Then we are going back to the arguement "is travelling a boost to our personal skills or just a pure enjoyment".

That would be a 1000 words essay and I'll just state that I'm on the stand that travelling is good for self-development. It does in fact helped in my interviews, made me stand out in during my peers during working and let me have different views on investment per se.

Those are the points which make a person more valuable, higher pay and able to see opportunities and dodge risks. (actually made gains in bitcoins and sold everything before the peak and didn't go in like everyone else during the peak again)

This simply makes a person, i.e. me, to simply accumulate income faster.


Of course, my type of "travelling" involves a few weeks and a deep look in the culture of the locals, not just pure an insta-taking session like those "one week 3-5 euro countries" trip. Those are for me, pure waste of money and nothing to gain other than exhaustion and a great hit on the bank esp with our garbage exchange rate.

Don't kid yourself that a few weeks of travelling to places can equip you with life changing perspectives. Decades ago, you might have an edge if you travel more... nowadays with internet , infos can easily be sought without even setting foot in a country ..

Traveling for fun.. yes, by all means.... just don't delude yourself that it is going to be life changing ....

NGL internet gives a lot of info nowadays but something is just unobtainable without visiting the spot.

I'll just try to put down a few things here:
1. Switzerland: can you imagine a place where people can live with their easy-going life harmony yet the whole place is being run beautifully? (Japan is not easy-going life harmony lmao)
2. Northern Europe in a general: people can actually close shop at 5 and not work on weekends and yet still live like saints!
3. China and Japan: business means working 2-10 of the workload of a normal white human, and that's how we Asian become ultra successful in so short of time
4. every european country other than italy and france: man Malaysia is just good man cheap food 24/7 insya'Allah
5. Italy and France: culture is good stuffs and one definitely can make money while maintaining them

These might not be something significant to you but all these times spent definitely shaped me, or some parts of me!
And of course travelling is fun, ain't gonna deny that

I'll just say you are yet to pay a visit to somewhere significant, go travel more！

p/s: add one more

6. europeans dont give a shit about luxuries(LV, blueberry and Chanel) unless they are realllllly rich and from upper class, and always curious what's wrong it is with Asian

This post has been edited by Melvin117: Dec 19 2018, 04:26 PM

As I said, all these are your observations and they are all good but then these things are not going to enhance your income in any direct and impactful way...

It's syiok sendiri:)

so what u trying to say by travelling,
u have higher chances to get the job and more sound decision making related to investment?

I do agree with you that he is syiok sendiri. Thinking few weeks he can master all the culture of every country.

Can you enlighten us how does travelling can help a person accumulate income faster? How does a person can out do others in an interview by knowing other countries culture? May be applying as tour guide?

If you can spend few weeks in one country in one country that mean you are definitely don’t have any commitment to worry about.

Those who has more exposure is likely able to adapt to new environment and challenge faster or easier. quick adaptation could be a advantage in the fast moving flat world.

This post has been edited by icemanfx: Dec 19 2018, 10:39 PM

Yeah i do agree, it does provide more exposure when 1 person travel. However, I think a week to few weeks doesn't provide sufficient time for a person totally understand how the opposite world work

It broadens ur horizons and gives u a wider view of the world. This helps in everything. Of course this is assuming u r a travelling person.

Well, first thing is that I can see things you guys couldn't see from all the things I have listed

Experience and exposure are stuffs one couldn't value with monetary terms yet having unlimited potentials.

It's the same thing about sending kids to overseas for higher education I'll say (having received one myself)


Wayyyy more than that and these two are the obvious ones ofc.

Useful for networking too

This post has been edited by Melvin117: Dec 20 2018, 10:15 AM

Sorry to change the discussion from experience travelling back to Fi/RE. I'm also starting pretty interested in FI/RE.

Has anyone here achieved or close to achieving FI or FI/RE? If so, what are the investment or return on savings options they chose so far?

Thanks.

You said you travel very frequent and you have an edge over others but from the way you assume that we didn't travel as much as you I guess you are no different from a normal person who doesn't travel. What make you that we didn't travel as much as you? how do you derive your assumption?

My question to you is how can one person make income faster and how does one person outdo others during the interview?

You are merely pointing out something which can't be quantifiable and yet you are claiming that a person can accumulate wealth/income faster and outdo others during interview and now I am asking you how do you quantify on the statement you just make?

How does one person can build up networking when he travel to other continent while he is working in Malaysia? Are you telling me an insurance agent travel to Greece and selling an insurance policy to greek?

