How to travel often and see lots of concerts and still be financially healthy

Started by dsanchez, August 05, 2023, 12:57:38

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dsanchez

People often ask me how can I afford to travel there and there and see so many concerts etc. For some, this is something only "rich" people can do. I don't think you need to be rich (as in someone with 7-digits in savings or more). I think its all down to good decisions and priorities.

Keep in mind this: The goal is to go to see your favorite band or go to some great trip and STILL be financially healthy when you return. The idea is not to see 10 shows and then be broke and stressed about not having enough money to pay bills etc!

When I talk to people, I think there are a few things I am doing they are not doing, and that might be what allows me to travel a lot and not to be worried too much afterwards:

- I don't own a car - commute to work by bicycle everyday and use the public transport. I save thousands of dollars/euros due this
- I own a cheap phone for the last 3 years (paid less than EUR 200 for it). Most people buy expensive iPhones all the time
- I don't smoke (cigarettes are expensive in Europe)
- I am never overdue in credit-card payments. I do have a credit card which I use, but I always pay the full amount before cut-off time every month. Never be in debt!
- Excluding credit cards, I never have borrowed money from the bank for anything (mortgage being the only exception). And of course, I would never borrow money to see The Cure or to go on vacations! If it happened that I didn't have enough, well, I would just not see The Cure or go on an expensive vacation. If you can not afford it, don't get in debt!
- When I get my monthly salary I always 1) pay my credit-card 2) pay my home bills 3) invest (!). Rest of money is keep aside for regular spending and leisure
- I keep a separate bank account of emergency savings - yes, I obviously don't use these for The Cure shows lol but rather to have it in the situation of e.g. I lose my job. Ideally, you should have there 2-years savings to keep your quality of life. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Always.

The fact is, people rarely do 3). I can count with one hand the amount of people I know that actually invest in anything. There are of course different way to invest e.g.

- Real State - you invest in having a nice room you can rent
- Stock market - you invest in companies you think will have a bright future and whose value is going to grow in the future. For example, if you invested USD 10,000 ten years ago in Microsoft, you would have now about $100,000 (yes, that's a x10 growth)
- You start your own business - this one takes a lot of guts

Assuming you have a regular job - no matter if you earn $500 or $10000 you can and must always do 3). As Warren Buffet said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die"

Of course, if you are reading this and are a family man or woman, the perspective changes. Still, I think 3) is a must.

Here some resources to start - if you haven't. It's never too late but of course the sooner the better (if you are in your 20s you have all the time of the world to set good grounds in your financial life)

Books
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligent_Investor

Video Podcasts
Nischa gives some tips and tricks to spend less e.g.


And there's a trend specially about millennials - FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) worth checking

2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

Ulrich

Quote from: dsanchez on August 05, 2023, 12:57:38People often ask me how can I afford to travel there and there and see so many concerts etc. For some, this is something only "rich" people can do. I don't think you need to be rich (as in someone with 7-digits in savings or more). I think its all down to good decisions and priorities

Well, for starters we'd need to define what exactly "rich" means. For those poor souls with nothing to eat or no roof over their heads (and there are many on planet earth), everyone else is quite "rich"!

Of course it's all about priorities. I "only" got to see one Cure concert in '22, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Did I care whether I might be broke afterwards or a month later? NO! Because it was a "priority" for me to at least see them once on this tour. Anything else did not matter much.

As for "real estate" (I guess is what you meant?), I recommend buying property, not just renting. (Because it means that e.g. no landlord can raise the rent infinitely. Of course you will have to pay "property tax" in many countries...)

For once, I tried to invest in stock market (following suggestions from someone who's "in the know" and does this almost every day), guess what? I didn't "win" anything... It's an uncertain thing with many variables and unless you are prepared to spend a lot of time analysing and back-checking, I don't recommend it.

As for any "youtube experts" or other "influencers" and such giving advice over the internet or other channels: be extremely careful and always check and double-check the source and the info given!

The holy city breathed like a dying man...

Ulrich

Part 2: I do own a car and I need it in this rural setting (public transport here used to be a joke; it's better now, but getting home after a concert or cinema or anything at night would be difficult or nigh on impossible), not just in private but for my job too (visiting customers can be important - and I don't wanna carry bigger things onto the bus/train).

Which brings me to the next point: starting your own business or being "self-employed". I don't really recommend it. There are lots of rules and regulations (within the EU), you can never follow all of those (otherwise you'd go insane trying). Customers may appear friendly, however one should be aware, they might "drop" you if anyone else is 10 cent cheaper...
If you can afford a pension scheme, you (hopefully) won't have to work until you die. (But it can get difficult too.)
I don't smoke, I sometimes drink wine or beer (but I keep away from liquor and such mostly). Back in those days when I did smoke (not too much), ironically I had more "small change" left than now...

I fell ill (again) after The Cure concert in '22, the so-called "respiratory illness" was pretty heavy (because after pandemic lockdowns, our bodies weren't used to fighting virus)! Once again, priority: I was (almost) ready to die for the Cure.  ;)
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

dsanchez

Agree, Ulrich. In fact the point I am trying to make is to have a culture of investing/saving that can prepare us well for the future. And of course, always take with a grant of salt whatever you read on the Internet. As for having a car, my critic is mainly addressed to people who really don't need it. For instance, at work, I know lot of people who take a car even though they live a couple of blocks away. Of course if you live in a small village and need to commute to the city for work, a car is most likely necessary.
2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

Ulrich

Well I believe a lot of people suffer from inflated prices right now, which means no savings possible (or even use them up!) and it seems many of them can't spend much for concerts, culture etc.!
Pandemic has caused a lot of stress already, it's not getting (much) better.

At least Robert has made sure the Cure ticket prices were lower as would've been possible, which you got to love him for!  :heart-eyes
Money has never been his main drive (spending life with nothing but the pursuit of money would seem pretty useless to me).

When I became self-employed, at first I used to work like 60 hours a week. Now it's less, but also less income. (Which results in less savings for pension etc.)

I think it's difficult for many now, politics don't seem to have a real solution... (rich get richer, poor stay poor, the ones "in the middle" are under a lot of pressure).

Anyway, I hope for all Curefans out there that they can at least go to one of the concerts and I'm happy for those who can afford to travel & see more!  :cool
The holy city breathed like a dying man...