How do you fight the desire to travel when you should be saving?

[Happyjen27]

I'm suffering from the biggest case of wanderlust!

I just got back from a fab Disney trip, and I'm dying to get out of this cold NY weather. The problem? Lack of vacation fund funding.

I do have a vacation in the works for August, driving to the beach, and in December to Costa Rica (which is where all the $$ is being funneled). But I can't help but look at cruise prices, and think about going somewhere for April break, or somewhere for a weekend. Or ANYWHERE.

What do you do to fight the I-wants?

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

My philosophy....

You either have the money to do go or you don't.

If you don't have the spare money, don't go looking for trips.
If you have some spare money and you want to travel, plan a trip.
If you have some spare money and don't want to travel, save it.

You could always rearrange your vacations so you could take one in April and skip the August or December one (or push one of them back to 2015). It's really just about your priorities.

This winter has sucked! Hasn't it? I have lost count how many days we have been in the negative temps with double digit negative wind chills. I threw together a "cheap" WDW trip for March to escape this weather and see some palm trees. I need it. Thankfully I was able to squeeze some extra money out of the budget to cover it, most of the vacation fund is going to our DL trip this year.

Happy vacation planning

 

[scrapquitler]

I'm suffering from the biggest case of wanderlust!

I just got back from a fab Disney trip, and I'm dying to get out of this cold NY weather. The problem? Lack of vacation fund funding.

I do have a vacation in the works for August, driving to the beach, and in December to Costa Rica (which is where all the $$ is being funneled). But I can't help but look at cruise prices, and think about going somewhere for April break, or somewhere for a weekend. Or ANYWHERE.

What do you do to fight the I-wants?

There are probably ways to compromise. Cut back on some portion of one of your already planned trips and divert the money you can save on that toward a quick inexpensive long weekend now or soon, for example. Or pick up a bunch of extra hours at work (if that's an option) use the money you have put aside for later now, then work extra hours in the coming months to beef up the savings that you use now.

Or just put on some Beach Boys music, make yourself a margarita and pretend you are somewhere warm (that's what I would do)

 

[JB2K]

What do you do to fight the I-wants?

Find other things to do that don't involve big expenditures...

 

[HM]

When I am not planning a vacation, I delete all the emails that come in from the vacation sites that send 'deals'. No need to look if I'm not in the market. Same goes for clothes shopping, or furniture shopping, etc. It's all about keeping temptation at bay.

Sounds like you should just concentrate on your two upcoming trips OP. You've got some nice plans. Keep tweeking them instead of looking at new things. Good luck!

 

[crisi]

How about a mini vacation:

Turn the heat up to 82 and get humidifiers going. Get a bunch of tiki glasses. Buy a bunch of rum and umbrellas. Throw on some reggae. Invite friends over.

Do you have a conservatory? Spending an afternoon with a book in the conservatory is a nice way to soak up the warm. This is ours. http://www.comozooconservatory.org/attractions/gardens/tropical-encounters/#/general. Granted, back to your car knocks the warm right out.

If a spa day is in your budget, have a spa day - cheaper than a real vacation, but relaxing and warm.

 

[Happyjen27]

Brilliant!! I will make a folder within my email to divert all of those vacation emails. I do that for shopping already, but I think you're onto something. I will be much happier if I don't see the "good" deals.

Thanks everyone for the pep talk!! I know I need to stay the course and this is helping me.

 

[Minnesota!]

We just go. We kind of live by "life is too short". We cut in other areas - reduce our grocery budget, drive less, contribute less to our Christmas fund, eat out less, etc.

I charged my whole trip, then paid it off with a bonus I received. Now I have this trip, plus I earned enough miles on my card to get my next vacation flights free, too! I could have used that bonus for other things - paying down mortgage, a new couch/stove...but, eh. I get far more satisfaction out of a trip. And mentally/emotionally - the value of the trip far exceeds the value of the couch/stove/lower mortgage balance.

 

[Minnesota!]

How about a mini vacation:

Turn the heat up to 82 and get humidifiers going. Get a bunch of tiki glasses. Buy a bunch of rum and umbrellas. Throw on some reggae. Invite friends over.

Do you have a conservatory? Spending an afternoon with a book in the conservatory is a nice way to soak up the warm. This is ours. http://www.comozooconservatory.org/attractions/gardens/tropical-encounters/#/general. Granted, back to your car knocks the warm right out.

If a spa day is in your budget, have a spa day - cheaper than a real vacation, but relaxing and warm.

You and I must think alike - I drag my family to the conservatory whenever I can - in the winter, it surely helps my brain! Love hanging out in the humidity, under palms, near the sunken garden. WONDERFUL!

 

[crisi]

You and I must think alike - I drag my family to the conservatory whenever I can - in the winter, it surely helps my brain! Love hanging out in the humidity, under palms, near the sunken garden. WONDERFUL!

