Savings or?

I know a lot of people would probably say, “You need to find a balance,” and I completely understand that. I guess what I’m struggling with is figuring out what that balance actually looks like for me, because ever since I was a teenager, my mindset has always been to save aggressively.

Just for context, we currently have around ₱20M in investment assets, we own our house and cars, and our only debt is our home mortgage. If I continue saving at our current rate, we should potentially be mortgage-free in around 5–6 years.

I’m 36 now and left my job last January. We’re currently living in our vacation home, and I can save around ₱115k a month. We also have two young kids, both under 4.

This coming summer, I’ve been thinking about whether we should spend a little more and do something different as a family. Originally, I thought we would just stay in Manila for a month because we currently live in the province, and I wanted to expose the kids to more activities and experiences.

But then I started thinking… what if we spent that month in Vietnam instead? From what I’ve seen, our money could go a long way there, and it would also give the kids the opportunity to experience another country and culture while they’re still young. We’d likely bring our nanny as well.

The thing is, I estimate it could cost around ₱150k–₱200k for the month. And because I’ve always been very focused on saving, spending that amount still makes me hesitate.

I’m not looking to splurge or justify unnecessary spending. I genuinely want to be more mindful about finding a healthy balance between building our financial future and actually enjoying life with our kids while they’re little.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you spend the ₱150k–₱200k for a month in Vietnam, or would you just stay in Manila/province and save the money?

I’d really appreciate some honest, practical perspectives. I think keeping this debate in my own head isn’t helping 😂. Thank you!