Category: Travel

Buying Happiness

For the last four or five years my main goal has been to get good grades and land a solid job. Now that I have accomplished this goal, it feels like I made it past Level 1 – Get a Job and moved up to Level 2 – Enjoy Life. The last few months, I have been listening to podcasts and reading books about how to live a more meaningful, satisfactory and happy life. What I learned has led me to increase spending in a few key areas in an effort to increase life enjoyment and essentially purchase happiness.

1. Rent – I moved to downtown Dallas, where my rent is about double what it was out in the suburbs. That said, I went from a 2-3 hour round trip commute by bus to a 20 minute one with the option to walk, bike, or ride the train. This change was monumental for me, as it meant I got to sleep more and enjoy more free time to work out and socialize, all beneficial for overall life satisfaction.

2. Dining Out – It still pains me to spend 20 dollars on a dish I could have cooked myself for 2, but I’ve come to learn that the time spent with other people is often worth the price. My new policy is whenever someone deliberately asks me if I would like to get food with them, if I’m available I’ll join them.

3. Travel – As with dining out, this one is all about the social connections. All of my travel this year has been to see family and friends all over the world, and the memories I’ve made are priceless.

At the end of the day, my goal isn’t to save as much money as humanly possible, but rather to hone in my spending habits to maximize efficiency and life satisfaction. Stay tuned.

#MoneyGoals

 

(Pictured: Kayaking with the family in Minnesota, September 2018, courtesy of my increased spending on travel)

 

Lessons Learned from Australia

Australia isn’t a radically different place from the US, but there were some notable differences and similarities I observed while spending two weeks there.

Public Transportation

Brisbane and the surrounding area easily had the best public transportation system I’ve ever seen. There was an endless stream of buses going in and out of the city, with an easy to use payment system, and relatively low fares. They have a separate “busway” next to the highway, a road only buses can drive on. So even if cars are stuck in traffic, the buses are still able to drive people around at normal speeds.

I was able to explore for 12 days straight and all of my public transportation costs combined came out to be $40 AUD (about 30 US dollars). One day, Mars and I took a train from Brisbane to Gold Coast which takes about an hour by car, and it was about $1.50 one way per person. That’s crazy.

Power Outlets

IMG_3147Every power outlet that I encountered in my time down under had a switch on it. This switch allows you to turn the flow of electricity to that outlet off whenever you aren’t using it, saving energy (therefore money) and making the outlets safer as well. When I told an Aussie that ours were on all the time, she asked “How expensive are your electricity bills?!”

Gas Prices

Gas is expensive in Australia compared to the US. Twice as expensive. While there, my friend filled up her car with 27.65 liters (about 7 gallons) of gas that cost $35.09 AUD (about 26 US dollars). Some quick math, and that comes out to a little over 4 US dollars a gallon, meanwhile the gas station by my house in Dallas sells the stuff for $2.20.

IMG_3195
The majority of the difference in costs comes from a fuel tax in Australia. Their fuel tax when converted comes out to over $1 US dollar per gallon of gas in added price. This tax revenue is partially used to fix their roads, but a few articles I read argued that not enough of the tax revenue was being invested in infrastructure.

Vehicles

One would think that with the high gas prices, people would only buy small, fuel-efficient cars. While there were many compact cars, there were quite a few ridiculously large, jacked up vehicles as well. The black tube on the side of the truck on the right is a snorkel, which allows you to drive through water without flooding your engine. These trucks are a great way to explore the Australian bush, but a silly and inefficient way to drive on the highway (which is where I saw most of these contraptions).

While every country has their good and bad aspects, it’s always interesting to explore somewhere new and compare and contrast with your home country. Have you found something different abroad that you wished we had in the US?

 

Australia and Balance

A few days ago I got home from Australia, ending a two week period in which I spent as much money as I usually do in two months. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit spending that much hurt a bit.

I’d also be lying if I didn’t admit that it was an incredible experience. The people I met, places I visited, and memories I made will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Now, I was able to afford this trip because I don’t have any debt and I have a sizable financial safety net set up for myself. If you have debt, or don’t have enough savings to cover at least the next 6 months of your life, I would suggest that you work on those before spending hundreds of dollars on traveling. In fact, I would also suggest maxing out your Roth IRA for the year as well (which I did).

But life is all about balance. No one is happy spending 100% of their money, but I don’t think anyone is happy saving 100% of their money either. We all have to find what balance works for us. In the past, I’ve declined experiences with family, friends, or traveling to save money, and my trip to Australia was an interesting look at how the opposite mindset made me feel (declining saving to travel/spend time with friends).

I am still figuring out what the right balance is for myself, but I think it’s healthy to experiment to find what works for you. If you usually spend a lot of money, try cutting back and see if it’s a better balance. If you save all your money, try spending a little bit and see if it’s a better balance.

As the great philosopher Smash Mouth once said, “We could all use a little change.” This next month, I encourage you to try changing something or doing something new to find balance in your life. #MoneyGoals

 

(Pictured: Sunset in Byron Bay, NSW, Australia. May 21, 2017)