5 reasons to spend your last $5,000 on travel

(and never regret it)

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If you only had $5,000 left to your name, would you save it—or use it to travel?

I’ve never understood how people have no problem spending $5,000 every year on the latest iPhones, a new Apple Watch, more clothes than they can get through in two years, four new pairs of designer shoes, and weekends drowning money in the pub getting hammered on overpriced alcohol.

But when it comes to spending money on travelling, very few people do.

It comes down to comfort.

We like what we know.

The reason we like to save is because having money in the bank helps us sleep easier at night. But our relationship with money is all wrong. We cling to money out of fear—and pass up the possibility to experience the transformative power of travelling.

Maybe you regret buying the new iPhone.

Maybe you regret buying that new pair of shoes.

Maybe you regret all the money you spend on alcohol.

What you never regret is seeing new places and meeting people from other countries.

I’m writing to you in the middle of a jungle in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Yesterday, I saw wild orangutans, ate termites, and nearly fell off the side of a cliff. Three things I thought I’d never experience. But I have because I decided to do something uncomfortable.

I’ve always loved travelling—it’s something I wish everyone would do at least once.

And I know to travel is a luxury. But if you’re reading this, you probably have a roof over your head, you earn a stable income, you have a laptop, and you go on holiday at least once a year. This means that you too, could travel.

Travelling is an investment in perspective, growth, and gratitude.

It’s one of the few things you spend money on that makes you richer.

Travel offers inspiration, teaches you minimalism, humbles you, and surrounds you with new people and fresh ideas. In this article, I’ll give you five reasons why spending your last $5,000 on travel might be the best decision you can ever make.

1. You gain a new perspective which remains hidden if you spend your entire life in the same comfortable apartment

Being in the same place restricted what I saw.

Spending 24 years in London didn’t inspire me with new ideas. Spending 3 years in Germany in an environment that didn’t align with my passions, priorities, or ambitions made me physically and mentally ill.

I met with the same people, went to the same restaurants, saw the same scenery, got high every weekend because I didn’t know what else to do, and dreaded Sunday night because I knew the next morning a cubicle job I hated awaited me.

I was sick of my environment—so I decided to change it.

Where you decide to live or spend time is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Your environment determines your thoughts—and if your environment doesn’t make you happy, you will have unhappy thoughts. If your environment is uninspiring, you won’t be inspired to do anything differently.

Everything remains stagnant in the same boring, monotonous environment.

Travel breaks the cycle of sameness.

Travel enables you to think about whatever is on your mind from a new perspective.

Oliver Wendell Holmes says:

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

New experiences are the best growth catalysts in life.

• The same experiences keep you stuck.

• The same routine gets boring.

• The same job you’ve had for ten years will not keep you fulfilled.

• The same apartment in the same city will keep you comfortable.

• When you’re trying to grow, the same friends hold you back.

The current dimensions of your life may not add up.

The quickest way to catapult yourself into a new dimension is to transfer your mind, body, and eyes somewhere new. It’s how you manufacture new opportunities. You have lightbulb moments for problems you’ve been suffering to solve. You need to be in an environment that inspires you—if you’re not, get out.

Inspiration expands your mind and helps you discover new ways to improve your life.

You can suffer in the same box room—but you know it’s not good for you.

Or, you can suffer in a new environment—and see everything from a new angle.

Travel to see your life from a new perspective.

2. You realise you could burn 95% of the things you own and still live just fine

We worry far too much about how we look to our friends, co-workers, and strangers.

If you pull out an old Nokia brickphone you get funny looks. If you’re walking around with a rip in your t-shirt someone will point it out and tell you to buy a new top. If you’re wearing a cheap $10 Casio watch, people will label you as broke.

And in a capitalist world, the latest gadgets and trends are stuffed in our mouths at every possibility—it’s all we ever eat.

So, we end up spending money on useless things we end up throwing out.

Travel strips all expectations, external judgement, and self-doubt.

Right now, all I own is enough clothes for one week, toiletries, a pair of shoes, and my laptop, phone, and chargers. That’s it. I don’t need anything else. I don’t want anything else. I dress however I want. And I love it—because nobody judges me.

When you travel, you realise how little you actually need to live—and live well.

Owning too many things weighs you down—it makes you less nimble.

You end up being tied down by your possessions. Every time you want to relocate, it’s a big hassle. You have to carry your sofa on your left shoulder, your washing machine on your right, and balance your TV on your head.

You don’t need that new fancy corduroy sofa.

You don’t need the washing machine combined with a dryer.

You don’t need the 60-inch, plasma, super-thin, ultra-HD TV.

Joseph Brotherton says:

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.

Most of the things you own are not needs—they’re wants.

Travelling and seeing how other people live feels as if someone has come along, sellotaped your eyes over the top of your head to the back of your neck, and forced you to see how much money you waste on things you don’t need

Spend $5,000 travelling to learn the best lesson you will ever learn—that you’re probably spending $5,000 or more every year on things you don’t need. That’s $5,000 just in one year. For 10 years, it’s up to $50,000.

