The Spring Break That Will Actually Make Us Money
From international travel dreams to backyard investments: A lesson in long-term thinking
We all have those moments that we just want to get away from it all or go out and have a great night out or splurge on some items. But a lot of the time, those expenses don’t really help us in the long run and they can end up, hurting us financially, if not another way.
This year, for spring break, my husband and I will be pretty much alone. Our oldest is away at college living in her own apartment, our second oldest will be on a trip to New York with her art class, and our two little ones will be with their mom for the week. Which leaves plenty of date night and quality time for he and I.
When I first realized that we were going to be alone for the extended period, my first thought was to take him on an international trip. He’s never been out of the country, and I would love to give him that experience.
But we’ve also been working on our finances with hopes to retire early. And that means that spending on an international trip in this moment, probably isn’t a good idea.
That doesn’t mean it can’t be next year.
So now what?
My next thought was that he and I could take a trip to the mountains for the weekend. But again, renting a cabin and spending on eating out every day can get expensive as well.
After browsing several cabin websites, it occurred to me: why aren’t we spending even a fraction of that money to create quality time and quality experiences here at home without spending extra on room and board somewhere else or even travel costs?
Long story short, we’ve decided to stay home this year for spring break and take a trip next year.
Here’s what we’ve decided to do instead
We’ll be updating our backyard a little bit, spending tons of time out by the pool, and grilling out for dinners.
And the money that we’re going to spend on improving the backyard will actually boost our income generating abilities. We plan to rent out our pool and backyard during Spring, Summer, and Fall.
None of this would be possible if we were spending on taking a trip.
Sometimes we have to step back and avoid the temporary pleasures in order to give ourselves something long lasting and more fruitful.
And this goes for other things like vices, smoking, drinking, etc. The more we refrain from doing activities like those, the better off our health long-term will be (not to mention our wallets).
A Mindset Change
Every choice we make, has temporary and lasting effects. We may not see it in the moment when all we want to do is go out to Chili’s for dinner. But even putting 100 $200 towards debt instead of a single meal can heavily reduce how much debt and interest we are paying.
If you are aching to spend money on something that you may not need, and it won’t be long lasting or worthwhile, consider what else you could do with your time, efforts, and money.
What can you do for yourself long-term to provide many more opportunities in the future?
Comment below with some of your financial goals and what temporary pleasures you can give up in order to reach them.
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