By Lauren Young

NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - If you’re a careful reader of this newsletter, you know that I love reader mail. I actually read (and try to respond) to every message I receive. This week I’m sharing some recent messages from you.

WOULD YOU BLOW YOUR SAVINGS ON A BUCKET-LIST TRIP?

In my last edition, I wrote about a 28-year-old who is using nearly $40,000 in savings to travel around the U.S. and cheer on England in the World Cup.

Since then, we also published an article about another fan who is traveling around to seven European countries to attend watch parties with locals for an authentic experience.

Here are some slightly edited comments from readers about travel and mini-retirements.

JUST DO IT

On June 7, I was watching videos on YouTube by the Canadian early music ensembleConstantinople. On a whim, I looked up their concert tour for 2026 — pretty sure that a Canadian group with an Iranian leader wasn't going to be giving any performances in the U.s. To my surprise, Constantinople was giving a concert in Turkey’s Grand Bazaar on June 21. My 80th birthday was June 25.

I told my wife about my crazy plan, and she said, "Do it!" I flew to Istanbul for the June 21 concert, and many other activities including a day-long boat trip to two of Prince's Islands, a three-hour workshop on Ebru (Turkish paper marbling) and a food tour.

The Constantinople concert was a peak life experience, and the whole trip was wonderful. Total cost — including airfare, hotel for seven nights, meals, several excursions and gifts for friends and family — was just over $3,600.

This was perhaps the most impulsive thing I have done, and I don't regret a penny spent. At the age of 80, I don't know how long I will be able physically or mentally to do things like this, but depleting my retirement savings is among the least of my concerns. I can't take the money with me, so why not broaden my life experiences while I am able to do so?

— Selden Deemer, Dahlonega, Georgia

SEE THE WORLD

From the perspective of an 83-year-old who still works 60-hour weeks, is active mentally, married 49 years to the love of my life and loves playing softball with guys one-third of my age:

If I were 28, single and had $40,000 in the bank or buried in the backyard, I would make that trip in a heartbeat!

A trip like this, taken in one’s youth, can have greater impact than a college education.

Such a trip, if not spent in pubs every day and night, would expand one’s perspective on life and the world and could get you to think beyond the borders of the town or neighborhood where you live.

Besides, you could meet and converse with people with different ideas, see incredible architecture, learn that other ways of doing things can work – and see what does not work or does not work well.

It’s like spending $40,000 for four years at Harvard or Yale!

While I may not agree with every Gen Z point of view, this one shows great wisdom and perspective. Society, in my opinion, has this retirement thing backwards.

Go out. See the world. Do stuff when you are young and physically able. You have plenty of time to chain yourself to the plow later.

— Jim Tewalt, Glendale, Arizona

SAVINGS ARE KEY

If this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and you have a good income and a roof over your head, the answer is yes.

Leaving yourself without any back up "just-in-case" cash at hand? Definitely no!

You will otherwise find yourself taking loans at staggering interest rates, possibly having to sell treasured items and turning the memories of that fantastic trip into self-recrimination.

— Maureen Boost, Hong Kong

DON’T DO IT

Would I blow my savings on a bucket list trip? Heavens, no!

At 77, I have worked and saved my entire life — a practice I learned from my Depression-era parents. They didn't even have credit cards for many years.

I do spend chunks of money traveling, but only because I know I have the funds for it. I know I could never even enjoy a trip if I knew I was blowing my budget.

I think this is a problem for this generation. They feel entitled and were probably spoiled by indulgent parents. These kids are obviously not considering their future. Do they have a decent job? Are they saving with every paycheck? Probably not, but they will probably not be able to enjoy the kind of retirement I am able to have because of diligent savings.

— Judi Boyer Bouchard, McCormick, South Carolina

TAKE THE LEAP

Writing in response to your piece on mini-retirement in the recent On The Money newsletter.

I've done this myself and have been thinking a lot about why more people don't.

What surprised me is that the hardest part wasn't necessarily the financial planning, it was the uncertainty of what came next. A sabbatical where you know you're returning to the same employer is one thing. Walking away without knowing what job, career, or country comes next is another. Even when you've saved enough money, the question of "What happens after?" hangs over the entire experience. Will I be able to find another job? Will I even want to go back to the same industry? In an increasingly competitive job market, I suspect that fear keeps a lot of people from ever taking the leap.

The financial barriers are real, too, particularly in the United States. Most discussions focus on whether you can save enough money, but I think it's often the fixed obligations that stop people. Student loan payments, rent or mortgages, car payments and healthcare costs don't disappear when you stop working. For many Americans, carrying student debt while also losing employer-sponsored health insurance and needing to purchase private coverage makes an extended break feel out of reach, even if they've accumulated meaningful savings.

I find the term "mini-retirement" a little funny because it's essentially a sabbatical or career break. Extended breaks from work are fairly common in parts of Europe, but in the U.S. we've built a culture around continuous career progression. Taking six months off can feel like a major life decision rather than a fairly normal thing people do between chapters of their careers.

I wonder if part of the growing interest comes from millennials and Gen Z questioning the traditional retirement model altogether. Many people aren't convinced retirement will work out the way it did for previous generations. There's anxiety around healthcare costs, housing affordability and whether programs like Social Security will provide the same support decades from now. At the same time, we're told to save aggressively, buy a home and keep climbing professionally. It creates a strange tension where people delay experiences today for a retirement that feels increasingly uncertain.

— Michel Russo, currently traveling in Nepal