Saving Money VS. taking vacations?

[Surfinpiratee]

You could try maybe going to Disney for less than that..??
But you should probably Also be saving as well

 

[disneymagicgirl]

It seems that nowadays young people need to have all the things in their lives that people used to work years for. Young couples need the new house with the stainless steel appliances and new furniture. When we married and bought a modest house it was furnished with stuff we had and maybe a new piece added here and there.

It floors me that people now think they deserve the things starting off that their parents worked hard for years for.

I completely agree.

OP, sounds like you are saving well. Sit down and consider how much money you need to fully fund each if your savings categories. Then decide how close you are to obtaining those goals. If you can obtain the goals in the time frame needed (ie college) then don't feel worried about your vacations. If you think you are behind, then get to where you feel comfortable and vacation less expensively until you can catch up.

 

[Deffenm]

DH and I had this same conversation a few weeks ago. We decided next year to get a seasonal camping site at our favorite location. So for $2100 we will have a full service site (electric, water, sewer, patio, picnic table and fire ring) from April to October. We already have the travel trailer that we will take up to our spot in April. We plan to go up almost every weekend and a few longer trips throughout the season. This year we spent about $8,000 on vacations. We use the extra money my husband makes coaching soccer to pay for vacations and any other wants. My income pays for everything else. My kids don't care where we go they just love to explore new places and be together.

 

[meajuly5]

I don't feel guilty spending money on vaca If our needs our covered first. Everyone's needs differ. For me that means all out bills are covered, my 401k is funded to max allowed and I have contributed my usual amount towards savings. I do plan on a range for vaca every year bc I value that time with the kids and would place experiences over things. I like to vary our vaca destinations and hope to expose my kids to many cultures and adventures. As much as I love doing that and love to travel, I would not sacrifice Saving for their college for big trips every year. If that were the choice, I would do cheaper trips most years, splurge occasionally and cut out what I could to make that happen. I have cut back on some things I spent disposable income on to boost the vaca budget recently.

 

[lurkernj]

I don't feel guilty, but there does have to be a balance.

We have several savings accounts for specific purposes plus some automatic withdrawals for college. As soon as one of us gets paid, the money gets distributed to the appropriate spot before it gets spent.

One of the savings accounts is specifically for vacations. I put $500 per month in there as if it's a bill. The amount wasn't always so high, it has increased as our situations have changed. Some years we spend less than the $6k and it just accumulates to the next year. Generally we do one trip for around $4k-5K, and one or two small trips.

We have a DS who started college this year and the amount is staggering(we are paying for it), but the money is still distributed the same way. Life is too short to put things off. DH had a stroke 3 yrs ago and it was extremely eye opening to what's important (fortunately he is mostly recovered). Unless one of us loses a job, we will continue on this way.

 

[bjscheel]

I struggle with this too but when I suggested we only do family camp next year (we usually do family camp plus a vacation), DH said absolutely not, vacation is not negotiable. DH works long hours- right now is the busy time and so for October and November it is frequently 12 hours a day M-F and 4-8 hours Saturday and Sunday. Other times of the year he's often gone 5am-5pm as well.

So that makes up my mind for me - DH says we have to! And we do not go into debt for vacation. We usually spend about $3000 on it.

I do want to be putting more away in savings than we currently do.

 

[nalajms]

... vacation is not negotiable.

We feel the same way. For our up coming trip, I've trimmed down significantly on our dining budget. DH agreed that he'd rather go on a cheap Disney vacation than no Disney vacation.

OP if you're questioning this, may it's worth it to give up a vacation one year and see how you feel. Maybe you'll realize that the kids enjoy something else or perhaps that it's worth spending the money for that vacation every year!

 

[ssawka]

It might just be me, but $6K-$7K seems really high to me! Yes, I understand that there are 5 of you, but I think you could do much better than that. Look at off-site condos/homes, or if you want to be onsite, look at renting DVC points.

 

[kiramay]

I think there's a balance. We have no debt- cars and Townhouse are paid off. We save for retirement (~$1000/mon) and college ($600/mon). We do a big vacation, like Disney, every other year, with a smaller trip on the opposite year; even then the Disney trip is about $5-6k for a week including dining and flights.