Networking for friendship yes i do agree.

As stated on his signature, GE Financial Planner and surely he's a successful one.

Probably hundreds of clients "investing monthly" in ILP GE and reaching yearly targets for free overseas trips.

What's there to worry about when most customer don't bother to read their policy. Just buy & forget.

Edit: I understand why people travel overseas to play golf but travelling overseas to justified the next promotion/increment seems odd.

This post has been edited by rapple: Dec 20 2018, 10:46 AM

There are many investment options available i.e. Stock, ETF, property, bond fund, and etc. it really boiled down to individual preference and what best for them.

Different people have different preferences.

I believed insurance policy required to be reviewed every couple of years because life event changed.

Thanks for the reply.
But to get highest possible return, which investment vehicle will you recommend?

This is a tough question, different investment option provide different return throughout various stage of economic cycle,

I have invested in properties which provide an 175% (after deduct all the cost involved) within 2 years period and I have make losses in properties investment.

I have invested in fund and yield average 5% and I have stock investment which provide average 2-3% per months

Like I said very tough to answer your question which provide higher return and I am not able to recommend any options to you because your risk appetite might be different than mine.

the goal is to achieve fi/re
i get it higher chances to score a high salary job but from there how one can achieve fi/re

tats good.. so how far from your targeted fi/re?
whats ur goal btw?
how much of ur goal related from the networking? izit sorta like investment/business at those travelling countries?

from books, article to ppl experience, i heard of only travelling after retirement.. this is or at least for me 1st time come across travelling b4 retirement will helps to achieve fi/re.
hence the curiosity.

This post has been edited by xcxa23: Dec 20 2018, 11:09 AM

Basic assumption gained from people downright denying the good side of travelling tbf.
Even I as a strong supporter of the statement only mentioned it does help in soft skills, character building and such, not the direct monetary effects.

For interviews, it's all about the wow factor and the display of a person's character and leadership and skills.
While applying for top jobs or decent companies(MNCs for me), applicants are usually sharing a similar set of skills and abilities. It's the individual's characteristics that will make the difference here and I would just say the exposure gained from travelling definitely helps.

For business opportunities, it's more apparent. Seeing something that we don't have here in overseas and just bring it here? Let it be goods, concepts, or just an idea or MLM. Definitely not fresh news.

Networking, well, of course, a more knowledgeable person will be more popular, have more kinds of stuff to talk and you know, more chances for everything if the person can capitalise on it.
And not only sales could be gained, investment ideas, and most importantly, relationships that makes networking so important.
This aspect shines so much in the job listed in my signature.


Truth to be told the free trips were really meh (only got those that went to and go to China lmao), and even for those to Europe and other decent places, those were no different than following traditional travel group

Only good for marketing and let the company and agent feel good and free

I have travelled all over Europa and other decent places with the way I want (weeks long, full immersion on culture and conventional life) with my money mainly (some earned from doing insurance business)

And you're wrong, most people actually do read the policies, just not detailed enough to go through like 20-30 pages of them

It's not a direct effect like I have said, it's subtle, it's soft skills, it's all about character building


Really sound financial view and advice over there!


Hey, I wrote a part of what I want to express in the top part of this reply. Please give my reply to @tippman a read first yeah

Remember my sixth point listed on what can be seen from travelling?

Luxuries are not important. Buy stuffs which are essentials. But don't cheap out.
Like Ikea. Like decent clothes from Uniqlo. Like a good leather bag that lasts forever with no brand. Discounted.

Small stuffs like this lead me to think about cutting commitments in long run. It's all subtle changes.

My goal is not to retire early but build up a business that can sustain itself by the time I need free time to spend with my family (I'm actually below thirties , have inherited properties from my parents' legacies but for my goal, I'm still a decade away from making my business into what I want it to be)
IDM working for 9-5 as long as not whole day like the bulk of business owners in Malaysia, you know, like those start-ups

Books and people will tell you travelling is a waste of money and I do agree that travelling at old age will be truly waste of money (it's a luxury by the very definition)

Travelling when one is still building or working on something, however, will give the person a boost, however light it is.
Some trips are just fun, but some trips are truly soul-searching and open one's eyes to perceive stuff differently. And I think these characteristics are what make top talents and entrepreneurs stand out among normal people, and lead to big bucks (if that's the goal).

All I say is, in one's capacity, go travel as much as one can!
Ain't persuading you people to travel like rock stars, and ofc careful planning is required.

This post has been edited by Melvin117: Dec 20 2018, 12:36 PM