Vacationing and having debt

[runsandjumps]

DH and I constantly have this sort of debate. Save for later vs enjoy now. I am firmly on the side that you need to take time to enjoy yourself every once in a while. I have seen too many people wait to live life until they are retired. Let me tell ya, it ain't pretty. My uncle worked himself until his back was practically broken. He now has the means and the time to travel the world, yet he is in so much pain he can hardly walk. I wonder how life would have turned out for my cousins had their dad worked less and spent more time at home.

It is so hard to find the balance in life. You can't always live for the moment, but you should spend time with family that you won't be able to get back.

I don't think you need to be debt free to travel. But if you can hardly afford necessities in life, now probably isn't the best time.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We have debt and still go on vacation too. Usually we go to the beach in the summer and Disney in the fall. To me, vacation is something that is a very important part of our year. My DH and I are so busy in our regular life that vacation is when we can re-connect and do some fun things together.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Like someone told me
"Dreamin You will always have debt for the rest of your life, if you wait until its all paid off you'll never be able to enjoy life"

so with that We went on our first Disney world trip actually our first family trip ever!!!! It was 10 years in to our relationship. It was the best thing I did! Why? It made me look at life differently. Dh and DD and I got to see a different part of the world After that I stop living/working to pay bills and started living/working to to live life and enjoy it with my family. We budget our trips, recycle our cans/bottles, save our change, I sell our old stuff yardsale/craigs list/FB selling pages and we nolonger spend money on junk. We live simple and comfortable I'm not into name brand handbags, shoes, jewelry , hair , nails etc but I still look nice. And since going on that vacation it also got me on a budget and my debt started going down.

Go on vacation aslong as you still have money to pay your bills and put food on the table. A vacation doesn't have to break the bank its ok to go budget and still have a good time

 

[North of Mouse]

Like someone told me
"Dreamin You will always have debt for the rest of your life, if you wait until its all paid off you'll never be able to enjoy life"

We have always taken vacations every year, but they were all within our means, and sometimes on a very thin shoestring (vacationing in the mountains, cooking 'all' our meals, etc.) but we have always been a very close, loving, happy family (3 kids, now grown). It doesn't have to cost a fortune to have a relaxing happy vacation.

I cannot agree with those that actually go into debt to vacation, but again to each their own.

As for the quote above, no, you don't have to have debt the rest of your life. We have been debt free for many years now, and yes, we are enjoying life with lots of vacation time. We 'had' to be penny pinchers for the first 10-15 yrs. of our marriage, but it wasn't a sacrifice to do it, we were very happy. I was always a SAHM and have no regrets.

 

[bearzabout]

I think vacations are very important, but choosing a budget vacation is wise if money is an issue.

Rent a timeshare within driving distance cheap (we pay $260 per week though Skyauction) and plan do some car hiking. This is such a beautiful country. There is so much to see, even on a budget.

$2000 will pay for a very short vacation at Disney but will buy 4 weeks of bargain trips.

 

[ajsmama]

We have a mortgage, car payment and that's pretty much it and you bet your booty we will go on vacation!

I took my daughter's on a week long vacation last year and I would have put it on credit if necessary. I didn't want to miss that window when they still believe everything is real.

 

[garnetandblack]

I think vacations are very important, but choosing a budget vacation is wise if money is an issue.

Rent a timeshare within driving distance cheap (we pay $260 per week though Skyauction) and plan do some car hiking. This is such a beautiful country. There is so much to see, even on a budget.

$2000 will pay for a very short vacation at Disney but will buy 4 weeks of bargain trips.

I love those Sky Auction vacation certificates. My family is always shocked at how little we spend on vacations. We stayed at Summer Bay in October for $269 and next week we will be at Wyndham Great Smokies Lodge for $269.

Vacations are important to us. Our 10th anniversary is next January and we desperately wanted to go to Paris. It is still a small possibility but unlikely. Even if it's another $269 Sky Auction vacation I will be happy as long as we are able to get away together.

I wouldn't go on vacation if I was drowning in debt, but if I needed to i would take on some manageable debt in order to take one. DS is only 4 and he has a blast whatever we do. He already loves hiking and just spending time together is great for all of us. Disney will be done at least once a year along with the beach and the mountains. DH works 60 hours a week and is in school. Getting away for a few weeks a year is important and needed for our sanity.