 

[trinchick]

We are dyed-in-the-wool savers BUT like a pp said vacation is non-negotiable for us. Our kids' childhoods is a short season in our lives, and we want to pack these years with fun, adventure, and memories.

That said, we don't go to Disney every year, partly because of cost but also because it's a big country/world and there's lots that we'd like to see and do. Our vacation budget for the year is similar to yours, but we take multiple trips with that amount. Last year, for instance, we spent a week in the Berkshires, a week in Amish Country, and a week and a half in New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island in Canada.

Fortunately, we are able to also save a significant amount for college and retirement while also traveling extensively. If that weren't possible, we'd still take vacations but on a more modest scale: a week at the beach, camping, etc.

Time together is the number one priority for our family (excepting of course roof over our heads and food on the table, but even then we'd find ways to spend time together).

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

The only money I use for vacation is money I won't stress over. There are cheaper ways to do Disney , cheaper vacations and alway the stay home and see local sights and activities.

 

[kandb]

Thanks everyone, I really enjoyed reading each one of your thoughts/ideas regarding this topic. It's so funny, but every year, I say we are going to skip a year from going to Disney but as soon as the LONG winter is over (we live up north), I can't wait to look start making our adr's/plans 6 months out from when we usually go to Disney (late summer/fall). It's something we plan and it's something we really look forward to. Every year is a little different, and this year I reserved a bounce back at the Contemporary, so we will probably go ahead and visit. Hope you all have joyful/precious memories with your families like we do.

 

[akcire]

We are pretty cheap. Also right now my daughter is free at Disney. We pay for airfare but she's under 3.

That said. We have a higher income. We spend 2-3% of our income on travel annually.

If a hotel is more than $100 a night we find a cheaper one or we use points. My husband follows flyer talk, he travels some for work, and gets credit cards when they have bonus offers (we never carry a balance-too cheap).

Also if my husband is going any where "good" and we know in advance, it may become a short vacation. If he has 2-3 days of meetings. I can fly at the same time and get some small sightseeing on my own. Then we can pay for another couple days of hotel out of pocket. His airfare is free, plus our acclimation hotel is free. It makes for much cheaper stays. Last year he was in DC for a few days. It was a great city for me to get around alone even with an infant in a stroller.

Obviously this won't work for everyone, but we really try and stretch our vacation dollars, so our small percentage feels luxurious. Will we be able to do a $15K cruise, nope. Such is life.

 

[travelgirl06]

We try to be very frugal in many aspects of life so ewe can have nice vacations. We don't have cable, I use Straight Talk for my cell phone, DH is driving a 10-year-old car (we just replaced the other 10-year-old car because a Mustang with a toddler AND a new baby on the way was not going to work...), etc. We do save a lot and contribute to 401ks and have a small college fund started for DD (we are not planning to fully-fund). Since we both work full time and our families are out of state (meaning a lot of vacation time goes to visiting them) our family vacations for the year are non-negotiable. We are going to enjoy them!

That being said, we look for ways to save on the trips before we go so we can enjoy them when we are there. This fall we stayed at the Boardwalk (rented DVC, otherwise it would have been a value or mod), booked tickets through orbitz and ebates (wound up saving a lot off gate price), split meals when we wanted to, had breakfast in the room most mornings (aside from a few favorite breakfast spots at WDW) and did a 3-night DCL trip that was mostly paid with Disney visa reward dollars, airfare was using southwest points. DD is 2, so we didn't need to buy her tickets this time. That said, even trying to save a Disney is expensive. We enjoy it, so we don't mind, but there are certainly cheaper ways to vacation.

We've discussed doing Disney every few years and will likely go again when our new baby is 2 to sneak in another "free" trip (older DD will be 4 then, so we'll still be able to travel during off-season). We'll probably look to do something a little cheaper in the years in between, but also want to take our kids on "big" international trips eventually (when they are a little older)

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Also if my husband is going any where "good" and we know in advance, it may become a short vacation. If he has 2-3 days of meetings. I can fly at the same time and get some small sightseeing on my own. Then we can pay for another couple days of hotel out of pocket. His airfare is free, plus our acclimation hotel is free. It makes for much cheaper stays.

