Relationship & Family

I Dream Of Taking My Parents On A Holiday, But Money Keeps Getting In The Way

My parents have never stepped foot outside our country. Their whole lives were spent working just to make sure there was food on the table for me and my siblings. With five mouths to feed, there was never really a choice. Every day was about survival. Now that they’ve retired, they spend a lot of their time watching Korean dramas. Every now and then, they’ll say things like, “Wah, it’s so beautiful there”, or “Imagine seeing snow in real life”. They don’t say it like a request, but as a passing thought. It’s almost as if they’ve already accepted that it will never happen. I wanted to change that, so I vowed to take them to Korea one day. That was six years ago.At the beginning, I really believed I could do it. I started saving, and had a plan. Then, life changed. When I was out with my friends one day, I met someone. We clicked instantly. We started dating, and after one year, I proposed to her. Since then, everything has been kind of a blur. We were constantly busy – planning the wedding, searching for a home, buying furniture, dealing with renovations. Responsibilities started piling up faster than I could keep up with. The pace picked up dramatically after we got married. You see, shortly after our wedding, my wife became pregnant with twins! And once our children arrived, holidays became the last thing on our minds. Sleep, time, money… everything went into raising them. On top of that, we were trying very hard to excel in our jobs as well. Before we knew it, our savings had disappeared into the wedding, the house, hospital bills (for the delivery), and childcare expenses. Even now, every month feels like a struggle. There’s always something to pay for, or something that needs to be bought. At the end of it all, there is barely anything left to save. Meanwhile, while all this was happening, the years slipped by unnoticed. My parents are older now. Their health is deteriorating. Coughs last longer, their legs tire more easily, and their joints ache more than before. I know I need to plan this trip soon, while they can still walk and enjoy it. But when I checked the cost of flights and hotels, it felt overwhelming.I’m trying to save again, but I don’t know if or when I’ll ever have enough. My parents have given me everything they have and sacrificed so much for us. All I want is to give them this one experience, so they can live out the idyllic dream they’ve only seen on screen.But right now, I can’t even afford that. This article is part of TSS Confessions, a weekly column where we delve into personal finance topics that are unscripted and genuine real accounts from people.