#8 - Overseas travel

This week a couple of friends and I were planning our end-of-year trip.

Initially, when we started planning a month or two ago, we planned to stay locally and do a road trip somewhere south, into Victoria.

As a result of these initial discussions, I decided I also wanted to do my own overseas solo travel trip, as I hadn't been overseas since before COVID. So, I booked flights to New Zealand at the beginning of next year.

However, when one friend suggested that we travel overseas to Bali, the others jumped on.

I was hesitant. I hadn't saved much money and so I'd have to be strict over the coming months with my expenditure and even stop investing in order to have enough to do both the overseas trips I planned.

I desperately wanted to say no, because I wanted to use this period when the market was down to invest. A dollar invested now was essentially equivalent to at least $1.20 invested in pre-recession times. Where else can you get a 20% return on your money??

I felt guilty not setting this money aside for my future.

I wrestled with saying something to my friends about whether we could just do something locally...

But in the end, I realised that this is exactly what money is for.

Money isn't supposed to be accumulated so that you can see an arbitrary number go up.

Money is supposed to be spent on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, like getting to go on overseas trips with your friends.

This is my last year of university and after this year, who knows when my friends and I will all be able to hang out together at the same time.

Instead of seeing this trip as me burning money, I saw it as an investment of my money into a priceless experience.

And now I don't feel guilty.

It's kind've amazing how the same experience viewed from two different perspectives can yield completely different internal emotions. It makes you realise that even when the event is not in your control, simply changing how you interpret it is how you can ensure you have a more positive experience.

I've learnt this lesson before, but my memory being the fickle thing it is, it lets go of these important learnings.

Hopefully this time it sticks.

Resource #1 - YouTube Video

I just watched a video about how Disney animations were made.

Holy wow do I have a newfound appreciation of:

1. How much work used to go into creating motion pictures.
2. How privileged we are to have technology and how much easier that has made our lives.
3. How amazing those OG Disney movies, like Snow White & the Seven Dwarves or Bambi, are.

Resource #2 - Tweet

If any of you are online creators, then here's a list of super high-yield resources that'll help you with whatever your creative pursuit is.