Travel to learn that you can throw out 95% of the things you own.

3. You stop moaning about how bad your life is—because it’s really much better than you like to admit (stop feeling sorry for yourself)

Every time I visit a new country, I’m humbled.

I complained so much in the past—about my apartment, public transport, my job, and how uncomfortable my mattress was. It’s selfish. It’s ungrateful. It’s sad. I took my life for granted. On reflection, I’m very lucky—my life is much better than most people’s.

Now I’m travelling, I see homes with holes in the roof.

I see children sleeping on a yoga mat on the floor.

I see buses made for 8 people with 20 people packed inside them.

It’s easy to get trapped in your bubble—never popping it.

Travelling forces you to see how privileged you are to sleep in a warm room every night. We take for granted the supermarket located two minutes from our house selling the highest quality fresh fruit and vegetables, all year-round. We take for granted that we can open our laptop at all times of the day and instantly be connected to high-speed internet.

You begin to feel bad for all the times you’ve complained—and you should.

Because you’re lucky.

You will only realise how lucky you are if you experience it—YouTube documentaries about life in Mali won’t work. Where you were born is pure luck. I was born in London—meaning my starting point is better than 95% of people on this planet.

Gustave Flaubert says:

Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.

Spend your last savings on travelling—return home a different person.

My dad always says “You’ve never had it so good”. When he tells me, I brush it off to the side. When I travel, I understand exactly what he means.

4. You can always sit in front of a laptop and earn when you’re 60—but you can’t trek through a muddy jungle or sleep on a wooden floor at 60

Money is a renewable resource—time isn’t.

We save so we have enough money for our ‘golden years’. In the process, we forget to live when we have the energy—getting trapped in the 9-5 robot factory because it’s what we’ve been conditioned to do.

The thing is—you don’t know if you’ll make it to retirement.

You don’t even know if you’ll make it to the end of this sentence.

What I do know is that my body will be frail, weak, and brittle by the time I’m 60. I will not have the strength or energy to sit in a beat-down Jeep for 7 hours, swinging around mountains dodging potholes, sleeping in a new bed every few nights, and trekking through muddy jungles, climbing up and down trying my best not to slip and split my skull in two.

Travel when you’re young because you have two key things—time and energy.

Now, not everyone is in the same position—you may not have enough money. But if you’re reading this, I’m going to bet you do.

After I came back from Germany, I went to live with my parents for a month. If I were to rent a room in London, commute to an office, and buy food for a month, my monthly expenses would be well over $2,500. Why would I even contemplate this when I can travel, explore new places, and do all the same for $700 a month?

So, chances are, you do have enough money.

You just need to escape the comfort zone—if you want to of course, because travelling isn’t for everyone. And some people are very happy in the comfort zone.

Travel when you’re young—because you have time and energy.

Money can always wait—experiences can’t.

5. You meet people who are more ambitious, exciting, and courageous than people in your current life

You meet all sorts of people when you travel.

I’ve met older couples, young couples, solo travellers and groups of friends. Everyone is out doing the same thing—but we’re all on different journeys. It’s so easy to start a conversation with a stranger when you’re travelling.

There’s nothing weird about stopping someone to chat.

In your normal environment, on the same streets you walk every day, you’re considered weird if you stop a stranger in the middle of the street and try to strike up a conversation. It’s not normal. And especially if you’re talking to a girl, they automatically think you’re hitting on them.

It’s the complete opposite when you’re travelling.

Everyone wants to talk.

It’s normal to meet someone—and four days later you become good friends. It’s as if you’ve known each other for ten years. That’s why I love travelling—because you meet people you never would if you stayed in the same environment you’ve been accustomed to your entire life.

There’s a stereotype that people who travel are “running away from something”. But it’s the complete opposite. People who travel are running straight into life, soaking in all the experiences, doing uncomfortable things, waking up in a different room every five days.

Travelling isn’t easy—but meeting inspiring people makes it that much better.

You make friends for life when you’re travelling.

And you never know, you may meet someone at the perfect moment—whether it’s a lifelong friendship, romantic relationship, or business venture.

Mark Twain says:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.

When you travel, you are forced to drop your prejudice and narrow-mindedness.

People you wouldn’t usually talk to end up killing you with kindness. You realise people who have far less than you are much happier than you. You see children’s source of enjoyment is shouting ‘hello’ and asking you what your name is—not sitting in front of an iPad and crying when they’re told to put it down.

The one thing travelling has taught me? My life is better than I like to admit.

My life could be much worse.

And I never regret the money I spend travelling—because it offers a new perspective, makes me grateful, and unlocks new levels of growth I’d never experience if I decided to play it safe and put my last $5,000 in the bank and saved it for hard times.

What’s a moment from your travels that changed your perspective on life? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your story.

I hope this was good to know.

Talk soon,

Stefano

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