Have you ever gone on a trip you knew you couldn't afford?

[smmco]

I guess my thing is not necessarily having debt, but spending money on an expensive trip, when I could be using that money elsewhere. Or running the risk of spending that money on the trip and then needing it later.

If you put it that way then yes. Every trip I've been on I could have put the money in savings. Life is short and I love to travel. I put 10% of my income into my 401k. I keep a modest emergency fund, keep debt under control and don't really worry about the "what if's" in life. You can't control everything.

 

[barkley]

If you put it that way then yes. Every trip I've been on I could have put the money in savings. Life is short and I love to travel. I put 10% of my income into my 401k. I keep a modest emergency fund, keep debt under control and don't really worry about the "what if's" in life. You can't control everything.

i agree to some extent, but while you don't have to constantly worry about the 'what if's' it's good to have them in the back of your head while you DO have some control to plan/prepare vs. losing all control if something WAY out of control happens.

i'm the cautionary 'what if'-totally and completely disabled in my early 40's, then WHAM 7 years later dh is in the same boat-and we've got 2 still young kids at the time. did we do vacations before all this came down? yeah but not as many as we probably would have liked. do i regret those missed vacations? not one bit. before i became disabled i saw too many people who never did any 'in case' planning applying to me for public assistance (people who in the early 90's that had been earning six figure incomes-not minimum wage folks who fell on bad times). i never wanted to be in that situation or worry that if something came down my kids would have to deal with whatever it was along with having to be ripped from their home/school b/c we couldn't make the mortgage. so yeah, my kids don't have near the vacation memories i read allot of people posting about but they also don't have horrible memories of huge adverse lifestyle changes when first mom then dad couldn't go to work anymore.

small emergency funds are great but they run out quick when huge scary emergencies come along. retirement savings at 10% is great if you started in your 20's, have all the numbers of years to continue to contribute to it....have all your ducks in a row re. debt/ideally mortgage free at retirement and only have a retirement lifetime of what is 'the norm' but if any one of those don't happen-you could be living on much less than you anticipate/need and at a time when you don't have the option to earn let alone save more.

 

[lovin'fl]

Nope

 

[rosegoldmonorail]

i was reading the first page of this thread and LOLing about the fact that most people were in their 20s when they did this, because i'm in the same boat.

i just took a solo trip which i thought i could afford, but then i upgraded to the annual pass and probably spent too much on souvenirs, so now i have a little bit of credit card debt, but it was oh so worth it...

 

[hsmamato2]

No. When we were younger,and first married we had less money. So we took trips we could afford.(we learned to camp for example) Lots of fond memories doing things like that. Our trips have gotten way better and more involved over the years,but not in debt. I usually piece things together as I plan along,and I've never experienced being on vacation somewhere and worrying about paying it all off. I don't think I could force myself to do that. IMHO there are all types of trips etc one can take,some cheap,some pricey,and I've only ever been comfortable doing things within our budget.

 

[MrsPete]

How did it affect you? Why did you make the decision to go, as opposed to saving the money for other things?

*This post is not meant to bash, just a question.

No. When we were first married (and we married young), we made savings a priority. I've never been sorry for that:

- We had a couple small trips in the first years we were married. All low budget, which was fine. At that point, it was exciting just to be married, out on our own, and making our way in the world.
- We didn't really want to travel while our kids were small. Too much effort, and they wouldn't have remembered it anyway. We all need rest and downtime, but we don't need to do that away from home. We saved, saved, saved.
- By the time the kids were finishing elementary school, we saw solid results of our savings: We were debt-free, including our house and cars. We had money in the bank for college, and we had a good start on retirement.
- We traveled a great deal while the kids were in middle school and high school, and the timing was perfect. They were old enough to withstand the rigors of long car trips and could remember the trips later. It was also a great age for family bonding ... and although our youngest is still in college /our oldest is married and working, we are an exceptionally close family. I can't relate to the "kids are gone" thing.
- As we approach retirement (early retirement), we look forward to doing some traveling ... and we intend to invite the kids /future grandkids on a family vacation every three years.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Yes - more than once (if you consider relying on carrying credit card debt in the 'can't afford' category). Some of the choices I regret, some I do not but I would consider using debt to finance a vacation.

