Sunday, September 21, 2014

A Penny Saved

saving up for travel is easier when you don't buy so much crap

15 comments:

  1. Exactly! And have a nice trip! Where are you planning to go? As an Indonesian, maybe I could give some suggestions...

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    1. Actually I'm not DEFINITELY going, but my wife and I are considering a honeymoon on some of the islands off Bali. I think Bali itself is too touristy, but there are thousands of islands from what I hear. Should be fun!

      When's the best time of year to go? As far as the combination of low tourist season and best weather.

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    2. Go to Lombok instead Bali. As you're saying, Bali is too touristy. Lombok is small and beautiful island next to Bali and it's still low tourist :)
      I think the best weather is like, right now. Before the rain start to pour in October.

      Anyway, please tell me if you want to come. I'd like to ask your sign :))
      -being fan of your comics since 2013-

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    3. Lombok is not that much smaller than Bali, but may lack some tourist services --- I bet it will be a lot more authentic experience.

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    4. And you might want to try Belitung, it has beautiful beaches (especially if you take the island-hopping tour, it might cost quite a bit bit it's worth it!)

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  2. This is spot on!!! People always ask me where i get the Money from since i go traveling so often. well, not having an Apartment/car and not Smoking/going out every Weekend and spend more than 100bucks on Drinks helps a lot...

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  3. well, it's a nice idea, but some people (like me) don't have a car, drink tap water, don't have an expensive phone, don't buy expensive coffee and still have no money to travel...

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    1. I feel your pain. Is there room in this boat for two, even if it isn't going anywhere? Traveling to other countries is easier when you don't live in a country that spans a continent.

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  4. Good points! I got a bit annoyed though of my Indian colleague who often reminded others that she and her husband must be saving so much money because they don't drink and eat meat (in Singapore where both are expensive). We eat (some) meat, drink alcohol, have expensive bikes(!), and I am super picky with my coffee (and we have SodaStream), and still we have travelled a lot. We don't go shopping, though... other than food.

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  5. Been there, heard that :-). And I have learned that the best answer to the last panel is to change the subject quickly. A lot of people have an almost religious attachment to their categorization of spending (Starbucks = essential, travel = frivolous, etc.) and questioning it often goes about as well as questioning someone's religion...

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  6. But wait you haven't seen the new FancyFone II with a bigger screen!

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  7. "Hundreds of bucks a year", it would cost me hundreds of bucks just to get to the other side of the United States, and at least $1,000 if I was going somewhere like China or Japan or Australia or many other places outside the country. And that is just airfare. So I don't think the ~$70 a month it costs me for my phone is anywhere near the $2,000 it would cost me to get to say Japan after I ad in local travel, hotel and food.

    Secondly, I may have a bike, but it is not exactly the same as a car. Many people live in places where bike travel everywhere is just not a real option.

    Thirdly, regardless of what people spend money on, in many cases the time they spend working doesn't afford them the actual time to be away from that work. If all you have is weekends off going to Indonesia means spending most of that weekend on a plane.

    Sure some people spend money on dumb crap, but that's not exactly the point because travel isn't even just about money. I normally like these comics but this one just shows a total lack of awareness as well as a preachiness.

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    1. That $70 a month does cover your trip and some... If you had instead invested that monthly fee, it would be $12k over 10 years. So that phone is really costing you $12k. Is it worth it? I have a $10 plan from Airvoice wireless.

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    2. $12k? What interest rate are you assuming? The maybe 2% you actually get now, or the 10% so many "financial planners" still use even though no one's gotten that in a generation?

      If you're talking actual money, you're paying $10 x 12 months x 10 years = $1200. Subtract that from his $70 a month, and the difference is $60 x 12 x 10 = $7200, or $720 per year. Might not be able to go to Europe every year, but you could go camping in National Parks or stay in a hostel in a different city in a different state each year. Remember, the contiguous states is about the same territory as the EU.

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