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Thread: blog post: stop wasting your money on fancy experiences

  1. #11
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
    I guess the point of the article is spending money is spending money and if you can't afford it you shouldn't do it.

    People who advocate spending on experiences tend to be the anti-consumerist people who look at "things" as worthless drag on resources, landfills, and are empty fulfillment because they don't make you happier. ...

    But again, the idea is.... is there a "right" way to spend money, if you don't have the money to spend? Probably not. The "right" way would be to not spend at all.
    And yeah, if you don't have the money, best to get your experiences close to home where--with luck--there are plenty to choose from.

    Certain things make me happy every day (my computer, books, my Kindle app...). And I've had pleasant experiences, as well--just not far afield.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore View Post
    Experiences have always seemed pretty dumb to me. I would rather have a few nice things if I had to choose. If I won 100 million in the lottery experiences would still lack any appeal. A job that required travel is a job I would decide not to apply for.

    OTOH all you can say about the family choosing to take that last vacation is it might be cheaper than therapy.
    I totally disagree with you. I recently cleaned out my house of many nice things. Interestingly, I didn't even remember having them. I used them at one time or another but, obviously, they had little or no value to me. I can go to a garage sale and buy nice things. I remember very few gifts I got as gifts for Christmas or birthdays but never forget experiences. Not too long ago, my son took us to an Ethiopian restaurant and then to a rapture presentation. It cost him very little but the memories will be with me forever. It was great. I travel extensively and LOVE the memories. No one can take that away from me. I learn so much about other cultures (even here in the US) or nature.

    The people I know who say they don't like to travel have never done it. It does take some moxie to step outside of your comfort zone but totally worth it! It will be time to die when I no longer look for adventure. I cannot even imagine being content just to stay in my own small world. As many here have stated, there are lots of things to do nearby but also much to do elsewhere. Experiences are my spice to life!

  3. #13
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    The world would be hugely boring if we were all the same.
    Enjoying life is a goal for many of us, and there are an infinite number of ways we choose to do this.

    I've traveled enough to discover that I don't enjoy it as much as others seem to. There are places I would like to see, but teleportation hasn't been invented yet.

  4. #14
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    When we were raising our kids most of our travel was close by due to saving for college and retirement. Now that the kids are grown we are traveling a lot while we can. We take 2 big trips/year. I have given many nice things to thrift stores in downsizing and now spend $ on eating out, trips, concerts, plays, festivals, etc.

  5. #15
    Yppej
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    I saved money for three years and took my two teenaged kids for a 2-week trip through Europe to see how the Old World compares to the New World. It was a life-changing experience for them and me. The world looks different with travel to guide and meet a variety of others. At the end of the day, people are just people; there is no "other".

    We all need to do that to get out of our tribal, 'silo' way of thought. Those who rarely venture outside their familiar terrain seem, in my experience anyway, as far more judgmental and intolerant of others. Is this necessarily true? No! But it does take more effort to break down walls with the unfamiliar.
    At the end of the day, it is all about balance in all things.
    There are so many ethnic enclaves you could acconplish this domestically. I have learned more about other cultures in my home state than I did on a 10 day tour I took rushing through Europe.

  6. #16
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yppej View Post
    There are so many ethnic enclaves you could acconplish this domestically. I have learned more about other cultures in my home state than I did on a 10 day tour I took rushing through Europe.
    But not the history of the Tower of London, the Stonehenge and Buckingham Palace, the travel through the canals by gondola in Venice and boat in Amsterdam, the Coliseum, leaning Tower of Pisa, the Cologne Cathedral, the art of the Louvre in Paris and the Medici's efforts in Florence, shopping in Paris... So much beauty and history over the centuries that is so different from North American beauty, vast space and history over a much shorter known timespan.

    I am not against exploring one's own neighbourhood and country but the world is diverse and fascinating. Would I borrow money, as the OP's link suggested, to travel putting my long-term future at risk? - no. Would I give up material things beyond basic needs in order to travel, absolutely!
    Last edited by razz; 4-14-18 at 6:08am.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  7. #17
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    Is my scuba diving passion considered to be a "fancy experience"?

