The Financial Lessons Travel Taught Me

Money Abroad Is Practical — Not Personal

In Thailand, we walked through night markets where not a single person accepted cards. No Stripe readers. No tap-to-pay. No ATMs in sight.

You either had the money or you didn’t — and no one looked at you differently because of it.

There was no shame. No pressure. No performance. Money was simply a tool.

And that stood in sharp contrast to how we treat money in the U.S. We’re judged by what we drive, what we wear, what we order, what we can afford, and what image our spending portrays.

Travel showed me the exact opposite: In most places, people are not watching your wallet — they’re living their life.

Connection Without a Price Tag

Italy taught me one of the biggest non-financial financial lessons I’ve ever learned.

Groups of teenagers would sit outside together for hours — laughing, talking, just… being. Nobody had food. Nobody was buying anything. Nobody was rushing them away. There was zero pressure to “purchase” the right to exist somewhere.

It made me realize:

In America, hanging out is expensive.

• Grab food.
• Grab drinks.
• Grab coffee.
• Grab tickets.
• Grab something.

Here, connection costs money. Overseas, connection is free.

And that difference changed me. It taught me that if money determines whether you can show up, you’re in the wrong environment or the wrong relationships.

The Cultural Difference in Generosity

On our last day in Italy, we offered to pay for lunch — because in America, that’s how we show appreciation. That’s how we express generosity.

But the table looked confused, almost uncomfortable. Not ungrateful, but surprised. As if they were thinking, “Why would you pay for us? Now we owe you something.”

Their reaction taught me something I didn’t even know I needed:

Real generosity is presence, not payment.

In the U.S., we sometimes treat spending as proof of care. Travel taught me that care isn’t transactional.