Going away from the routine, doing something different is energising. It’s recreational. I have not come across a single financial plan where we have not provided for Travel & Holidays. Everyone loves to Holiday.
We have planned budgets for many holidays for our clients – domestic travel, Europe tour, World Tour, Travel for World Cup, and in a few cases planning for travel after retirement. The desire to travel is innate, in my experience. I have observed that some people really plan for it. Some only budget. Some invest for it and execute the plan. A few of them allocate money – we pile up funds in good debt funds, but they never use it.
So, Question is if the desire to holiday is very strong in many, why don’t many take holidays that often? Only dreaming to go and setting aside money for it will not take you to places. Executing the financial and logistical plans will. When desire is not fulfilled, with the passage of time, it turns into regret. This is a very strong emotion to deal with. Having Money can’t give all the happiness. The money has to be used appropriately to enhance the Happiness Quotient.
Many don’t appreciate this. Many a times we are guided by a ‘save for tomorrow mindset.’ As a result, we miss out on present joy. Personally, speaking it took me lot of time, education and experience with many clients and personal reflection to arrive at and understand this wisdom of living and effectively using money to enhance happiness.
How to get there
First things first, set aside a few thousand rupees from your monthly inflows –
maybe in a different account, a fund, or a piggy bank, even! If you have
destination in mind, costing and budgeting for savings rate can be worked out.
For example, if you need 5 Lakhs for a tour of Europe in two years’ time – you
need to save around 20k per month.
If saving monthly from regular salary or income is a strain – you can align
some other inflows – like bonus received, rent, investment income to the travel
goal. That way you know that particular inflow is for a holiday. Bucketing of funds
helps to achieve short term goals – mind gets direction and you set aside
resources for the purpose.
Finally, to conclude
To plan the holiday, decide how many times you want to travel, budget for it,
save, invest, and execute the plan. As for as possible, set this activity as
aside from your main long-term portfolio.
Some things don’t happen on their own. I will say personally a Holiday for me
was like that. You need to dream it, think through the steps, take them, and,
most of all, take the holiday. We followed this path for three years. Thanks to
which, last three summers, we experienced the joys of Breath taking Kashmir,
Sensational Singapore, and Charming Coorg.
Looking to make a holiday an integral part of your life? For starters, simply
choose your holiday destination and get in touch with us. We’ll show you how to
plan, fund, and make it happen. Bon Voyage!