02 Apr Should You Consider an Overseas Vacation if You Have Debt?
You can nurture your emotional and physical well-being in many ways. One of them, is going on an overseas vacation. If you have a family (like Chanel & Stevo will soon), chances are that you will use the upcoming summer as a chance to get away, connect with each other, and explore new places.
However, how easy is it for you to think about a vacation when you are saving money to pay off your debt? Overseas vacations can leave a dent in your wallet since they are not cheap. Imagine the damage it can do to your finances if you are in debt.
So, do you think you should consider an overseas vacation if you have debt? Here are a couple of things to keep in mind before taking that overseas vacation that you have been dreaming about.
Assuming You Consider The Overseas Vacation
You sacrifice a lot to ensure that you have paid off your debt. However, does this mean that you have to sacrifice everything to clear the debt? Most likely not. If you give up some of your expenses, your life will not change completely.
Let us assume that you go out for lunch every day, or have a subscription you rarely use. If you reduce the number of days you go out for lunch, or give up that subscription, your life will still go on smoothly without any problems.
Now, assume that you choose to go on an overseas vacation while still in debt. There are a couple of positives that such a vacation can help with your well-being. Apart from helping you avoid stress, it will also improve your productivity, bring you closer to your family, and make you happy.
So, should you avoid going on vacation while still in debt? Most people have taken student loans (such as the MBA loans from SoFi) for their higher education. Even though they are still repaying these loans, they consider the positive impact an overseas vacation can have on their lives. This is what you should also look at before making a decision.
However, this does not mean paying your debt should not be your goal. The only thing that it means is that it should not be the only thing in your life. As long as you are controlling your debt, an overseas vacation can do more good to you than harm. You can choose to skip a vacation once in a while, but consider going on an overseas vacation even when you are in debt.
Assuming You Do Not Consider The Overseas Vacation
As much as we have discussed considering the overseas vacation even when you still have debt above, you might also find yourself in a situation where the vacation is not necessary. Even though you might have spent time finding your dream destination, traveling overseas is very expensive.
You will need to take care of flight costs, accommodation, and other additional costs that you might not have thought about. This means that you might find it difficult to remain on a tight budget.
Your debt load might get even worse, especially if you are paying high interest on it. You should look at your interest rates before making the overseas vacation decision. Are you able to manage your payments?
If not, then an overseas vacation should be the last thing on your mind. The most important thing at this point in your life should be controlling your payments and being able to manage them without any problems.
Traveling overseas if you are still in debt can bring you more debt. This is going to take debt freedom away from your life. Let us not forget about the effect that accumulating more debt is going to have on your credit score. If the situation is going to get worse for you, then you do not need to consider an overseas vacation if you still have debt.
What Should You Do?
So, what should you do? Should you consider an overseas vacation if you still have debt or not? There isn’t a clear rule to this. The only thing that you need to do is to be wise when making that decision.
Your life is the most important thing to you. But it will not be worth it if you cannot do the things that make you happy. As you can see above, and as Chanel &Stevo have proven in their 8 years of traveling – traveling is essential to your well-being, and can bring many other benefits to your life. Just ensure you can manage your payments and debts, and have a firm plan in place before considering an overseas vacation.
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