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Old 09-03-2010, 11:02 AM
f_m
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by k374 View Post
case a)

someone wants to take 1 year off work and spend $30k traveling the world, then return and re-enter the workforce with an ample savings cushion to tide him over for 6+ months of a job search - considered "waste of money", financial suicide, not acceptable, risky etc. etc.

case b)

someone wants to put $20k down to buy a house that is declining in value, in a shaky economy where a layoff would lead to losing not only the downpayment but also the house and possibly wipe out all savings trying to stall a eventual foreclosure, resulting in shot credit that could result in all their credit cards being canceled and prevent the person from not even being able to rent an apartment - almost on the streets....

case b) seems FAR FAR riskier and detrimental to me but why is it that in the common perception b) is acceptable while a) is definitely not acceptable? Infact we hear about case b) so many times now in the media it has become a regular thing...STILL people refuse to believe that case b) is anything but a good choice.

WHY?
People can do whatever they want, it doesn't matter to me, but in (B) you are making a lot of assumptions which may or may not happen. In other words, do you know the value will decline significantly? Do you know the person will be laid off? Maybe you should add to (A) the person could be killed in their travels, because it's possible.
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Old 09-03-2010, 11:13 AM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,694,851 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by k374 View Post
$10k per person "plenty"? Divide that by 365 days and you get $27/day.. how do you figure you will pay for accommodation, food, transport, insurance, miscellaneous expenses along the way, entertainment, fees to attractions etc.? Not sure how you came up with that figure but it's too low even for a budget trip to Southeast asia unless you just want to go to your destinations, eat noodles and stay in your hotel room all day...not exactly the intent of such a trip.

A more realistic budget would be $20k for the year in cheaper destinations (i.e. Middle East/Africa/S.E. Asia).
I came up with that figure when my wife and I got home from our 9-month round-the-world trip, which cost us a combined $8,000 ($4K per person), including all plane fares and all expenses on the ground. Of that, about 40 days were spent in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, which were not cheap. Mind you, that was 14 years ago, and prices have gone up somewhat. But we did it for about half the $10K I suggested. By the way, Africa is very expensive for a traveler. Visas alone are $50-100 per country.

Last edited by jtur88; 09-03-2010 at 11:23 AM..
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