Um, F16, that's not exactly wise. Okay so you can invest $5-6k travelling, then we should only eat the cheapest cuts of meat, no boneless skinless chicken breast, no fish, no steak, no fresh fruits/veggies, only canned. Everything above the minimum is a LUXURY. Nevermind that perhaps drinking no hormone milk or no hormone meat is better for you. Actually you should be a vegetarian so you don't eat any cholesterol from meat.
But that's not realistic. Neither is expecting to live so minimally that there is no fun in life. People buy better foods to preserve their health. They sometimes join a gym so they can exercise regularly without going running in -20C in the winter. Or have a pool. Sure the money for the monthly cost could mean retiring 1 year earlier, but instead they might live one year longer.
Or perhaps, my parents should never visit me because they could invest the $5-6k to go from hawaii to East coast and instead leave me and my siblings $100k when they die! WOOHOO!
But I'd rather have 1 week with my parents than $100k later. And I know my siblings feel the same. And you can't replace or put a price tag on those memories! You can't price a week of seeing grandma or grandpa.
Even more valuable is having the opportunity to see and meet their grandparents. Or recalling a special trip. One of my most treasured memories EVER was being 5 and going on my first and only trip with my mom to Las Vegas, Disneyland, and SF.
My mom, uncle, aunts, grandparents all went. She was a single mom, but my uncle helped her afford it. She saved for 5 years and my grandparents did too. ONLY family trip and I can recall seeing new family in CA. I recall sitting in the van and being carried in SF in Chinatown.
It was also the last trip my aunts had as a single lady before marriage. She STILL mentions how much fun she had and how young she was and what we enjoyed. My cousin from orange county still writes to me till this day!
Gosh, that $2k might be $100k+, but I have something way better than money. I have a relationship with my cousins, my aunts, uncles, etc. We reminisce about the trip! Look at photos and laugh.
Sure the money on the trip would have paid off the house faster, invested in the stock market, but my mom bought me something intangible she can never replace.
I don't think life is about money, and even when I was poor with my mom it wasn't. We volunteered, we appreciated everything we had. We were a very close family and still are. We never had much, but my mom always gave back to the community and taught me to do the same.
Sure she'd be richer today if she had scrimped every penny, but she lives a SUPER comfortable life now. And a stock certificate or gold coin might be nice to finger, but I like my memories. And I think my relationships with my family will be passed on to my kids.
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