Life is short - pursue what makes you happy. For some, it is impossible to be happy while carrying revolving debt (like credit cards, personal loans, etc).

One thing I try to keep in mind while balancing short-term versus long-term planning, is that money may have a good return on investment, but time and health sadly don't always work out that way. Kids are only young once - for some that means prioritizing spending on things like Disney vacations now, but for others that means saving up and skipping those vacations in order to save more for college and/or earlier retirement.

Make the choice that brings you the most joy

 

[Keli]

No, I guess I haven't ever went on a trip I knew I couldn't afford. During our very lean years we didn't go on vacation at all. Then when things were a little less tight we started visiting family in other states (always by invitation though, didn't just barge in on them), then we started going to places we knew wouldn't be too expensive for our budget. And then we saved everything for over a year and took our daughter to disney. We were able to do that trip one more time a couple years later and now we've made several trips with her and her family as an adult. I hate that she had so few 'awesome' vacations as a kid but it was the best we could do with the finances we had at the time and I am certain that going into debt when we had so little disposable income anyway would have resulted in a very difficult time for us after we got home.

 

[georgina]

No, I guess I haven't ever went on a trip I knew I couldn't afford. During our very lean years we didn't go on vacation at all. Then when things were a little less tight we started visiting family in other states (always by invitation though, didn't just barge in on them), then we started going to places we knew wouldn't be too expensive for our budget. And then we saved everything for over a year and took our daughter to disney. We were able to do that trip one more time a couple years later and now we've made several trips with her and her family as an adult. I hate that she had so few 'awesome' vacations as a kid but it was the best we could do with the finances we had at the time and I am certain that going into debt when we had so little disposable income anyway would have resulted in a very difficult time for us after we got home.

Our only family vacations when I was a kid were camping trips within about a 2 hour driving radius of our home. It just wasn't possible for a family of 8 without a lot of funds to do much else. Don't feel bad about your daughter's vacations! I did not go to WDW until I was 36 and my kids were 8, 6, and 3.5. Before that we visited my in-laws in the summer at their cottage on a lake for vacation. Eventually we bought a pop-up camper and took that out west to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Mt Rushmore, took it to Maine, even camped at Ft Wilderness. As money situation improved we did more trips. The kids can travel as adults when they can pay for it. I think they will be happy we saved and won't be dependent on them to house us in our old age.

 

[smmco]

It sounds like op can afford it, but may be feeling guilty or uncomfortable with it. I remember feeling that way about our first big expensive trip. I came home feeling it was worth every penny. You won’t know unless you do it.

 

[Pooh2]

Nope. The only thing we've financed are the house and cars.

 

[Carrie Ellis]

Vacations are like having kids...if you wait until you feel like you are set and can afford them, you will never have them!
But, you do need to be responsible and somewhat secure.
We started going to Disney (my own family, I did go as kid too) my kids were 9, 9, 4 and 4. We bought an older model RV and got a campsite at Fort Wilderness for $29/night (they allowed a 40% military discount back then). I found the best deal on tickets and we conserved on how many time we ate in the parks. We had a blast!

We went about every other year after that. We did buy a newer RV. But, I still found the cheapest (but fun) way to go with the biggest bang for our buck!

My kids are now 22, 22, 18 and 18. The imagination, discovery and fun (family fun) has shaped their lives. I see it now. My oldest is almost done with school and will be an engineer who's dream is to work for NASA. He has always love Mission Space and rode it 100s of times! My 2nd oldest is in Animation and has a internship at Disney this summer.

My third loves animals and Biology.

My fourth is considering with Branch in the military. He is a daredevil and will ride crazy roller coasters over and over.

Besides family time, I do believe the trips were an investment in my children's education and dreams!

I always tried to be wise and smart with how much we spent but there were times we probably could have paid off a bill!

