My travel bug's itching again!
And a bank has just issued me another credit card to replace an old one that has to do with earning miles. This time this new card earns me twice more mileage points for whichever applicable air miles service (out of at least 5..?) I want to use them for. Ack! And it covers insurance for lost/late luggage, among other things.
I'm not sure yet if I am happy about it or not.
The pro: you get more mileage points for future travel.
The con: you get more tempted to want to travel or spend to earn the mileage points even when you have other priorities. It's a con 'cause we aren't getting any younger after all, I'm not Paris Hilton, and there are some priorities that are more important to spend a huge amount of money on. I don't want to grow old regretting not having secured my future more as early as I was capable of it. hehe!
But then, this time, my travel bug is like urging me to go somewhere south of the equator and farther than Disney but where the topography would be similar to Tibet/Himalayas, and my foreign language lessons would come in handy. Ahehe!
a travel must-have: my sturdy backpack on the seat next to me,covered by my sweater and rested upon with my left arm
photo taken with a phone camera (another item bought for
travel and blog reasons) on a bus trip to Lisboa, Portugal from Spain
However, -- and this is where the priorities bit start kicking in -- the cost of living has gone way up almost everywhere. Gas, food, utilities, etc. The UN has just announced that the increased food prices would stay that way for some time or at least a decade. And yes, I sometimes reel at the cost of my fuel bill that the thought of finding work closer to home has crossed my mind, even though I love where I'm at right now. Bummer!
It used to be really easy to just save money so I can travel and take photos. Some people buy gadgets, expensive shoes/clothes/bags, cars, etc. with their hard-earned money. But for me, I prefer to use them for travel or experience and photography so I'm clueless about how one pair of Havaianas sandals differ from another (I don't own any overhyped Havaianas either. I find it rather sad to see how some locals here would actually line up and buy them on sale. What's up with that? I don't really get it.)
I guess it's really a matter of priorities. Sure I like bags, clothes, etc too. But I prefer to see and experience new things more than get something which I don't really need or already have and that still works. My more costly expenses have something to do with travel too (bags, shoes/sandals, and camera stuff), and not because I wanna be some hot fashionista (see photo above). Lol!
I travel on budget. I stay in hostels, avoid fancy restos, sometimes eat on the way since I'd also be pressed for time and not get to do much shopping... would rather explore and take photos first than shop. The last bit sucks somewhat 'cause I wasn't able to buy some items I would have liked for my house since I was backpacking across several countries/cities and it would have been difficult to lug them breakables with me and just my backpacks...(plates, Murano glass products, Lladro figurines.. huhu!). I know better now for next time. I wouldn't pass up the chance and find every way possible to be able to bring those items back home. 'Cause that was the only major reason why I didn't buy them. *Sigh*
So yeah, the increased cost of living had me worried. I thought I should rein in my travel bug. But it's always there, and is a part of me.
So, I guess I'll just have to really prioritise and plan on saving for the things that really matter more (for long term security) than using my money for travelling, until such time that I'm able to get those plans out of the way and I'm free to just save up so I can travel again... starting next year at least, if my 'south of the equator' plan pushes through late this year. Lol! :D We'll see how that goes... things change. Hehe!
