Are you one of the many folks desirous to travel, but can’t find the time? If so, here’s some excellent news!
Odds are you will NEVER find the perfect time to achieve your travel goals. Your schedule will always be busy. And that makes NOW the perfect time to travel.
Too many folks have a harmful “someday” approach to traveling. And it can make for a lot of regrets!
Don’t Procrastinate on Your Travel Goals
Back before I had the opportunity to work at Million Mile Secrets, I would still travel a lot. Friends would ask how on earth I managed to travel so often. But it’s because I viewed travel as important enough to make time for it.
I’m surrounded by people who would love to travel. Folks who’ve been talking about the same destination for years and years. The problem is, they don’t truly see the importance of traveling.
They don’t view travel as an meaningful part of life. They think of it more as a relaxation or a diversion. Something to do when the opportunity presents itself, or when there is extra time.
Travel is much less recreational than folks might think. It’s not just disposable margarita glasses under a beach umbrella. It’s an opportunity to learn about different cultures and struggles and perspectives.
There’s never a perfect time for any big decision in life. Whether it’s switching careers, having a baby, or taking a 2-week trip to Malta, you can always find good reasons to procrastinate.
If a goal is important to you, and you plan to do it someday, just do it now! If you wait for the ideal opportunity, you may look back on a much less exciting and gratifying life.
Bottom Line
Having a “someday” attitude won’t help you achieve your travel goals. “Someday” never comes for lots of folks. Don’t be one of them!
You’ll always be able to write a list of pros and cons to any decision. If travel is important to you, stop finding excuses to postpone your dreams and just do it!
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Completely agree with this post, you start telling people that they can travel for less or no money and they look at you like you are crazy,, I’m very new to this hobby and just started last month, i wish i had heard of this way prior to that,,just got my Chase Ink and CSR, wasted two of my credit with TD bank and one with TJ max, what a bummer,, but lesson learned.. i LOVE to travel, and we have been cruising for the past 5 years, not including the other land vacations, however, i always wanted to fly but is hindered by the airfares, with a family of 4 that does not come cheap, however, i just got into Southwest, and i had my husband apply for the business card and got approved with his 60,000 bonus pts, we are on our way to earning the companion pass by august after an 8 night stay that would give us 42,000 points plus the other points we are earning now with the cc spend and the plan is for me to apply for another one by jan of next year so we can have two companion pass and that would be free travel for our 2 children, and with all the international locations that southwest fly now, we are so ready!!,we actually just snagged a one way trip from SJU/PR to NY/EWR in Feb for only $520, i already paid the other one way because i know its peak season and i need to make sure we would be on time for the cruise, and we paid $1200 for a one way ticket with Delta in first class to fly to PR for 4 ..i would have paid minimum $1500 with other carriers to get back again.. that just blows my mind,, I’m having to control myself and wait in applying for the Southwest card so i can have it longer since my husband got it already and we need 50,000 miles for the comp pass ,thats a lot of spending,,My hubby is still clueless to all of this but i already got him Barclays World Elite, Citi Thank you premier, Amex Blue Business Plus, SPG business, Amex Gold, Alaska Air for that free companion cert, Hawaii here we come. i also just need to apply for one for myself so again BOGO or he can apply for another Alaska Air but business this time. I also made a mistake by having him my authorized user for both my Ink and CSR and that took away from this ability to get more chase cards since now he’s over 5/24… and now I’m bummed they are changing the Hyatt , i am planning to get one for him and myself so that would give us a total of 4 nights , we already missed out on the Citi Hilton reserve before they pulled the plug on that one,,but since he just applied early June i don’t want to waste a hard pull on him with Chase,,and i can’t get one until next yr after i got my Southwest card,, (choices, choices choices) We are flying to southeast Asia and Japan next summer and i am already racking up points and figuring out where to allocate it with the different asian airlines choices,, And all of this is possible because of the blogs like this,,, thank you so much,, i am so excited that it opened up a lot of travel opportunities for us.. with Southwest alone, my kids have been begging to go to Cali but again with the airfare, now it is so possible we just need to schedule it and earn our points,,, Happy travels to everybody!!!
That’s great, giselle! You’re jumping in with both feet and it sounds like you’re having lots of success! Thanks for sharing your story.
It’s interesting that you’re a cruise junkie! We don’t usually write about cruises on the blog, so let us know if you have any useful cruise tips you think our readers could use!
@Boonie, I cook when traveling, and stay in my normal food budget. Same with ground transportation. I put “extra” cash at week’s end into a dedicated savings account.
An approach that worked for me is to put it on the calendar. Not so soon that you have to start planning tightly & scare yourself, but far enough out that you can start daydreaming a little more vividly. It’s amazing, suddenly people around you start talking about that place, information and inspiration slide in from everywhere. And when the day to start planning arrives, you find that over time you’ve taken it for granted that you’re really going, it’s not so scary, and now Way more exciting!
That’s a fun idea, and a good concept! And very interesting that one will start picking up on applicable information that they would have let slide before! This is excellent advice.
As much as I like booking impromptu trips, there definitely is an element of anticipation and daydreaming that I miss out on.
i graduated from college. during college, i racked up airline points via cc’s and gaming the system (legally!). then, i did peace corps for three years in vanuatu. then, before leaving vanuatu, i decided to ride my bicycle…for 5.5. years…around the globe while pulling a trailer. the oceans were not an ob$tacle because of the airline points.
people said i should focus on a “career”, retirement, ira’s, 401k’s, social (in)security, etc. instead, i focused on quality of life and following dreams. and i saw the world from the seat of a bicycle.
everyone has 24 hours in a day. and 365.25 of those in a year. it’s all about allocation. and allocation is all about choice. you can choose to justify excuses. or. you can choose to cycle through kazakhstan because your chinese visa was denied.
choose wisely.
You, sir, are living. I feel like this is the life everyone wishes they had the courage to live, even if they don’t know it.
You’re right, society measures success by a lucrative career, hefty retirement, 401K, etc. But there’s infinitely more to attain.
The financing piece is important because even if you have airfare and hotel covered what about meals and spending money?
Yes that’s true. Miles & points can get you free airfare, lodging, etc., but you’ll still have to foot the bill for daily necessities, like food. And you’ll likely spend money during your trip that you wouldn’t spend at home, like on souvenirs!