$1,223,565. That’s how much our family vacations are reducing our future retirement.
I’m an optimizer by nature. Our current $10,000 a year vacation budget invested instead at 8% for 30 years compounds quickly.
It’s a big number on a spreadsheet.
But not all numbers are worth optimizing for. It took me a long time to learn how to live more in the moment instead of saving for a vague future (and I’m still building reps here).
Traveling has gotten a lot more expensive and a lot more complicated with two young kids. Opportunity cost numbers on the spreadsheet keep getting higher.
But we’re going to laugh for years about our stroll through Savannah where our daughter talked to her grandma for half an hour about how much she loved her other grandma’s cooking.
And I’ll always remember the smile on my son’s face when he saw we were going on a boat ride in Sarasota (the only words he knew at the time were boat-boat and no).
These memories are worth the price of admission.
Retirement may only be 20% of your life. Don’t sacrifice too much of the rest saving for it.
If you like thinking about the time value of your life vs. your money, check out some of these other posts:
Or feel free to reach out to me directly at [email protected] if you want someone to help you think through these kinds of tradeoffs.
Nathan
Founder & Lead Advisor
Kangpan & Co. is a flat-fee financial advisory firm specializing in helping mid-career professionals navigate the career, family, and financial tradeoffs that come with this stage of life. This content is for educational purposes only and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult a licensed advisor for help with your individual situation. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.