how do you decide if you can afford a vacation?

[marielynn724]

How do you all determine whether or not you can afford a vacation? I'm trying to decide right now if DH & I can squeeze in another trip pre-babies (no kids yet, but will happen in the next year or two). We are currently renting an apartment but are trying to save up to buy a condo or townhouse. We have about $35,000 in savings and a trip budget would be about $2000. Is this reasonable???

 

[OhMari]

Depends where you want to stay.

I have a vacation fund. I put a certain amount in my account each week. If I get anything extra, I will put it into this account. I usually feel comfortable with about $4,000. But we fly to our destination, rent a vehicle, usually stay at a Mod or a deluxe. We do have our tickets and we did include the Dining Plan last time.

I know some people will stay off site and eat off site, which can cut down on prices considerable. But then you need transportation and parking is $15 a day.

 

[burnurcomputer]

Take the vacation and enjoy yourself!!!! When you have a child you life changes and alone time becomes precious and rare.

You have a nice hunk saved and there is nothing wrong with enjoying yourself.

 

[wiigirl]

Take the vacation and enjoy yourself!!!! When you have a child you life changes and alone time becomes precious and rare.

You have a nice hunk saved and there is nothing wrong with enjoying yourself.

 

[CluelessDisFan]

Baby moon it up!

 

[mrsklamc]

Go.

I didn't have a lot of grand dreams in life, but one of them was to go to Hawaii before we had kids.

Then I got cancer, and we had to pay for that. Then we had to pay for infertility treatments. I'm expecting our first child and we've been told it has a 99% chance of having Down Syndrome. Our insurance is not that great, so this may mean we never go on a vacation again, period. No matter how much you save, it may never be 'enough.' Just go.

 

[pryncess527]

How do you all determine whether or not you can afford a vacation? I'm trying to decide right now if DH & I can squeeze in another trip pre-babies (no kids yet, but will happen in the next year or two). We are currently renting an apartment but are trying to save up to buy a condo or townhouse. We have about $35,000 in savings and a trip budget would be about $2000. Is this reasonable???

In general, I'll say you only live once and it sounds like you can afford to squeeze in one more pre-baby vacation.

But I think if I were in your shoes it would depend on a few things:

1. What is the target amount you need/want for a downpayment based on housing costs in your area?
2. What is your time frame for moving into a house?
3. Can you spend 2k on the vacation and still meet the target amount within the time frame?

35k would be a great downpayment here -- and so would 33k, so I wouldn't hesitate to spend the money on a vacation especially if I wasn't planning on buying in the next 6 months anyway -- but I know 35k is no where near enough of a downpayment for people in other areas of the country, so to me this question really depends on whether or not the vacation will put you back on the house saving goals and if you are okay with that trade off.

 

[CupcakeKelly]

I don't touch our regular savings for vacations. We decide that we want to take a trip at a point in the future, develop a budget, and figure out how much needs to be saved per week to reach that goal. I plan my trips at least a year out (for major trips like Disney) so I'm not dipping into any emergency funds for trips.

 

[Marionnette]

How do you all determine whether or not you can afford a vacation? I'm trying to decide right now if DH & I can squeeze in another trip pre-babies (no kids yet, but will happen in the next year or two). We are currently renting an apartment but are trying to save up to buy a condo or townhouse. We have about $35,000 in savings and a trip budget would be about $2000. Is this reasonable???

We have a vacation savings fund which is totally separate from all other forms of savings.

Is that $35K your total savings or is it just your house fund? Do you have a separate emergency fund? Will the $2K for vacation come out of that money or from somewhere else? There's a big difference between the $2K delaying the purchase of your new home by several months vs. just a month. Especially if there are baby-making plans in the works.

Ultimately, it will be up to the two of you to determine how important a couples-only getaway is. There are a lot of people who will YOLO you. But if I were in your shoes, I'd get the house first and then determine if I could stash some cash aside each month for a quick Disney trip before parenthood sets in. However, homeownership was the highest priority for me and my husband and it was a goal that we both wanted to meet before our first child even became a consideration.

 

[ssawka]

How long have you been married? Do you have enough saved in case one of you lose your job? Could you consider a less expensive vacation closer to home?

If you are wondering about the first question, I am a firm believer that couples need to establish themselves as a married couple before they have children. I believe taking vacations is a great way to start on that goal. DW and I are very close and I think a lot of that is because of shared experiences, many of which happened on vacations.

On other piece of advice... I'm not really sure what the market is in your area, but I would save for at least a townhouse. Typically condos do not appreciate, unless you are in a touristy area.

