in the style you have become accustomed to ... and you will end up "retired" no matter what you do ... better to spend your retirement satisfied that you got all you could out of this life, and have some great memories to review and tell your grandkids about ... because , in truth, it is your consciousness, gained by experience/adventure/exploration, that is eternal, and something you CAN take with you from one life to another.

Beijing is great...

Shop at Silk Market and Pearl Market, but don't pay what they ask...for example. Once they give you a price, like $20.00, tell them you'll give them $2.00. If you walk away, they'll come chasing you and will sell it for $2.00.

Dirt Market on Sat or Sun.

Tiananmen Square....Forbidden City....Summer Palace...Lama Temple....

eat Donkey Burgers if you see one of the restaurants

Eat with a family in Hutong...a great experience.

Chinese Opera was interesting. Didn't think I'd like it. I'd skip the Ming Tombs.

Great Wall at Mitianyu...take the chair life up. Turn left at the top for the best photos...take the tobaggon down. Soooo much fun!
[link to www.youtube.com]

Taxis are soooo cheap in China! Take metered ones ONLY! They don't speak English, so you MUST carry the address of your hotel or destination wherever you go...even from the airport or you're stuck.

I retired as a flight attendant, and I saw older people get sick on the plane and never make it to their destination. I will never forget one family...they were so excited because all the kids and grandkids were taking grandma and grandpa from the East Coast to Hawaii.

Grandpa was so ill once we arrived in Los Angeles that he had to be carried off the plane on a gurney/stretcher. I'll bet that entire Hawaiian vacation had to be cancelled. I think he might have been having a heart attack or stroke.

I really have mixed feelings about that question. Travel is fun and exciting, but there's no place like home. When you stay home you avoid airport and airplane hassles, unexpected illnesses when you're far from your doctor, weird pests, and other problems. If you like adventure and are able and willing to cope with possible problems, travel is great. But if you value security and comfort, maybe it's better to stay home. There's no right answer to that question; it's entirely a matter of individual preference.

"Is it better to travel and live a fulfilled life of adventure" - let me rephrase that. You don't save for your retirement, thus you want to be financed by others when you're old?

indeed, for a variety of reasons, the most immediate - and my reply here 'only addresses economics' - what-with 'high population numbers forced-out of retirement and back in-to the already suffering workplace', exponentially increased 'global economic depression growth' that is unequivocably unsustainable, which government consultant economic social-psychologists recommended the 'only logical alternative to global civil collapse being the current government program of "Sustainability" through "Public-Private Partnerhips" by simultaneously merging 'global scholastic program changes in academia forming increased numbers of students cross-trained in private-sector workforce contracts provided by government enabling a discreet seamless transition of govrrnment designed population control. Scratching only the surface of this is Agenda 21 that does not detail domestic militarization aspects already established, which I will be releasing from my files using 'only official reference sources' still publicly reviewable, according to my research last year, which at its onset was initially thought boring. some here might like to sink their teeth into it and decide how far 'they' wish to take it as i'm too busy researching more immediately important matters. will dig.that data out and drop it here at GLP in a separate post you folks will instantly recognize from its subject title.

- RE