I just spent the past two weeks traveling for business. My goal was to see just how much money I could save when my employer is paying most of my discretionary living expenses. When I started the trip, I expected to spend extra money on food and entertainment. However, I soon realized that my living costs plummeted while traveling for business. I spent a total of $37 on food. That’s some breakfasts, lots of coffee, and snacks. Everything else was paid for. And I mean EVERYTHING. This saved me a ton of money.
So, what’s the downside? Well, I spent these two weeks driving a new hybrid vehicle, living out of a nice hotel, and eating at some of the best restaurants in town. These two weeks gave me a taste of the high life. When I got back to my house (finally!) I found myself missing the steak dinners and the new car. When I got back into my Ford Escort I started to pick apart its faults: noisy interior, squeaky breaks, terrible shocks, and the list goes on…
But that didn’t last too long. I’ve been working hard toward my goals and I was able to snap myself out of it. However, I realized how easy it would be to get sucked into living the high life after just a small taste. I could go out and sign the loan papers for a new car today. I could put a steak dinner a night on my credit cards. It would take me a lot of dinners to fill up my $50k in credit card limits.
The unfortunate thing is, many people get a taste of the high life and aren’t able to snap out of it. I think you and I both are lucky to have found the path to financial freedom. I’m a long way from achieving it, but I know I’m stumbling in the right direction. I’m glad you’ve decided to join me and I’m looking forward to continue along this path with you.
Hey,
I just found your blog today. I blog about personal finance as well. This post stood out to me because I did quite a bit of travel for my job before I took a new position. I completely agree with you that you get used to the “high life” of business travel. Luckily, I was able to snap out of that mentality as well when I returned home.
Good luck with your goals for 2011!
Luckily it appears I’ve also been able to snap out of it. Yay!
It’s always hard to come back to reality but such is life, welcome back!