Monday, July 20, 2009

Budget anxiety

I am in agony. How much money can one spend on a three week long holiday? There are so many things I would like to do but is it realistic to spend that amount of money? What is really reasonable? The problem is that I want to go diving and do some decent diving as well. This is unfortunately quite expensive. The difference between finding a fairly good hotel and spend the time surfing, sun bathing, visit temples, museums and possible renting a scooter compared to diving two weeks is big! If I chose not to dive I could go on a much longer holiday or several holidays for the same money. However I am not sure my company would allow me to go on 3 month holidays every year so what am I saving it for?

Now I could list a number of things, sensible things, to spend the money on. Like buy a larger apartment maybe which would be an investment for the future and not money just thrown away. But the sum I am talking about would not even upgrade my apartment to include a balcony so why bother? Then again, I have chosen not to have a car, not upgrade the apartment, not buy that flatscreen tv and so on to be able to do exactly this. And I know what I enjoy and what makes me feel alive. That is travelling and not being able to live in a different apartment. Still it feels very hard to decide to make such an expensive trip. Why is that? Have I not just myself answered my question?

I do know myself well enough to know that I will not be able to resist this:

or this:

or this:
photo: Marcus Carlberg
or this:
photo: Marcus Carlberg

I just have to face it. I am hooked...

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