  8. #18
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    I guess the point of the article is spending money is spending money and if you can't afford it you shouldn't do it.
    I'm somewhat sympathetic there, not for the person who can't afford it planning a trip around the world so much, I mean that's extreme, but it's not really psychologically possible to live on the edge of austerity all the time *especially* when you add in pretty severe existing stresses, maybe like the couple going bankrupt ... I don't know, I just find that yea I'm only buying necessities pretty much as I'm looking for work, but I do wonder if it doesn't make this period even harder psychologically, as it's another act of willpower and I'm strained there to near the breaking point as is.

    There are so many ethnic enclaves you could acconplish this domestically.
    yes it more than occured to me that to interact across cultures doesn't really require travel.

    As for things one can't remember they had, my place isn't that big, however I am QUITE sure that there are MANY memories I scarcely remember I had!
    Trees don't grow on money

  9. #19
    Yppej
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    But not the history of the Tower of London, the Stonehenge and Buckingham Palace, the travel through the canals by gondola in Venice and boat in Amsterdam, the Coliseum, leaning Tower of Pisa, the Cologne Cathedral, the art of the Louvre in Paris and the Medici's efforts in Florence, shopping in Paris... So much beauty and history over the centuries that is so different from North American beauty, vast space and history over a much shorter known timespan.

    Stonehenge 5000 years old - America's Stonehenge in Amherst NH 4000 years old
    Louvre 1793 - America's Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA - 1799 (and the US has many greater museums as well - it would take you a week just to see the top ones in NYC)
    The Coliseum 80, Tower of London 1066, Tower of Pisa 1284 - Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park 1000, Cahokia Mounds 700 to 1400, Mesa Verde National Park 1190's, Acoma Pueblo 1150
    Cologne Cathedral 1880 - San Miguel Mission in San Antonio TX 1710
    Canals - Fort Lauderdale
    Gondola rides - WaterFire in Providence, RI
    Shopping - I'm sure have this covered - Mall of America etc.

    It"s nice that you enjoyed your trip to Europe, but it seems like there's a lot closer to home on your own continent that you have yet to take in. I don't know if you have seen Canada's Notre Dame des Victoires from 1690 or La Seminaire de Saint Sulpice from 1684.

  10. #20
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yppej View Post
    Stonehenge 5000 years old - America's Stonehenge in Amherst NH 4000 years old
    Louvre 1793 - America's Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA - 1799 (and the US has many greater museums as well - it would take you a week just to see the top ones in NYC)
    The Coliseum 80, Tower of London 1066, Tower of Pisa 1284 - Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park 1000, Cahokia Mounds 700 to 1400, Mesa Verde National Park 1190's, Acoma Pueblo 1150
    Cologne Cathedral 1880 - San Miguel Mission in San Antonio TX 1710
    Canals - Fort Lauderdale
    Gondola rides - WaterFire in Providence, RI
    Shopping - I'm sure have this covered - Mall of America etc.
    Sure--our domestic wonders are great. I was in my mid-40s before I ever saw a cactus--and I still remember the experience of that and of the wonder of seeing this completely unfamiliar part of the country--the red sandiness of the Southwest terrain made me feel I was on a different planet from my wooded Northeastern one.

    But if that's how I felt in my own country, how magnified is the experience when you layer on other factors like other culture, other language, other news headlines! (Try comparing the headlines of an ex-US paper about a US event with the headline of the same event written for a US audience. Talk about eye-opening).

    I don't think razz is saying that people SHOULD travel. If you don't like it you don't like it. But if you do like it, the world is a big place and offers a huge variety of experiences. My experience of wonder going to Phoenix is magnified if I go to India or Kuala Lumpur or Paris or Scotland. I would disagree that you don't gain anything by expanding horizons outside the US.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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