– Time and Money for Travel –

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It doesn’t take a lot of time and money to travel. That is a fallacy, a mistaken belief that clouds people’s imagination for adventure. In fact, people with less money are more likely to travel… more likely to go camping and recreate outdoors or load up for a long weekend on the road. I know from experience that adventure planning is easier for working class people than executive management and their families.

Rich people don’t travel. They have money but they don’t have time; they’re too busy working and collecting more money. They work nights and weekends and, if they take vacations, their faces are often in their phones. Maybe they travel for work but it’s work; not recreation or adventure. They sacrifice today for tomorrow… hoping to remain healthy enough for excitement when (and if) they ever stop working.

And if you’re waiting until you retire to travel, well… look at the numbers to quantify what you’re missing. One road trip each year between the ages of 30 and 65; literally dozens of great stories to tell and memories to add to your treasure chest. And you want to wait? Be careful; it becomes a habit. A person shouldn’t wait to travel until they’re rich or retired. Too many things can change. You might not ever get rich. You might forget how to adventure. Or, worst case (and this actually happens), you could die before you get very deep into retirement.

Money for Adventure Planning

A good friend and adventure buddy has strong opinions on this topic. He pursues happiness in every clime and place. Not limited to any one hobby, Todd indulges his imagination for adventure. He hunts, fishes, pilots whitewater, rebuilds motorcycles; he’s out-of-town every year. If you come up with a good idea, he might go along. But he’s not rich; Todd is a typical hard-working middle-class American. He finances his adventures by following his own advice…

“Drink coffee at home, make your own lunch,
save the ten dollars you waste every day.
$300 a month… don’t tell me you can’t travel.”

Those daily pleasures and conveniences are consumed and forgotten, but the adventures that you could finance with that same money would make memories that last forever. It’s a mathematical fact that’s easily forgotten when we’re in a comfortable rut. It’s hard to give up a pleasant routine, but ten dollars a day is three hundred a month… a bus tour or halfway to a road trip.

“Those little luxuries are important to me,” is a common rationalization. I understand… and indulge when I can. Comfort food (or coffee) delivers comfort every time which is why we all love it. But if there is not room in the budget for both, I’ll skip the fast food and smile every time I put that money in my adventure planning jar.

Time for Adventure

I have lived in Poland for the last three years and have learned that people here make time for adventure. Workers get more annual ‘time off’ than Americans and everyone goes somewhere for vacation. They go to the Baltic Sea in the north or the mountains along the southern border or the great forests in the east. They walk and hike and bike and ski; the trails are well-developed, the facilities plentiful, and everyone makes time for recreation all year long. The schools deliver students regularly throughout the seasons; winter and spring holidays are organized by district so that it’s never too crowded for Poland’s citizens. There is literally all kinds of adventure for those who make time for it.

Spontaneity is part of being adventurous… as is imagination. Being open-minded exposes us to the greatest number of opportunities and makes possible a pleasant variety of experience. And that’s part of the benefit to me; I like learning new things, seeing new sights, and feeling new rushes of excitement and wonder.

In our house, we know it’s time for adventure when we start thinking about it all the time. One or the other of us will begin suggesting destinations, or a friend will mention an upcoming trip that the bus group is planning; we don’t chase every idea but encourage a steady flow. Then time and money will help us decide when and what to do next.

Always Looking Ahead

Ready for the long winter to be over, Ela and I are talking about our next adventures. Actually, we’re kneading plans for the next year. Budget-wise, we’re scaling back; we spent a lot of time and money in 2024. A long vacation in Greece, then our wedding at the palace… a little side trip to the Alps… it was a wonderful year.

Our adventures will be more modest in 2025. We scheduled a road trip to Prague for Valentine’s Day because road trips are easy and fun. Scrolling through our fun groups (online travel, hiking, and hobby groups), we found a night-time hike being organized for late March. Actually, our neighbor told us about the night hike; he’s always looking for quick trips to take with his son. Ela’s never been on a night hike and I’ve never been on one with a group. It will be something totally different and only an hour from our house, so we added that to our adventure agenda.

When spring arrives, our bus tour group will start posting destinations on the travel board; weekend adventures that are more fun than you might imagine. All these ideas, these events and activities are affordable… even if I have to save dollars in a jar for a couple of months.

Big Time, Small Time

Long vacations are needed for life’s big adventures, even leaves-of-absence. I’ve gone on backcountry trips where I was completely disconnected from the outside world for months. Likewise, world travel takes time to enjoy; it is hard to hurry to a different continent then hurry back. Big-time adventure takes more time and money, more complex adventure planning and commitment.

But there are fun and interesting things to do between those big expeditions that add value to our lives. Anticipate and seize opportunities to refresh yourself… to re-energize. There is always time and money for adventure.

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