 

[dreamin_disney]

We have always taken vacations every year, but they were all within our means, and sometimes on a very thin shoestring (vacationing in the mountains, cooking 'all' our meals, etc.) but we have always been a very close, loving, happy family (3 kids, now grown). It doesn't have to cost a fortune to have a relaxing happy vacation.

I cannot agree with those that actually go into debt to vacation, but again to each their own.

As for the quote above, no, you don't have to have debt the rest of your life. We have been debt free for many years now, and yes, we are enjoying life with lots of vacation time. We 'had' to be penny pinchers for the first 10-15 yrs. of our marriage, but it wasn't a sacrifice to do it, we were very happy. I was always a SAHM and have no regrets.

Well the person that told me that isn't a member of the budget board-lol! I've learned so much on here and I agree debt doesn't have to be forever. Actually the reason why I'm a diser here is due to that trip to WDW . Leading me here not only taught me about WDW , codes budget vacation but taught me about budgeting and preparing for the future. It also gave me hope that someday my mortgage would be paid off and debtfree. If though those two things haven't happened yet, they will eventually happen

 

[dreaming4disney]

I'll add to this my own story: Got married, worked and saved and then had a few kids. Never took a vacation. Then my husband had years of medical issues. He was an IT contractor and only had 2 weeks paid leave/year. He had 3 consecutive years of issues that had him hospitalized and had to use his 2 weeks vacation each time. We were 8 years into our marriage before we went on vacation.(We chose Disney of course!)He got sick on the plane on the way there. spent one day in the hospital but we did get to finally enjoy our vacation. That was 2001 and we have gone on vacation almost every year since then.

Sometimes, I add up the money we could have saved by not going on vacation. It would be nice to have that money but I don't regret any one of those trips.

I guess life is about balance and it's not always easy to know what that is. But life is short and even shorter for some. Live a little and save a little and make the most of today.

I hope you enjoy your trip!!!

 

[MegaSilver]

Their is no answer to this question.

For me, I consider car and student debt to be in the same category as credit card debt, and thus would not go on vacation with that owing. Really looking forward to our Disney vacation in a few months. Best part is it's already paid for!

Only debt I am OK with is mortgage.

But hey, that's just me.

 

[sheetz]

I don't like to spend a lot, but I do like vacationing. Fortunately there are soooo many places to see and things to do that can cost very little money.

 

[southlakejr]

We have credit card debt, a car loan, and a mortgage. And we are going on a WDW vacation in less than a month.

If we waited to pay off our house- we would never go anywhere. Welcome to the Bay Area!

As for vacationing with credit card debt- we make far, far more than the minimum payments. We have a plan that will have the credit cards and car paid off by the end of next year. We have been budgeting for this trip for the last year, and having a trip to look forward to has made it easier to stick to our budget of paying off debt. We tried doing the "every extra penny towards debt" thing and it didn't work out well for us. We were miserable, and would inevitably blow it and not end up making any progress. Now? We've managed to pay off a nice chunk of our debt, and are doing so at a pace that is comfortable for our budget and lifestyle. Sure, we could speed things along and be out of debt faster, but this is working for us in a nice balance. I suppose it's kind of how like the differences in approaches to dieting- some people have a strict 100% adherence, some have a cheat day or meal.

(Before I get blasted- we are paying for this trip in cash. We pay all of our monthly bills easily. The CC debt that we have was acquired over the course of several years of financial turbulence, and we haven't added to it in over a year.)

Additionally- this last year was a rough one for us. In May, I spent 6 days in ICU with a DVT and pulmonary embolism that almost killed me. I'm healthy, and not even 30. To say it was a shock would be an understatement. It put things in perspective for me quite a bit. While I was in the hospital, unsure if I was going to get to go home, I thought about all of the things that I might not be able to do because I had put them off waiting for the perfect time or circumstance, including take a vacation. Now that I am healthy, I'm looking forward to enjoying this trip, even with imperfect timing and circumstances.

 

[bcwife76]

As others have said, I think it's definitely a comfort level and what you, personally, feel is important to you and your family.

For us, vacations are a priority over, say, constantly going to the movies, going out to eat, going to hockey games and things like that. We would rather forgo smaller events and be able to go on trips together. Yes we have a mortgage, a car loan (at 0%) and a HELOC. My husband also works long hours and isn't able to take vacations during certain parts of the year (namely Christmas time and Spring Break) so we travel at off peak times. We also pull our kids out of school to do this and I don't feel guilty about it at all. We can comfortably service our debts and pay far, far, far more than the minimums. But this is what works for MY family, might not work for others.