 

[Searc]

No, I guess I haven't ever went on a trip I knew I couldn't afford. During our very lean years we didn't go on vacation at all. Then when things were a little less tight we started visiting family in other states (always by invitation though, didn't just barge in on them), then we started going to places we knew wouldn't be too expensive for our budget. And then we saved everything for over a year and took our daughter to disney. We were able to do that trip one more time a couple years later and now we've made several trips with her and her family as an adult. I hate that she had so few 'awesome' vacations as a kid but it was the best we could do with the finances we had at the time and I am certain that going into debt when we had so little disposable income anyway would have resulted in a very difficult time for us after we got home.

I was a kid who didn't go on vacations when I was young. A single mother raising three kids alone doesn't have the disposable income to go anywhere. I will be honest that now as an adult who is financially comfortable, I appreciate each and every vacation we go on so much more because I've been on the other side. Our kids have grown up *much* different than I did and somewhat take it for granted that people take nice vacations a couple times a year.

 

[Minnesota!]

Texas Tech is in the Final Four and we made it happen even thought it was not planned or budgeted for. Airline tickets were stupid prices on such short notice, but we weren’t missing it. We’re here now and don’t regret it one bit!!

Hope you enjoyed my state! Sorry you guys lost I was pulling for you!

OP - yes, I have. And would do it again. 99% of the time, the trip is paid for in full, or the money is within the next paycheck to cover it. However, I live by the "live now, make money later" motto, so I don't stress about. Life is toooooo short. Make memories while you can.

 

[StowellClan]

Yes, I've had things come up that threw a wrench into planning...sometimes we cancel, sometimes we go forward and make a plan to pay it off.

For example, I had a business trip to Tokyo last year (first out of country business trip) and had plans for 5 nights of "vacation" after the work portion of the trip...including visiting Disney. The month before the trip, our car needed major repairs and we got hit with a huge dental bill for one of the kids that killed our savings and my trip budget...I did not stay at Disney hotels, switched to something less expensive but within reasonable walking distance and changed to capsule hotels for my nights in the city...so did find some ways to reduce the cost; but the opportunity was too great to pass up. Other times we've cancelled...including our Dec 2018 trip when we were told our Suburban needed a new engine (luckily they just this week decided that should have been paid for by our warranty so rescheduled for this year!). Just really depends on the situation.

 

[PerfessorZ]

Yes. It starts in 2 days.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Yes, I've had things come up that threw a wrench into planning...sometimes we cancel, sometimes we go forward and make a plan to pay it off.

For example, I had a business trip to Tokyo last year (first out of country business trip) and had plans for 5 nights of "vacation" after the work portion of the trip...including visiting Disney. The month before the trip, our car needed major repairs and we got hit with a huge dental bill for one of the kids that killed our savings and my trip budget...I did not stay at Disney hotels, switched to something less expensive but within reasonable walking distance and changed to capsule hotels for my nights in the city...so did find some ways to reduce the cost; but the opportunity was too great to pass up. Other times we've cancelled...including our Dec 2018 trip when we were told our Suburban needed a new engine (luckily they just this week decided that should have been paid for by our warranty so rescheduled for this year!). Just really depends on the situation.

Yeah, I can definitely see doing a "work-around" for this kind of special circumstance--what were the chances that another opportunity like that was going to come along? For a typical Disney trip, I'd be more inclined to cancel/postpone.

 

[georgina]

Vacations are like having kids...if you wait until you feel like you are set and can afford them, you will never have them!

I really disagree with this statement. Vacations don't have to mean Disney World trips, good family time can be had much less expensively. It's nice you feel your trips encouraged your kids dreams, I became an engineer without ever going to Disney. So many people just can't afford it.

 

[FutureDisneyEventPlanner]

I really disagree with this statement. Vacations don't have to mean Disney World trips, good family time can be had much less expensively. It's nice you feel your trips encouraged your kids dreams, I became an engineer without ever going to Disney. So many people just can't afford it.

I don't think she was insinuating you only have to take Disney trips, more just talking about any vacation. At least, that's how I took it.

 

[Darcy03231]

Yes, when my best friend was diagnosed with a terminal illness. we were both young. We did her dream trip and I put it all on a credit card. Took me a couple of years (and a second job) to pay it off, but I don't regret it at all.