 

[disykat]

I would go, but make it a budget trip so I could keep shunting as much cash into savings as possible. I'd probably stick closer to home. If I didn't want to do a budget trip, I'd make cuts at home for a while to make up some of the difference.

 

[crisi]

I can be really type A about such things, so in your case I'd take your two big goals - baby and house, and put them on a timeline with how much you will need in order to get them. Then I'd put your starting savings $35k, and how much you save each month. Subtract any expenses you see coming up (like if you normally end up paying in taxes). If you have more money for baby house when you are going to need them, you can afford the trip, if you have less, you can't. And that assumes that in addition to that savings, you have what sswaka recommends - some money set aside for a job loss or other emergency - at least a few months.

Our savings goals are college for the kids and retirement, if we are ahead of schedule on having those two items paid for - and no upcoming large expenses (needing a new car, furniture, work on the house) then we can afford whatever "want" expense.

Then the next step is to decide which of our many wants we should pursue. Because it isn't always vacation.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Go.

I didn't have a lot of grand dreams in life, but one of them was to go to Hawaii before we had kids.

Then I got cancer, and we had to pay for that. Then we had to pay for infertility treatments. I'm expecting our first child and we've been told it has a 99% chance of having Down Syndrome. Our insurance is not that great, so this may mean we never go on a vacation again, period. No matter how much you save, it may never be 'enough.' Just go.

Congratulation on beating cancer and congratulations on your baby on the way! Sounds like you have been though a lot....just want to send

 

[Happyjen27]

How do we decide whether we can afford a vacation?

I save up for a vacation in a separate fund. That way, I have no guilt in spending that cash, and it's not directly impacting competing financial goals. Indirectly it is, of course, because I routed the $ into the vacation account to begin with, but, I'm not feeling guilt over taking the $ out of a renovation fund or anything else like that.

I look at all my goals (paying off the car, saving for a new roof, etc), and decide where to put vacation on the priority list. For us, vacation ranks pretty high! So, take a look at your priorities, see where your vacation falls and then spend accordingly.

While vacations before kids are awesome, don't buy into the idea that you'll never be able to do it again. We take vacations alone as a couple and as a family. Your life can be any way you want it to be, whether you're parents or not.

 

[wiscbugs]

Our youngest daughter, who is 5, has Down Syndrome and we have gone to Disneyland the last 2 summers. She absolutely loves it and everyone is so nice to her at Disney. You will have so much fun in a few years with your daughter when she is old enough to go to Disney!

 

[ssawka]

Our youngest daughter, who is 5, has Down Syndrome and we have gone to Disneyland the last 2 summers. She absolutely loves it and everyone is so nice to her at Disney. You will have so much fun in a few years with your daughter when she is old enough to go to Disney!

wiscbugs, your post brought a smile to my face! My DD also has DS and she asks to go to Mickey's House or on a Cruise every single day! It is her love of Disney (and Dad's too!) that helped me convince DW to buy into DVC. Well, now we get to all take a family vacation twice a year!

 

[Kellydelly]

Go.

I didn't have a lot of grand dreams in life, but one of them was to go to Hawaii before we had kids.

Then I got cancer, and we had to pay for that. Then we had to pay for infertility treatments. I'm expecting our first child and we've been told it has a 99% chance of having Down Syndrome. Our insurance is not that great, so this may mean we never go on a vacation again, period. No matter how much you save, it may never be 'enough.' Just go.

How do you get a 99% chance of Down Syndrome? Are they basing your odds on an ultrasound and bloodwork? I have never heard of telling someone your odds are that high without it actually being 100% yes or no (which an amnio or cvs will tell you). I had a 1:120 chance with my second pregnancy based on the quad screen and nuchal translucency scan. My baby was fine.

 

[mrsklamc]

How do you get a 99% chance of Down Syndrome? Are they basing your odds on an ultrasound and bloodwork? I have never heard of telling someone your odds are that high without it actually being 100% yes or no (which an amnio or cvs will tell you). I had a 1:120 chance with my second pregnancy based on the quad screen and nuchal translucency scan. My baby was fine.

It's new testing but supposedly 99% accurate...it goes by names like Panorama, MaterniT21, Harmony, and Verify.

 

[set1208]

Check Groupon. They have a lot of great all inclusive vacation packages that should fit your budget. Make sure to change the location in your search and look at different areas.

 

[DCbride]

I would go on a couples trip in a heartbeat! Look at rates plan your trip and decide how much it would really cost. If you are determined to stay deluxe on the dining plan then I would save for that. But a value trip wouldn't break your budget as it seems you have a strong savings plan in place.