– ARTICLE –
= Making Time for Your Family =
The modern family:
An unfortunate turn of events
The modern lifestyle is tough on the modern family. With the cost of living getting higher and higher while wages have been relatively stagnant, it’s become a norm to see new families adopt a dual-career lifepath, whereby both parents are working to earn money for the family. Having one parent stay at home while another earns money is no longer a norm, but a luxury. A single paycheck sometimes doesn’t cut it to cover rent, bills, loan payments. And that’s not even including saving for the future like rainy-day funds for emergencies and college tuition money for the children’s future education.
Speaking of the children, the troubles unfortunately are not just exclusive to the parents. Kids are now growing in an ever more straining school environment, where the task of learning gets harder and more complex, while competition amongst students becomes more taxing on their mental health. The only solace they can find sometimes is spending time with family at home, but due to the dual-career nature of families these days, it’s become harder and harder for kids and parents to truly spend meaningful time together, as both parties are just tired and need rest.
It’s an unfortunate circumstance that is neither the fault of the parents nor the children, and as someone who lived in a busy working household myself, I know first hand of the wish of being able to take a step away from it all, even just for a moment. And now that I’ve grown older, now more than ever I realize how important it is
A family vacation:
A refresher everyone needs
While providing financial stability is important for the well-being of the family, there’s something beyond the earnings and upkeep calculations that also needs to be taken into account, and it’s the emotional well-being of the family.
A constant stressful environment every week for 5 days a week is no way to live, and it’s important to realize that every once in a while we should take a step away from work and just focus on enjoying things together as a family.
But I mentioned before that wages have remained largely the same while everything around gets more expensive, so how do we even plan for that?
The hardest part of planning a vacation is
Getting the money to do so
The short answer on how to get money is to save up, but things aren’t always that easy of course. With emergency savings, retirement savings, and savings for education being a priority, it doesn’t leave much left for travel. That being said however, a small bit of saving is still a saving nonetheless, so make it a habit to do so every opportunity you have.
The Twisties at the petrol station can wait, maybe that trip to a steakhouse can be put on hold for a bit. Every bit that you save adds up. “Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit” is a Malaysian proverb that means even the smallest of things can become mountainous given enough time collecting. So get a special account dedicated to travel saving, chip in when you can, and eventually you’ll have the funds to go travel.
Planning together to make sure
Everyone has a good time
Do your family members have any allergies? Perhaps maybe physical ailments? Or maybe they have a peculiar taste in what they’re interested in. Whatever it is, it’s important to communicate with all members of the family so that the vacation not only goes smoothly, but is fun for everyone involved.
Not taking into account people’s limitations and preferences might make them feel unimportant and left behind, which isn’t something you’d want anyone to feel when you’re going on vacation, so hear them out and plan accordingly. Perhaps there’s something they genuinely want to see? Or maybe their legs are injured and they can’t walk as much. Knowing all this lets you make an informed decision on how the holiday will pan out.
Ensure there’s sufficient downtime in the holiday
It’s a vacation, not a second job
While activities are arguably the most fun part of the holiday, make sure to include days where the family members can relax. Take a day or two in the schedule to just have a walk around shops, take a dip in the swimming pool, or just lay in bed and enjoy the view outside. Having good downtime can help make sure everyone gets the rest they need, which can help make the busier parts of your holiday all that more enjoyable.
You don’t want the holiday to be too stagnant otherwise you might as well just stay home, but you don’t want it to be too busy to the point that it becomes overtly tiring. Strike the right balance and everyone’s gonna have a good time.
Making Time for Your Family
Precious moment for your family
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The modern family:
An unfortunate turn of events
The modern lifestyle is tough on the modern family. With the cost of living getting higher and higher while wages have been relatively stagnant, it’s become a norm to see new families adopt a dual-career lifepath, whereby both parents are working to earn money for the family. Having one parent stay at home while another earns money is no longer a norm, but a luxury. A single paycheck sometimes doesn’t cut it to cover rent, bills, loan payments. And that’s not even including saving for the future like rainy-day funds for emergencies and college tuition money for the children’s future education.
Speaking of the children, the troubles unfortunately are not just exclusive to the parents. Kids are now growing in an ever more straining school environment, where the task of learning gets harder and more complex, while competition amongst students becomes more taxing on their mental health. The only solace they can find sometimes is spending time with family at home, but due to the dual-career nature of families these days, it’s become harder and harder for kids and parents to truly spend meaningful time together, as both parties are just tired and need rest.
It’s an unfortunate circumstance that is neither the fault of the parents nor the children, and as someone who lived in a busy working household myself, I know first hand of the wish of being able to take a step away from it all, even just for a moment. And now that I’ve grown older, now more than ever I realize how important it is
A family vacation:
A refresher everyone needs
While providing financial stability is important for the well-being of the family, there’s something beyond the earnings and upkeep calculations that also needs to be taken into account, and it’s the emotional well-being of the family.
A constant stressful environment every week for 5 days a week is no way to live, and it’s important to realize that every once in a while we should take a step away from work and just focus on enjoying things together as a family.
But I mentioned before that wages have remained largely the same while everything around gets more expensive, so how do we even plan for that?
The hardest part of planning a vacation is
Getting the money to do so
The short answer on how to get money is to save up, but things aren’t always that easy of course. With emergency savings, retirement savings, and savings for education being a priority, it doesn’t leave much left for travel. That being said however, a small bit of saving is still a saving nonetheless, so make it a habit to do so every opportunity you have.
The Twisties at the petrol station can wait, maybe that trip to a steakhouse can be put on hold for a bit. Every bit that you save adds up. “Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit” is a Malaysian proverb that means even the smallest of things can become mountainous given enough time collecting. So get a special account dedicated to travel saving, chip in when you can, and eventually you’ll have the funds to go travel.
Planning together to make sure
Everyone has a good time
Do your family members have any allergies? Perhaps maybe physical ailments? Or maybe they have a peculiar taste in what they’re interested in. Whatever it is, it’s important to communicate with all members of the family so that the vacation not only goes smoothly, but is fun for everyone involved.
Not taking into account people’s limitations and preferences might make them feel unimportant and left behind, which isn’t something you’d want anyone to feel when you’re going on vacation, so hear them out and plan accordingly. Perhaps there’s something they genuinely want to see? Or maybe their legs are injured and they can’t walk as much. Knowing all this lets you make an informed decision on how the holiday will pan out.
Ensure there’s sufficient downtime in the holiday
It’s a vacation, not a second job
While activities are arguably the most fun part of the holiday, make sure to include days where the family members can relax. Take a day or two in the schedule to just have a walk around shops, take a dip in the swimming pool, or just lay in bed and enjoy the view outside. Having good downtime can help make sure everyone gets the rest they need, which can help make the busier parts of your holiday all that more enjoyable.
You don’t want the holiday to be too stagnant otherwise you might as well just stay home, but you don’t want it to be too busy to the point that it becomes overtly tiring. Strike the right balance and everyone’s gonna have a good time.