“When was the last time you traveled abroad?” the immigration officer at the NAIA Terminal 3 asks me. I told her it was about 3 years ago.
Yep, it has that been long since I went out of the country. The funny thing about me is that am that kind of person who will be so excited when there is a seat sale or promo fares. Yes, I don’t get hyped by such things. When asked what is my top destination country, I say India and they would ask me back why and why not Japan(I am an anime fanatic). Well, as a photographer I always hear that there is something about India that draws lots of photographer and that is why I myself is drawn to it(but will be planning that sometime in the future).
This age a generation is the awesome generation. We are now capable and enabled to financial access that is why we have travel promos left and right. But the question is really can you afford it? Often times lots of my age group as well as the next one(I think they call you Gen Y) have this thirst to make the most out of their age(yup age that is correct). We want to try everything while we are young and able. We want to be explorers to places we just heard or watched in the TV.We want to feel what others felt and announce to the world through Instagram that you were there.
That drive is what I believe marketers are banking on thus fares are diving low and other add ons are the real money generators. But the problem with this enthusiasm is that financially we are not that capable to book travel after travel after travel. We literally break our bank account thus the meme that you can only travel to the park.
An alternative to such is to established a travel fund.
Lots of friends I know do saving on a regular interval to afford the cost of travel. Also going in groups to get a whole vacation house is cheaper option than booking a hotel. Another is a shared vehicle instead of booking a flight(if there is a land travel alternative, road trip style). For overseas travel, like I am about to go to now in a couple of hours, getting Airbnb for accommodation and availing of promo fares in travel expos and airline websites are a good way to afford cheap fares.
There is nothing wrong wanting to travel to some expensive city as long as you can afford it and not incurring debt. You can charge it to your credit card as long as you pay your credit card’s total balance so that you won’t incur interest charges in your credit card(your credit card earns a lot with your interest and late payment). There is nothing wrong going on a holiday as long as you have set aside funds to cover it.
So the question still stands. Can you afford to travel?