DW and I did that once. We flew out on Saturday which cut the cost of my flight enough that my company paid the extra days in a hotel. Spent the weekend at South Padre, then DW spent 3 days at the hotel pool while I worked. Says it was one of her favorite trips. Totally relaxing

 

[AlohaNow]

Such an interesting and, in my house, timely thread! We have been through some stuff and came out the other side with quite a bit of debt. We are still trucking on with 401k contributions, etc, but the question of vacation always comes up. Even though we can't 'afford' it, are we just not supposed to go anywhere for the next few years? My oldest just turned eleven so is beginning the tween years, and youngest is seven. I am very much feeling like there is not much time left for more 'kid' vacations and absolutely long for a Disney trip in the next year or two. I am all over the budget ways to do Disney (especially DCL) so I know I can get a deal, but the question is always one of should we?

Also, my in-laws bought the farm just as they were retiring, so I can totally relate to the "don't wait....do it now!" school of thought on trips with family. OP asked if there is a balance....if anyone finds it, please let me know!

 

[mrsabbott]

This is something we have been thinking about a lot. We are always budgeting and putting off "fun" things for when we are in better shape financially. We never went on a honeymoon cause we kept putting it off until we could afford it. Dream vacations just never happen.. Lately, we've been talking about taking a honeymoon on out 14th anniversary (2 years from now). Kids will be older and easier for family to watch (no more diapers and whatnot). We know that it will put us in debt, but Hubs will hopefully be done with college by then and our plan for paying off our current debt will have us mostly debt free. We want to take that dream honeymoon before we are too old to really enjoy an adventure. Not only that, we are wanting to really do more stuff with the kids. Camping and visiting different states. We want to make lots of family memories. I will always do things as inexpensively as I can, but it is disheartening to constantly put off plans and time keeps flying by. Life is so short.

 

[kkmcan]

Good thread! And something we discuss in our family often...

Our vaca's are usually in the $3000 and under range. We've only taken 2 that were in the $5000 range and those were both short Disney Cruises + WDW a few years back. Its our comfort level. I know that everyone's is different depending on how much you make, where you live etc.

Our plan is to take less costly vacations the year after we take a huge very expensive vacation. Meaning we stay closer to home (no airfare) and do the beach in California and/or we try to stay in the in-laws timeshare to cut the costs.

We used to take 3 trips every year somewhere but in recent years we've cut that back to 2. It was just too much money.

We do Disneyland and a beach vaca just about every year. They are our closest vacation spots around here (Arizona). And they can be rather cheap trips if we stay in the timeshare (free) and buy tickets with our Disney Reward Dollars as well as drive (7-8hours). In fact we've done DL for as little as $500 for a long weekend trip.

The other places we've visited are Las Vegas, San Diego (our fav!), San Francisco, Colorado, Washington DC, San Carlos Mexico, Bahamas and of course Florida. As well as a couple of family trips to Oklahoma City and Branson, MO.

 

[AJ1983]

You better figure out the cost of college. You have three kids. If one of them has the chance to get into a fantastic school which costs $45k/year in tuition, and despite how little you earn as a government employee, you are still on the hook for a good chunk of that.

Why is that? Are parents mandated to pay for a kids university? That seems pretty onerous. And WHAT university is worth $45K per year for a simple undergraduate degree that probably wouldn't even result in an annual salary of $45K?

 

[disney1990]

We do have savings, $150K in cash, and we are both government employees, so we both get decent retirement penions (if the state we work in don't go bankrupt (NYC and NJ). We have a 4 year old and twin 10 year olds and we were going to try something different for vacation, but they all still love going (and so does mommy). We have gone for the last 8 years and have some great memories. We still go on other small trips to other places. Maybe we will go for a few more years.

Sounds like you are doing everything right. I would not be skipping vacations.