Yea blowing 20 grand (or more) on a round the world trip is terrible financial advice. If I would of bought that house in Palo Alto instead of traveling I'd have much higher net worth. But all the financial things eventually worked out (house, college, savings).

So blowing your savings in your 20s or 30s on a cool trip is not financially traumatic. It's just not financially wise. But wtf ... its the greatest time in the history of the universe to be a nerd. If you are reading HN, you have been gifted the amazing ability to abstract. Which means you can earn a decent living. So why not travel while you can? All that responsibility shit will still be there waiting for you!