I honestly don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to take a vacation. And why not? The dictionary definition of the word is ‘to take an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling.’
Sign me up! I want to take one each month. Italy would be my first choice, but Greece and Barcelona are close behind.
Whether you prefer driving vacations, shorter four-day weekends, or long weeks of travel abroad, they are truly special. They create lifelong memories and experiences, can help relieve stress and anxiety, and improve physical and mental health.
Something that does this ought to be planned. And, be planned often. You should be looking forward to the next one.
Ask your friends when their next vacation is, and the likely reply is, “I don’t know yet.” So why is it that most people don’t know what their next vacation is?
It might be money, or not enough paid time off. It could be parent or child related. But in most instances, it’s because they are never planned in advance.
We take a vacation, have a wonderful time, and go back to work. Often work is stacked up and so the business of planning the next vacations isn’t on top of the stack.
But it should be. Try this the next time you are on vacation: take an hour or two before you get home to plan out the next one. Sketch it out. Send yourself an email with the details. Write it down in a journal. Talk to your spouse about it on the ride home (whether in a plane, train, or automobile). Then set to the task of paying for it and planning to do it.
And if you don’t have your next vacation on the calendar, then take this coming weekend (or your next day off), to plan your next getaway. Set aside some time in the morning with your favorite beverage and sketch it out, just like I indicated above. Or, if you are a night owl, sit-down with your favorite adult beverage. Make a night of it. See what you come up with. And then get to work to make it happen and put it on the calendar.
Lastly, a client once told me that they didn’t know where they wanted to go. They couldn’t decide on the place. That’s fine – make a list of all the places to go and set about research the top two right now. Choose the cheaper one and get it on the calendar. Don’t let procrastination steal the joy of creating lifelong memories and experiences, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving physical and mental health.
Plan your next vacation today.
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Alex Bishop, CRPC®, MS, is a Private Wealth Advisor and Franchise Owner with Bishop Financial Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Huntersville, NC. He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 24 years. To contact him, https://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/alex.h.bishop or alex.h.hishop@ampf.com.
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