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I would much rather die young with plenty of cash in my nest egg than live to a ripe old age with a nest egg that is bare. Those that just live for today, need to spend one day in a medicaid run nursing home. That is if you can stand to stay in one for a day.
I've looked into freighter travel. It's not exactly cheap--runs about $120 a day. Still, I'd love to do something like that one day.
I had an uncle who worked here on our local fireboat. He loved engines, was always tinkering with things. Very active up until the age of 90 when he got a pacemaker, dead four months later. He would have loved a trip like that. Probably would have spent much of his time below deck working in the engine room and would have considered the $22k well spent - trip around the world doing what he loved.
The tone of so many posts is that there is some choice to be made; either you go for the life of adventure, or save for retirement.
You can do both. From high school I spent 9 years in the navy; went to war, spent 6 months attached to the Colombian navy, 6 months attached to Philippine navy, gunboats in Vietnam, hydrofoil project. Got out pursued a career in sales, flew sailplanes, owned sailboats, sailed across the Gulf of Mexico alone, licensed charter boat skipper, licensed homebuilder, certified mechanic, chartered a small tugboat once and rode out Hurricane Mitch in Florida. I've been to 49 states and 18 foreign countries. Finally got married when I was 45. I'm 67 now, and no one but me saved for my retirement.
The problem I see with people is they are just too afraid to take their foot off the base. They would rather die on first than take a chance getting thrown out stealing second. I've been thrown out a bunch of times, and it really ain't all that bad.
I get to talking about something that happened long ago in another country, and people tell me all the time how lucky I am to have done all that. They just don't get it. Anyone can have a life who wants one. They're free!
All of your questions will be answered when you hit 50 or 55. Your body starts to ache and things don't function the way they used to. All your adventures and experiences won't pay for that much needed back surgery you need, but don't have enough to pay for, or the pain medications you'll need. And even if you are in good health, your strength won't be the same so you won't be able to work as much and have the salary you used to. Finding work becomes harder the older you get because honestly, what employer prefers workers in nearing retirement versus someone in their 30's?
I know many people who lived life without a care in the world and loved it. All the way up to the point they hit 60 when their kids and grandkids worked their butts off to pay off their medical bills. Or you could always get medicaid and live off of social security too - right until it runs out of money.
Balance is important in life. I read a survey awhile back about regrets and one of the biggest ones was not saving/investing enough. After awhile people want security without a job. Hard to get that on Social Security alone. Also it may be hard to maintain the lifestyle that you are use to into retirement without saving.
Additionally, one can have great experiences without breaking the bank.
I would much rather die young with plenty of cash in my nest egg than live to a ripe old age with a nest egg that is bare. Those that just live for today, need to spend one day in a medicaid run nursing home. That is if you can stand to stay in one for a day.
That's not the choice we are to make, unless you can arrange your own death.
What happens so often to people who think like that is, they live out their last 25 years broke and unable to work.
I find myself in a similar situation. I tend to think, if you're making a good income, then it's more important to keep your everyday living expenses reasonable (which generally means living much more frugally than those that you work with). If you are reasonable with respect to everyday expenses, vehicle, etc. then there is no reason that you should have to choose between one or the other. Save a healthy amount each month and plan a nice vacation or two every year. You should be able to do both as long as you live within/below your means on an everyday basis.
The other thing is that most people on these boards tend to go crazy if someone mentions that they want to live in the moment, but the fact is most people on these financial boards already are spending their money responsibly. There's no reason not to treat yourself to adventure/vacations in the short term as long as you are not totally neglecting saving for retirement.
IMO if you have no debt (other then mortgage), save a good amount in your 401k and roth, have a rainy day fund, and are able to throw a few bucks into a taxable account, you should have fun with the rest.
In the end people probably wont be saying I wish I bought that motorcycle, or big screen tv... But they will probably wish they took that motorcycle trip up the coast or would remember those superbowl parties they threw at their house.
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