I live near Woodbury, and their library has an indoor park. It isn't as nice as the conservatory (smaller) - but its warm, green and humid. And the parking is closer than Como - some of the warm stays on the way to the car.

There is one down in Edina, too, if I remember.

 

[usnuzuloose]

If I can not afford it , I don't even bother trying to look at making it work. My bills come first.

 

[JandJ]

I find half the fun of taking a vacation is the planning. If you're feeling the vacation blues, why not work on planning your big Costa Rica trip. Look at pictures on-line, write up a "what to pack" list, figure out what foods and drinks you want to try on that trip, what sites you want to see, and what restaurants or shops you want to go to. Even if it's not totally realistic, it's like daydreaming and it helps you get over the vacation blues because you have something wonderful to look forward to in just a few short months!

 

[mikehn]

We strategically plan our vacations for the xmas holidays and then again for spring break. This helps us make it through the winter. By the time april rolls around, my mind is occupied with other local activities lasting into fall. At which time I am ready to plan for our winter trip again.

 

[kkmcan]

I have a similar problem. We do save money every month so that's not the issue. My problem is instead of getting the new mattress that we need, replacing the carpeting or updating the loft I'd rather use it go on vacation. So we keep putting off stuff we should do around the house.

It'll happen one day I know just not this year!

 

[sunshinecruise]

I have a similar problem. We do save money every month so that's not the issue. My problem is instead of getting the new mattress that we need, replacing the carpeting or updating the loft I'd rather use it go on vacation. So we keep putting off stuff we should do around the house.

It'll happen one day I know just not this year!

That is exactly how I am. This year I decided to focus on one project around the house to save for. I would really like to redo our deck so I am putting money aside specifically for the deck.

I am hoping this will give me a more definite goal than just "saving more".

 

[Colleen27]

I have a similar problem. We do save money every month so that's not the issue. My problem is instead of getting the new mattress that we need, replacing the carpeting or updating the loft I'd rather use it go on vacation. So we keep putting off stuff we should do around the house.

It'll happen one day I know just not this year!

That's pretty much what we do too. My ugly bathroom might still be ugly in a decade but we'll have some great memories.

For the unplanned winter trips I do stick to close-to-home and less expensive destinations. One or two nights within a couple hours' drive is enough to cure cabin fever. I've already been to FL and DC this winter but I'm getting the get-outta-here itch again thanks to this miserable winter so we're planning on a couple days at an indoor waterpark resort over mid-winter break. I might also try to squeeze something else small in over spring break if business is still going well and this brutal winter is still hanging on.

And when the budget really can't stretch to fit in even the smallest getaway, planning the next trip is a nice mental break to get by between physical escapes. I've already got a ridiculous number of planning hours into an anniversary trip with DH in the fall and our non-Disney Christmas break adventure.

 

[pigletto]

I really think this winter has been the worst I can remember maybe ever. We got back from Disney 6 weeks ago. Honestly, it wasn't even 3 weeks before it felt like a year had gone by and I was itching for a vacation again. I am usually much better about not even thinking about it for a few months after we return home. Like the others said, I am deleting the emails, ignoring the pin codes and trudging along. It's not even a mater of "we should be saving". Dh graduated in December and our big trip was to celebrate that and Christmas. Though he's in the interview process we don't have an offer, so an expensive vacation isn't even a possibility for quite some time. If he has some vacation time he can take this summer we will go to the family cottage. If not we will need to be content with long weekends.
I decided tonight I am going to plan something though just to get through the winter blahs. I can look at Disney or cruises or whatever. Realistically though the earliest we'll do a big trip again is next winter if we decide to do a trip instead of a bunch of Christmas gifts. If not, it will be Spring 2015.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I'm suffering from the biggest case of wanderlust!

I just got back from a fab Disney trip, and I'm dying to get out of this cold NY weather. The problem? Lack of vacation fund funding.

I do have a vacation in the works for August, driving to the beach, and in December to Costa Rica (which is where all the $$ is being funneled). But I can't help but look at cruise prices, and think about going somewhere for April break, or somewhere for a weekend. Or ANYWHERE.

What do you do to fight the I-wants?

Uhm, I book another trip! I can't fight it and I must be an enabler.

 

[bookluvingbabe]

I like to daydream so I keep looking and pricing stuff out.

Right now we are cash poor due to a ton of expenses that come due this month. I'd love to commit to a trip in April and if I could wait until mid-March to pay for it, I'd have a ton of cash to do so. But I can't do it right now, so I'm watching the deals slip away.

Hoping to build up a nice cushion for the next time the wanderlust hits me.

 

[lauradis]

Oh Op We have wanderlust bad.

Our problem is time off we just cannt pick up and leave when we feel like it.

12 more years and we will have all the time to wanderlust we want.

Hang in there, don't stop day dreaming winter will be over soon, then everyone will be complaining about the heat.

If you have bad long term wanderlust you might want to think about retiring to an rv lifestyle.