I’ll gross around $170 this year. I’ve got the money, but I’ve been trying to pay down the house. Any money that goes towards vacation does not go towards the house.
I’ll gross around $170 this year. I’ve got the money, but I’ve been trying to pay down the house. Any money that goes towards vacation does not go towards the house.
I would recommend getting on a mothership and going to some small private island in the middle of nowhere for a couple of weeks so that you can get away from the riff raff. Will only set you back about $10k a week.
No more than 3 months salary.
$164,000 is too much money for a vacation. In my opinion.
It;s totally individual.
comedyrelief wrote:
I would recommend getting on a mothership and going to some small private island in the middle of nowhere for a couple of weeks so that you can get away from the riff raff. Will only set you back about $10k a week.
Wait $10k a week is a lot? Is that per person? Cause my wife can drop that on a weekend in Seattle.
I think the number changes over time. I am moderately frugal and pay down my mortgage excessively. Being truly debt free is almost a compulsion for me. So some years, I don't take expensive vacations at all - just driving distance trips.
But in recent years, I have seen more and more friends or colleagues drop dead unexpectedly or be diagnosed with cancer. While part of that is just my place in life at age 47, it is still a stark reminder that tomorrow is never promised.
We should plan for the future, but I now try to balance that with trying to enjoy the present some as well. So, whenever I can afford it, my family of 5 flies out west for 3 days of skiing in the Rockies each winter. This "buy experiences, not things" approach is about as millennial as I get at my age.
What does "whenever I can afford it" mean? It means that if I can continue to pay all of my bills in the same accelerated manner, fully fund my retirement account, pay for any necessary home renovations, and still maintain an emergency fund and a bit of a discretionary fund, then I will take the trip.
If you only make $170, you shouldn’t be going anywhere
You may be an attorney and from what I've read, a pretty nice guy...but don't let life past you by. Just hit 50. Taking vacations as much as possible. Life is far too short. Lost 3 friends this year already to Cancer, all were younger than me!
Anything can happen, but why work as an attorney and be so compulsive about paying your house down----it's not worth it. Experience more of life and the world whether you drive or fly. Trust me, we've learned it the hard way.
It's your life, live it the way you want, but if you find out that you are expiring quicker than you expected, you'll have regrets as my friends did and it was sad to hear them actually say it near the end.
I travel a lot. Here are two examples from this year:
Round trip flight to Mexico City: $199
Cheap hotel in slightly bad area: $15/night
Meals: $15 per day
Cabs, metro tickets: $50 total
or
Round trip to Naples, Italy: $1200
7 nights on Amalfi coast: $1150
Trains, ferries, taxis etc: $150
Food: $40/day
Both trips were very good.
Pointing out the obvious here, but if there is money that would bring more benefit spent elsewhere, then don’t let anyone talk you into spending it on travel.
There is a whole travel and tourism industry trying to convince you that there is something special, about being there rather than here. They want you to feel that you are enriching yourself and becoming somehow a classier person.
They also want to tell you that you are “making memories”.
So y’gotta figure out whether there’s anything real in it for you.
I’ve worked so many jobs in pricey resort towns, and to me, it really is whipped cream on a turd. Everyone wants to take a piece of your money, and delta airlines gets its cut, and enterprise rentacar gets its cut, and marriott turdside has its hand out, not to even mention some awful ziplining adventure company.
I can think of better things to do with money, other than eat overpriced waffles in sedona. Or heidelberg, for that matter.
Sorry so grumpy, but that’s how i roll sometimes!
I'd venture you could get some great, last minute deals for a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
If it’s just you or you and spouse, I’d keep it under $10-12k. I once took wife and two kids to Europe after high school and it cost about $25k. That is likely a once in lifetime trip altogether but, my logic was we may not all have time to do it together some day. College begins, jobs and marriages may make it impossible. Memories will last a lifetime. That means more to me than a paid mortgage.
Just don't drink from the complimentary mini-bar and you'll be fine unless you're a retired major league baseball player.
I like to travel, so I always spend much money on vacations. However, there are many ways to travel cheap. For example book accommodation in advance and look for last-minute offers https://travelsites.com/last-minute-travel/
I kinda agree. Taking a whiny 4-year-old to Disneyworld is just stupid. On the other hand, making memories with kids is important, but you don't have to travel to Europe to do it. To a kid, a campground 50 miles away can be as memorable as a trip to Europe or wherever.
Frugality wrote:
I’ll gross around $170 this year. I’ve got the money, but I’ve been trying to pay down the house. Any money that goes towards vacation does not go towards the house.
Nice HUMBLEBRAG!
After having traveled to a lot of places solo for various reasons, I would agree. After awhile the whole thing becomes transparent and you see these things sticking out and it makes the experience a bit tainted.
But then if you refocus on what you came there to do... it's not bad.
The way to beat all of this is to actually put your trip in a cultural or natural context. You want to make it a challenge and bike your way through a country? Go for it. You want to meet people more genuinely? Then put in the prior work to be decent at the local language.
If you're just gonna be lazy and throw money at stuff... it's not gonna be a deep experience.
But you can have deep experiences... let's say you bike down the coast and you stop at small towns. You put the hours in to learn the local language. You're chilling at a small beach town and meet a cool local who invites you to a party. You meet a hot local girl at the party, have a great conversation in the local language, and hook up. That's kinda cool.
Next month I'm taking my family on our first long and expensive vacation. My teenage sons decided they want to go to Southern California so to paraphrase "golden monkey" Marriott, Delta, Enterprise will get a piece of my money. I've been frugal long enough, and have only driven to Northeast USA destinations, and haven't really thought about how much this trip will cost. But it is not too much and I want my family to enjoy.
This is partly a result of inheriting money from a relative who never spent money nor traveled.
Go camping
Cheap and fun
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