Planning for the Future: Travel, Entertainment – Is It Smart to Buy?

By Victoria Robertson on June 13, 2020

As we deal with the changing times and the road ahead, it can be difficult to plan your expenses, especially as they relate to travel and entertainment. Should I be taking that trip to the Maldives this fall? Do I really need the new speakers for my TV at home? Should I skip the upcoming concert I’ve been dying to go to?

These are all questions many of us have been facing over the past few months, which is why it’s so pressing that we learn what’s smart to buy, and what should simply wait until later.

Photo Via Pixabay

Concerts

To get to this point first and foremost, most performers are postponing any and all concerts for the remainder of 2020. As such, most concerts won’t even happen until 2021, and that’s assuming things go back to normal, at least in some capacity.

Still, if you’re looking to plan ahead and pick up some tickets, consider the likelihood that the event date will change, or that the event may be cancelled altogether. For this reason, if you have a busy schedule, you may want to hold off on purchasing, as a new date may leave you without the ability to attend.

Movies

Movie theaters will be (if they haven’t already) opening around you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should go. This typically requires a large group of people to be in one room for prolonged periods of time, not to mention the germs that you encounter.

Still, there are safer options out there, such as outdoor movie theaters in which you can stay in your own vehicle throughout the movie, limiting the amount of times that you’ll come into contact with anyone else.

Basically, if you’re able to have a movie night at home, you’ll be much safer than you would in a crowded theater.

National Travel

Just because national travel is now a possibility doesn’t mean that it should be. If you check out the flights and deals hotels are offering, it’s tempting to commit to a vacation, as the cost is so low.

That being said, this is one of the riskier things that you can do, and it’s not necessary in most circumstances. If you plan to travel for pleasure, note that the CDC predicts a second wave of the virus in the fall, and travel may be shut down again. So don’t book that Vegas trip just yet – if you’re really itching to vacation, give it a few more months and keep your plans flexible.

International Travel

This is a tricky one, as the state of things can change in the blink of an eye. If you’re on vacation and the borders are shut down, you may end up stuck, your bill skyrocketing beyond what you planned on.

It’s certainly a challenging time for travel in general, but international travel, even more so. So if you can hold off on that trip to Greece for another year, it’s in your best interest to do so.

Home Goods

A lot of individuals are finding that, with the amount of time they’re spending at home, they want to do quite a bit more with their time. This usually means that there’s quite a bit more spending to be done.

The question here is, financially speaking, should I be spending money right now? Many jobs have questionable statuses, so it’s a little overwhelming to consider what you can afford to spend money on and what you can’t. Only you know your financial situation and job security well enough to make this decision, but basically, if you can live without it, hold off on buying it.

Bars

Last, but certainly not least, the amount of time we’ve all spent indoors has led us to the need to socialize. For this reason, bars are becoming more popular. While bars that offer social distancing (such as outdoor seating) aren’t a bad idea, it’s always better to avoid them, for now, if possible.

The bottom line is, when you’re drinking and others are drinking, social distancing practices become less concrete, and germs spread much more easily. So grabbing a drink at a bar with outdoor seating while everyone’s wearing a mask is perfectly fine, you should probably draw the line there.

Planning for the future isn’t an easy task, especially when we’re surrounded by so much uncertainty. Still, that’s not to say that you can’t plan for the future, just that it’s a bit more challenging to do so.

The above tips regarding what is and isn’t smart to buy should help get you started with your fall shopping plans, but make sure you’re looking at the CDC guidelines, paying attention to the news, and, most importantly, practicing safe and sanitary practices, wherever you are.

The times may be changing, but you’re still in control of your health!

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