 

[lisaross]

Everyone has their own level of comfort - to each his own....

Personally, I don't consider mortgage a debt i mean most people have a 30 year mortgage - does that mean no vacations for 30 years - kind of crazy - car loan also - as long as its within your means and you can pay it. Student loan debts not sure since we never had any....

credit card debt - i guess it depends how u acquired to debt - if it was just going crazy and buying everything in sight, i would probably want to pay that off before going on a vacation - but if it was due to life happening/medical whatever i might still go on vacation as long as i was Not adding to the debt!

 

[Juliet25]

My DH and I have a mortgage, student loans, and credit card debt. No car loan ATM. I would not hesitate to take a vacation. We took a week trip to Disney in October after a two and a half year vacation hiatus. Personally, I think that was way too long to wait. Our trips aren't luxurious (moderate resort; used non expiring tickets we bought 6 years ago; no sit-down meals), but I feel they're necessary to my mental health. I much rather scrimp and save in other areas in order to take a yearly vacation. We don't eat out; our wardrobes are very modest; and our entertainment budget is practically zero. We also drive 10+ year old cars.

I don't feel guilty about taking trips. Our budget is tight, but our kids are only young for so long. We've taken a lot of Disney trips throughout the years, and I'm glad I can provide those memories to my kids.

 

[ilovebassets]

Their is no answer to this question.

For me, I consider car and student debt to be in the same category as credit card debt, and thus would not go on vacation with that owing. Really looking forward to our Disney vacation in a few months. Best part is it's already paid for!

Only debt I am OK with is mortgage.

But hey, that's just me.

There's hardly a graduating doctor today that doesn't have student debt. And the average medical school debt alone on graduation is about $160,000. I hardly consider student loans to cover medical school to be in the same category as credit card debt. One is an investment. One isn't.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

There's hardly a graduating doctor today that doesn't have student debt. And the average medical school debt alone on graduation is about $160,000. I hardly consider student loans to cover medical school to be in the same category as credit card debt. One is an investment. One isn't.

Completely agree.

 

[Colleen27]

There's hardly a graduating doctor today that doesn't have student debt. And the average medical school debt alone on graduation is about $160,000. I hardly consider student loans to cover medical school to be in the same category as credit card debt. One is an investment. One isn't.

To me, it isn't where money is owed that matters but how much is owed and how that amount relates to income.

I'll graduate in Dec '16 with about $12K in student loans for my bachelors, and we have a couple hundred dollars in credit card debt right now (trying to work within that "sweet spot" that shows we're using the cards but not depending on them - part of a concerted effort to raise our credit scores). We don't have a mortgage or car payments. So from my POV the type-of-debt conversation is sort of silly - we shouldn't vacation because of <13K in debt/future debt, most of it low-interest, but if we still had a 100K mortgage and no other credit accounts vacationing would be fine?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

To me, it isn't where money is owed that matters but how much is owed and how that amount relates to income.

I'll graduate in Dec '16 with about $12K in student loans for my bachelors, and we have a couple hundred dollars in credit card debt right now (trying to work within that "sweet spot" that shows we're using the cards but not depending on them - part of a concerted effort to raise our credit scores). We don't have a mortgage or car payments. So from my POV the type-of-debt conversation is sort of silly - we shouldn't vacation because of <13K in debt/future debt, most of it low-interest, but if we still had a 100K mortgage and no other credit accounts vacationing would be fine?

I assume you are paying off the cc monthly. That will show use and improve your score. No need to pay interest.
I don't see any reason you shouldn't vacation. Sounds like your only debt is the small student loan. Reasonable. The problem with student loans is when they are disproportionate to income. The problem with credit card debt is that it was likely accrued purchasing thing that someone couldn't afford, whether due to a medical crisis, irresponsibility, job loss, whatever. I feel, as do many financial gurus, that the cc should he paid prior to spending a bunch of money on a vacation. That said, to each his own.

 

[Dawnlight]

We only have our mortgage, no other debt. While we did have credit card debt due to job losses and unforeseen circumstances, we did not go on vacation other than camping for a few days in a local state forest.

Our first real vacation was last summer and it was a gift- a week in Cape Cod.

Our most recent vacation was also a gift, though we did pay for incidentals, gratuities, and items needed for the vacation (luggage and such).

It will be very hard for us to break out of the thinking that we can't afford to vacation, as now we are fully focused on savings, but I'd like to be able to at least take a week and vacation somewhere within 5-7 hours driving distance from us (flying with 8 people is out of the question).