Completely Random Advice From Argentina That You Can Apply Today

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel only read a page.” — Saint Augustine.

Don’t worry, I’m not turning into a travel douche or someone that’s going to demand you sell your stuff and live in Thailand. I just love to go on trips. I also love to write. So I need to write about random life/financial lessons from my last trip.

First, I have to admit this : I’m likely the worst traveler out there.

There are all sorts of vagabonds out there with cool stories and adventures. I’m not like that. I hate being away for long periods of time. I don’t like to feel like a gipsy. I don’t enjoy being on the road. I just like to go, explore, meeting some crazy characters, and then return home. I actually am totally happy with my life at home.

I do enjoy meeting people though. I try to talk to everyone that I see. I also try to pick something up from everyone. I try to see an opportunity in everything. I always have my eyes and ears open. I’m always learning and exploring.

What are some random life/financial lessons from my trip to Argentina?

Frugality will set you free.

You already know this. Spending money frivolously really limits you. It’s impossible to plan a trip if you’re in massive amounts of credit card debt (or student loans).

This is filed under : Duh!

My point is that, saving money and frugality is totally worth it if you have a goal in mind.

Prior to my trip, I didn’t have a sip of alcohol for three months. I went out without drinking, worked like mad, and trained pretty hard. I saved the money because I would much rather go on trips than go out in town all of the time. But, that’s just me. I’m not trying to throw this view onto you.

I’m just saying that frugality will open up new options to you that didn’t exist before.

And yes, I did drink on the trip. I couldn’t say no to wine in a country that produces it so damn well.

Not only the rich travel.

I met a guy who was traveling from Canada all the way down to Argentina for the last 15 months. He’s only 24 years old too! Is he rich? Not at all. He just saved up like crazy before his trip so that he could be free when he left home.

The point is that not only the rich travel. I mostly met folks that were just regular people who saved up and planned in advance. This means that if you have a job right now, there’s nothing stopping you from saving up for a trip.

If you’re in debt, you need to crush that debt and work on hitting your freedom. Don’t wait to win the lottery.

Long-term travel isn’t for everyone.

I’m completely shocked by the amount of people that I met that were on a long-term trip. There were those that quit their jobs to travel, those that just finished school, and those that were just on a sabbatical from work for a year or so.

It’s astonishing to me. In Toronto, I don’t know anyone that travels frequently, or for extended periods of time.

Personally, I don’t really see myself being away living like a gipsy for six months. I love to get away, explore, and return.

It’s cool if you don’t feel like traveling South America by bus. Just plan your one week getaway and enjoy it!

There are opportunities all around you.

It’s really sad to see good friends become comfortable and complacent. It happens to the best of us.

It shouldn’t though. There are opportunities everywhere. A few examples include:

• The German working at the hostel for free in exchange for free board/food.
• The business dude from Peru helping entrepreneurs in South America.
• Bars that are open until 8am serving booze to drunk tourists.
• And so on.

What opportunity will you exploit?

I’m super motivated and ready to take on life and plan my next adventure!

Learning makes life fun.

I love learning languages and new things in general. Going away to get drunk is fun, but there’s a little more fun to be had in a challenge.

I did my best to work on my Spanish during my stay there. Sadly, it turned out that they have different slang and way of speaking than I learned. However, I was still able to work on my Spanish every single day.

I told some friends to only speak to me in Spanish and I did my best to approach locals.

It’s really draining though. So as much fun as I had learning, I’m ready to take some more lessons and go back in a few months.

A digital income is sweet.

I won’t turn this into a blog about blogging, but it’s pretty cool to make a digital income.

The positive is that you’re never bored. You can spend a few hours in the morning or before you go out, working on your business. You can also stay calm knowing that you have money coming in.

The only negative is that you never stop working! You’re always thinking about something to write about or do.

The reason for the global recession is simple!

People are out until 7am getting wasted!

You can’t complain about the results you didn’t get with the work you didn’t do.

I won’t judge because I’m all for going out. I myself stayed out pretty late and did do some gallivanting.

The thing is that there are so many places around the globe that serve drinks until 7am. This can’t be good for overall productivity, unless you’re a bartender of course.

Stop reading. Start living.

I need to act on this more often. We all need to stop reading so much and just do more.

“Most information is time-consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence.” — Tim Ferriss

Stop waiting for something to happen. Start saving today. Start paying off your debt. Work towards your freedom.

My challenge to you is to apply one piece of advice to your own life.

Maybe you can start saving for your next trip? Perhaps, you can build a digital income? You could even think about learning something new. Get out there and have fun.