This past summer, I spent $3,000. I went to Canada twice, a rave, a national soccer game, two World Cup games, zip lining, and bungee jumping. I experienced traveling, adrenaline, and what it really means to be alive, all at one cost: emptying my bank account.
I spent all of my savings, as well as all of the money I earned from my two jobs this summer. At only 18 years old, I owed my sister over $1,000. But if given the chance to better budget my money, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Money is meant to be spent.
What’s the good of money if it’s just left in your bank account? You’re supposed to go out on a limb and enjoy yourself every once in a while.
Life isn’t measured by the amount of savings you have, but by the amount of experiences you have. So let yourself travel. Let yourself zip line. Let yourself feel alive and remember why it’s so great to live.
Life can’t be lived to the fullest on a budget.
The problem with our world is that we’re constantly working for the future, without having ever really lived in the present. We continuously work and save, all while planning for some endpoint when we’re happy, and can then reward ourselves with the money we saved. But we shouldn’t have to wait to be happy; we shouldn’t have to wait to spend money on experiences that make life worth living.
So live now. Spend now. You shouldn’t deprive yourself of current experiences because you’re saving your money for a future that may never come.
This past summer, I paid $3,000 for the greatest summer of my life. I saw the world, tested my limits, and tried things I never thought I would. I danced alongside the greatest DJs in the world. I witnessed our Women’s National Soccer team win the World Cup. I swung from ropes 100 feet in the air, and bungee jumped in the most beautiful place I have ever seen. And I wouldn't change a thing.
I learned that money is just an object that has no worth unless it is spent. I learned that it’s okay to spend money on experiences because they are worth it.
And I may have emptied my bank account, but I learned what it really means to live.
