Should I Practice Delayed Gratification Again?

One of the things that I have been wanting to do again since the pandemic started was to get to travel solo again. It is why every time I set my goals, I always make sure to add something that involves traveling, like setting aside a small amount for my travel fund.

The first time I got to travel solo was when I went to Sagada, Mountain Province, more than 3 years ago, around July of the year 2019. I was only 19 years old at that time and the feeling was surreal so I told myself that I want to do more of it in the future. And the second time I got to travel on my own was when I decided to spend my 20th birthday last December 2019 by hiking Mt. Pulag in Benguet. When I conquered the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines, I thought I was already brave enough to explore more of the Philippines on my own. So I planned again for my solo travel for the year 2020 but suddenly, Covid19 happened and we were left with no choice but to stay in our homes.

And after more than 2 years, we are free to roam around again without any travel restrictions. And it is why I also wanted to travel to Cebu this year, supposedly last September, and I even had enough savings for that trip already. However, because I chose to practice delayed gratification, I decided to use the money I saved to add to my initial capital for the Piggery Business that I put up last April.

Now, after achieving both of my financial goals of earning and saving a total of 250,000 pesos before the year ends and putting up a small but thriving business, I am thinking that it is probably okay now to practice instant gratification since I feel like I deserve to be rewarded for all of my hard work this year.

I have a separate 20,000 pesos savings intended as a fund to celebrate my 23rd birthday this December, and I will spend it however I like. Obviously, I want to spend that money traveling and I want to travel to Baguio City or Benguet for a week or two this coming month. There are still a lot of places I want to visit in the province like the Northern Blossom Flower Farm in Atok, Benguet, and hiking at Mt. Ulap in Itogon, Benguet.

Now, my dilemma is if I should really go for my plan of traveling up to the mountains or if I should practice delayed gratification again and just save the money or use it to add to my business capital or invest it in crypto.

I don't know but my mindset now is that it's okay if I don't get to do the things I want now as long as I'm doing something that my future self will thank me for, like the usual "Suffer now, Enjoy later." I also read before that it's okay if you don't spend money on something that will make you feel happy for a short time but you're investing it on something that will benefit you in the long run. But I think it's also okay to spend money on something that you can cherish forever, like creating priceless memories through traveling and trying new things.

Anyway, my 23rd birthday is still a month from now so I still have a week or two to decide if I should go or not. But I feel like I will still go so I'll just start searching for the places I will visit and prepare an itinerary, or I'll just do it spontaneously. But whatever I decide to do, I hope my future self will thank me.