Balanced Approach - Africa Potential Regrets

[Rare Breed]

After reading so many of our members posts along with experiencing some dear friends passing I felt compelled just to share my experience for consideration especially to those who dream of going to Africa but see it happening in the distant future.
“time is something we budget without knowing how much there is”
I have some friends who always wanted to go to Africa but said family and the rest of life had to putting it off…tragically they passed before their dream could be realized. I do not consider myself to be wealthy but I have done okay after spending a life as a business executive. Here is what I have always done when the Africa bug but me many years ago:
1. I built into my family budget trips to Africa along with kids college down to household monthly expenses.
2. This gave me a low monthly contribution to my Africa fund.
3. Before I did this I made sure the lovely Mrs. Rarebreed was on board with everything.
The above three steps enabled me to balance my family requirements without giving up my dream. While I know this sounds very simple I was amazed how many friends did not take an approach like this so never were able to achieve their dream. For the last four years it enabled me to go Africa every year. Now being semi retired given I now do contracted client work it enables every other year.
Don’t be either of the following:
1. Never budgets family and spends all money on yourself.
2. Always just budgets family and never yourself
Both the above are wrong to just me. BALANCE is what life is all about!!!!!

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Couldnt agree more

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Excellent advice. Excellent. My late wife was not a hunter but she loved seeing the one she loved enjoy himself. She was painfully unselfish so I took pains to not take advantage. I didn't smoke (the ultimate selfish bad habit) and maybe only drank a beer or two at Christmas. No gambling or carousing with the guys. When I spent money on hunting or fishing, it was sparingly. No fancy fishing gear, guns, or ammo. Just what I needed. The only luxury in all our years of marriage was the day I showed up with a new $3K Kevlar canoe on top of the Jimmy. She had a fit. Take it back. We can't afford that! I told her we had just lost our boy. We needed to spend some time together. We can't afford to take it back. Sadly, we only made one trip with it before she was gone too.

Now I have lots of money and an empty nest. But my situation still requires balancing. Our daughter inherited the same genetic disorder that claimed her brother, her grandmother, and one of her grandmother's brothers. It would eventually have taken my wife but a car accident got her first. Life expentency after onset of symptoms averages 17 years (my son made it a month). My daughter has had symptoms for twelve years and recently had her first seizure. She also has two kids, both of whom have the disorder. So for me the balancing act continues into the bucket list years. I budget myself to spending only my pension and interest on investments. @Papa Moose thinks I'm "cheap". Or maybe I'm just a good family man?

 

[Altitude sickness]

I’m sorry to hear of losing a child and your wife.

 

[Ridge Runner]

After reading so many of our members posts along with experiencing some dear friends passing I felt compelled just to share my experience for consideration especially to those who dream of going to Africa but see it happening in the distant future.
“time is something we budget without knowing how much there is”
I have some friends who always wanted to go to Africa but said family and the rest of life had to putting it off…tragically they passed before their dream could be realized. I do not consider myself to be wealthy but I have done okay after spending a life as a business executive. Here is what I have always done when the Africa bug but me many years ago:
1. I built into my family budget trips to Africa along with kids college down to household monthly expenses.
2. This gave me a low monthly contribution to my Africa fund.
3. Before I did this I made sure the lovely Mrs. Rarebreed was on board with everything.
The above three steps enabled me to balance my family requirements without giving up my dream. While I know this sounds very simple I was amazed how many friends did not take an approach like this so never were able to achieve their dream. For the last four years it enabled me to go Africa every year. Now being semi retired given I now do contracted client work it enables every other year.
Don’t be either of the following:
1. Never budgets family and spends all money on yourself.
2. Always just budgets family and never yourself
Both the above are wrong to just me. BALANCE is what life is all about!!!!!

@Rare Breed,

Your thread, although worded for how to budget for an African Safari, should also be a lesson on how to budget for what one wants, not necessarily needs, in life. And not just for the middle age group. But more importantly for the up and coming youths of all ages, and also for those hitting their retirement years.

Every individual/single/divorced/widow(er)/college/ tech school/ working high schooler/working and retired person should have 3 bank accounts:

Checking: where the bulk of the paycheck goes for bills/expenses, plus a little extra for unforeseen monthly cost increases.

Savings Account: aka "rainy day" money account for the future, ie work layoff/downsizing, unexpected illness or injury, etc.

[Name It] account: This account receives a small percentage of one's paycheck each pay period for the sole purpose of being able to realize one's dream, albeit: to obtain a form of higher education/degree, a new car, new boat, new house/real estate, marriage, African Safaris, etc. etc.

Every
Family/ couple should have at least four separate banking accounts:

A seperate His/Her's [Name It] account. Each account receives the same deposit either per pay period or by alternating pay periods. After all spouses don't always want to do what the other spouse wants.

These [Name It] accounts are last resource accounts. The very last to be used extreme emergency fund(s).

1. Because the account(s) will have the fewest amount of money compared to the checking and savings accounts.

2. The account(s) are for realizing one's dream(s)/goal(s) in life. Using the money, although rightfully and necessarily needed, is or can be a motivational crushing of one's dreams.

Just my 2 cent motivational speech on the necessity for budgeting and living within one's economic means.

EDIT: Correct that was 2 cents 12 years ago. It's a dime now. It's called inflationary rate.