How a Build Trip to El Salvador Completely Changed My Life Perspective on Money

Still smiling and giving on $5 a month.

Memories and new learnings get ingrained over time and often become second nature to us. Every day, as a writer and a badminton coach, I have to remind myself that what’s common sense for me isn’t the same for everyone else.

Sometimes, I forget how unique some of my experiences have been.

Recently, I was sitting with a friend and my brother at a restaurant, talking about how various badminton players spend a bunch of money traveling to foreign countries to play tournaments.

The topic eventually shifted to a recent tournament in El Salvador and whether it was worth it for someone to travel there.

My friend asked about what it was like in El Salvador and was surprised to hear I’d been there. I later read a comment on my article about a person’s experience traveling to Singapore, which made me think about the lessons I learned from the trip.

Hence, here I am writing about my experience traveling to El Salvador and how it completely changed my life perspective on money.

A Rocky Start

It all started on February 5, 2022. I went to the airport early in the morning to travel to El Salvador.

The trip was created as a part of a company initiative from the auction house I used to work at, Concierge Auctions. To help those in need, our company would donate part of the proceeds we collected from successful auctions to an organization called Giveback Homes.

This non-profit organization builds affordable homes for those in need, and I had the opportunity to join them on a trip to El Salvador to build homes.

It was the first time in my life that I ventured outside of my travel comfort zone. Before this trip, I had only been to Canada, China, the United States, and Mexico.

Canada is where I was born, and I have family in China. The latter two are typical tourist destinations.

El Salvador, however, was new. A charitable build trip was also something I had never participated in either.

But I was always willing to try new experiences and leaped to join this build trip.

It was early 2022, and pandemic restrictions had just started getting lifted. Travel was now permitted to various countries, although with significant preventive measures in place.

I rarely managed my travel plans before joining Concierge Auctions, which left me unprepared that year. My failure to look into specific requirements had me rushing and spending extra money on taking COVID tests I should have gotten earlier.

Thus, despite arriving more than three hours early, I was rushing last minute to get COVID test results and running to the security gates.

My travel problems, however, didn’t end there.

I was inexperienced in traveling and had the habit of dressing semi-professionally since I was in real estate.

So I pulled up in black jeans that were tight around the waist, and when we were faced with multiple flight delays, I developed a terribly uncomfortable case of bloatedness.

With multiple layovers and flight changes, it took me over 12 hours to get to El Salvador. My coworker and I were the two last people to arrive.

Heading To the Hotel

Once I got to El Salvador, however, the trip went smoothly. Fortunately, My discomfort faded after sleeping for hours on the plane flight, and customs was a pretty smooth process.

What hit me when I first landed was how warm it was. It was a huge contrast compared to the February winter weather in my hometown, Calgary.

The winter jacket immediately had to come off, and once again, the jeans were a poor decision as I began sweating from the heat. Luckily, the van was air-conditioned and made for a very comfortable ride.

It was completely dark outside when we made our way to the hotel. The ride was approximately 40 minutes, and I couldn’t see anything apart from the occasional food stand.

I ended up drifting off to sleep before finally arriving at the hotel. Our accommodation was wonderful.

Though I couldn’t see anything, I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks underneath the dining deck and feel the warm tropical winds blowing. It was a teaser of what the area looked like during the day.

The Beautiful Landscapes of El Salvador

The next day, I woke up to a phenomenal sight.

The sounds and feels of last night now revealed everything in its full color. Watching the waves and the sunrise was highly therapeutic.

I spent a good 10 minutes just taking everything in before heading down for breakfast and preparing to embark on our build trip.

When everyone was ready, we hopped on the van that brought us here and went to the building site.

On this trip, we built homes for a community without running water or electricity. The living conditions were unlike anything I had seen in person.

Their homes had leaky roofs that didn’t protect the people from torrential rainstorms during El Salvador’s rainy seasons.

Most of these families lived in extreme poverty, with some only earning $5 per month. It starkly contrasted what I was used to — the multi-millionaires and billionaires buying luxury real estate.

Many families were too poor even to send their children to school. And for those that did go, it was a 40-minute walk down the mountain every morning and afternoon.

It truly made me rethink my conveniences and helped me learn to be grateful for all the little things.

Smiling Regardless of Your Condition

But beyond being grateful, the community’s residents taught me a more important life principle from their actions and demeanor.

Even though they had no running water, no money, and no electricity, they welcomed us with open arms and offered whatever hospitality they could.

The residents were not desperate. They didn’t complain or beg. They tirelessly worked through their conditions and still found opportunities to smile and be happy.

It completely reshaped my life perspective on money and living.

Previously, I had grown up in a family where it felt like money was everything. When I was in middle school, my parents fought and nearly divorced because of money.

I was taught that you cannot have a good life without money, and thus came my obsession with earning money.

While I’m grateful to have started my financial education early, money became a problem. I was stressed every day and became very self-centered.

It was the end of the world if I wasn’t earning enough. And I wasn’t making enough.

My trip to El Salvador taught me that my money problem was just in my head. Sure, I couldn’t afford certain things if I didn’t have enough money.

But that didn’t mean it was the end of the world.

Seeing how El Salvador residents could still live and be happy without money made me question the importance and necessity of my purchases.

When I can’t afford something, it’s a simple matter of saving and continuing to work towards it. I don’t need to stress and take unnecessary risks when I’m not thinking clearly.

If you have $100 and lost $10, don’t throw away the other $90. Going for more is great, but always cherish what you already have.

All Problems Are Relative

And so I left El Salvador with a new mindset. The trip back was just as rocky as the start, but the problems didn’t impact me as much as before.

My colleague and I got the wrong COVID tests and spent $250 to get the proper one that allowed us back in Canada. One of our flights had also been canceled that day, leaving us stranded in Denver for a night.

But none of that mattered. Solve the problem and move on. All our problems are relative.