The age old question – should you travel or buy a home
Life is full of choices, but every so often there will be a “Sophie’s choice”: The decision to travel or save for a deposit on a home. Well, in weighing up the best options, if you consider the following, the answers may lead you to either buying travel insurance or seeking a home loan. Don’t worry too much, though- there are definitely worse decisions you could have to make.
It’s a deeply personal and subjective decision
Studies conducted by Goldman Sachs show that millennials are choosing to live with their parents a lot longer than the generations before them. These days, many of them have student loans to pay off and so place other life decisions higher than that of owning a home. To travel or own a home is a deeply personal decision and it is not one to be taken lightly. Would you rather travel for several months and keep paying rent, or be paying off a mortgage on your very own home? The team at Bank of Heritage Isle can help rationalise your decision by understanding your finances.
To travel or not to travel
‘We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin.
Let’s focus on how travel can impact your health. According to an infographic designed by EasyToBook, travelling for an extended period of time or taking regular holiday’s can decrease a woman’s risk of a heart attack by 50 per cent and a man’s by 31 per cent. That same graph showed that 89 per cent of people feel less stressed after the initial two days of travelling. You can risk burn out at your job or in your personal life if you remain stuck for too long, so travelling may be the best decision you could make.
Secondly, travelling is linked to sparking creativity. In an article by The Atlantic, it is suggested that psychologists and neuroscientists have been studying the effect that travel has on the brain. Being in a new environment with different smells, sights and languages sparks different synapses in the brain. If you are a creative person, spending a few months overseas can ignite your imagination and give you a much needed reprieve from the minutia of your day-to-day life.
To buy a house or not to buy a house.
“There is something permanent and something extremely profound, in owning a home.” – Kenny Guinn.
The first question you must ask yourself is, “Am I financially prepared to seek a home loan?” MoneySmart suggested that you factor in how much you save per week for a deposit and add that amount to what you pay in rent. When you talk to your bank, it can help calculate the costs associated with home ownership as well. Thinking about owning a home will be one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. However, it could be one of the biggest investments you’ll make and the pay off could be huge. The best thing to do is talk to your family, friends and financial advisers and really think about what you want for the next few years of your life. Owning a home is a lot of responsibility, but the payoff can be incredible.
Time is precious and there are so many things we want to do with it. Whether you’re wanting to build a home for yourself, or set your sights on travelling the world, remember: it is a privilege to be considering both options.
Making a plan is an important step in deciding, and talking to the team at Bank of Heritage Isle about home loans and travel insurance can make your decision a lot easier.
