Martin Stewart, director of the financial advice firm London Money, told the Daily Telegraph in September. “Sure, save half your salary, eat the roadkill, bin-dip, raid the charity shops, recycle everything, just stay in and actually read the T&Cs of things rather than waste money going out. From this you will create lots of savings, but sadly very few memories.”
I disagree 🙂
Memories need time more than they need money. Memories are free.
I took all of the photos above over the last five years. During the same period, I reduced spending from ~50% of my income in the first year to spending ~25% of income this year.
Vacations and travel can, as with most categories, cost wildly different amounts of money and be wildly different in terms of the fulfillment, happiness, and memories they provide.
Our approach is to spend as little as possible on the necessary costs of getting to the new places, but once there, we live much as we do at home.
We don’t:
- Book package holidays
- Eat out much
- Go into many shops
- Tend to visit expensive attractions
Instead we enjoy the beauty of the places we have come to see.
In this way we have visited some incredible places in the world whilst spending a fraction of what could be spent on a single week’s holiday.
We like outdoor sports so spend our time exploring the world and hiking, cycling, kayaking, swimming, climbing, or skiing. Once you have the equipment these activities cost very little but have a massive positive return in terms of fulfillment.
We have incredible memories from the last five years including:
- Touring as a family through six countries in Europe in a camper-van
- Exploring India with friends
- Twice yearly trips to the mountains
- Kayaking in the ocean
- Ice-climbing in Norway
- Climbing in the Swiss, Italian, and French Alps
We’ve also been on city breaks, skiing trips, hiking trips, and beach vacations – at the same time as massively reducing our yearly spending.
Good memories come from having adventures together and exploring the beautiful world whether it is on your doorstep or on another continent. They come from spending quality time together as a family, and with friends, wherever you are.
Breaking the link between spending money and having a good time will be one of the most strengthening things you do.
I would argue that you create better moments, better memories, and have better experiences when you take spending out of each day. You’ll find yourself in fewer queues and fewer traffic jams.
Instead you’ll find you have the empty mountain trails all to yourself.
You’ll feel like the whole world is yours to experience and enjoy.