Value of vacations--How much is too much?

[hsmamato2]

And then there's the third class - those of us who don't have any stuff OR ever get to go anywhere

I don't know too many people who fit this 'category'.... If I have a way to get somewhere,even if it's on the cheap,I will go. Travelling doesn't always equal expensive...

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

So I am exploring vacation options(not Disney) for a family of 5, including 3 teen boys, plus possibly my Mom. I just can't wrap my head around the prices. When does the price just become too much? Having the funds is not an issue--no saving or borrowing required--but I am very frugal by nature and trying to determine the relative "worth" of a family vacation.

I am wondering how others determine what is a prudent price to pay for a vacation?

Figure a budget and fit everything in.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm finding it funny how a large, modern TV has somehow become the epitome for frivolous spending or being materialistic. Right now I can see on Amazon a 50" Samsung LED tv with 1080p for $832, no tax.

I just don't equate this with the BMW/Lexus crowd.

 

[ilovemk76]

I'm finding it funny how a large, modern TV has somehow become the epitome for frivolous spending or being materialistic. Right now I can see on Amazon a 50" Samsung LED tv with 1080p for $832, no tax.

I just don't equate this with the BMW/Lexus crowd.

http://www.tvhistory.tv/tv-prices.htm

A 16" TV cost $795 in the 1940s. Now that was frivolous.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

http://www.tvhistory.tv/tv-prices.htm

A 16" TV cost $795 in the 1940s. Now that was frivolous.

My 96 yr old grandmother still talks about how they were the 1st family on their street to own a TV. They lived in the city and people would look in through their bay window and watch too. I'll have to ask her if she remembers the cost.

Her mental image of overspending is having power windows in a car. She chalks that up as the reason why so many moms need to work & can't afford to stay home. (Don't get me started how 90% of the taxes we pay didn't exist back then.) Back in the day it was a several thousand $ upgrade, wasteful spending for people too lazy to roll their windows up & down.

Yep, that's why I work. I just gotta have power windows.

 

[Texan]

To be cliche, vacations are priceless. Oldest DS is 22; youngest is 17 and in marching band. Time is not on our side to create many more memories as a total family, but wow, we have a lot of memories in our bank that we talk about all the time. Remember when this, remember when that. We have done Disney, five cruises (usually with 1-2 friends along for a total of 5-6 people and loved them all, and they weren't Disney cruises), Washington DC, road trips including Grand Canyon, it was all done with a family discussion. Once we reached an agreement, I made it happen, some way. Having focused family time without interruption and making those memories is all too important. DS22 will be finished with college before too long and has a career plan for next year so we will not have him along next year's vacation (we take only one a year with DH's work). It's sad but inevitable. I will miss that time with him. Like other posters have said, if you aren't thrilled with the idea of the family decision on where to go, try to compromise and add something you would like. Research Cruise Critic's forums, look at what Costco's travel web site has, read through ideas on Trip Advisor, and make your family memories and spend some wonderful priceless time with your husband and kiddos.

 

[gracie1]

And then there's the third class - those of us who don't have any stuff OR ever get to go anywhere

I was thinking the same thing. I know quite a few people who cannot afford a vacation at all. They live pay check to pay check and still just make ends meat

 

[ilovemk76]

To be cliche, vacations are priceless. Oldest DS is 22; youngest is 17 and in marching band. Time is not on our side to create many more memories as a total family, but wow, we have a lot of memories in our bank that we talk about all the time. Remember when this, remember when that. We have done Disney, five cruises (usually with 1-2 friends along for a total of 5-6 people and loved them all, and they weren't Disney cruises), Washington DC, road trips including Grand Canyon, it was all done with a family discussion. Once we reached an agreement, I made it happen, some way. Having focused family time without interruption and making those memories is all too important. DS22 will be finished with college before too long and has a career plan for next year so we will not have him along next year's vacation (we take only one a year with DH's work). It's sad but inevitable. I will miss that time with him. Like other posters have said, if you aren't thrilled with the idea of the family decision on where to go, try to compromise and add something you would like. Research Cruise Critic's forums, look at what Costco's travel web site has, read through ideas on Trip Advisor, and make your family memories and spend some wonderful priceless time with your husband and kiddos.

Memories do not require a vacation. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve me and my grandmother in the kitchen, going to the grocery store with my grandparents, spending weeks during the summer at my aunt and uncle's house, going to free movies and the like.

I feel sorry for families that have to go someplace to make memories.

 

[gracie1]

Memories do not require a vacation. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve me and my grandmother in the kitchen, going to the grocery store with my grandparents, spending weeks during the summer at my aunt and uncle's house, going to free movies and the like.

I feel sorry for families that have to go someplace to make memories.

Excellent point! When I was growing up, we took maybe a total of 3 vacations. 2 times to Busch gardens and once to Lancaster. What I remember the most is my grandparents coming to my school concerts and plays, or them taking me on a drive to the beach for the day. I remember the few vacations we took, but have fonder memories of things we did locally! We could not afford vacations growing up, so the few we took were rare and wonderful. Now that I've grown up, my mom travels with me. This December will be the first vacation that both of my parents will be taking with me, and my dads first vacation since we were little kids! We're going to Disney, and I think I'm more excited for him than I am for us!! Lol.
I think you can make wonderful memories with anything!!

 

[alwaysdisney]

I still take my adult children on family vacations. Time together as they get older becomes more valuable.

Out of all of my possessions, vacation memories rank at the top of the list.

I have to agree. We took my daughter for her sweet 16 birthday down to Disney World along with her BBF at the time there were 6 of us. This year she turns 21 and she still talks about her sweet 16th birthday at Disney World. Every summer we go to the World with the family and some how we make it work. This year we are going back to Disney to celebrate my nephew's high school graduation and little does my daughter know that we are surprising her on this trip by having her BBF join us on this trip... . It takes a lot of planning with budgets a lot of late nights searching the websites for cheap airfare etc... but in the long run after I see every ones faces it is priceless....

 

[Katy Belle]

So I am exploring vacation options(not Disney) for a family of 5, including 3 teen boys, plus possibly my Mom. I just can't wrap my head around the prices. When does the price just become too much? Having the funds is not an issue--no saving or borrowing required--but I am very frugal by nature and trying to determine the relative "worth" of a family vacation.

I am wondering how others determine what is a prudent price to pay for a vacation?

Such a personal thing, really, isn't it? My SIL can't imagine spending $ on a vacation, but she spends loads on antiques and classic cars.

I hear ya on the 3rd kid. I do feel like it increases the expense a lot. Especially when those 3 kids are no longer small. With 3 teen boys all at 6 feet and over, we need SPACE in hotel rooms. And the FOOD.

We lived overseas for nearly 6 years. There were lots of good reasons for taking that job, but 2 of the biggies were the increased salary and the close proximity to vacation in places out of reach to us while living in the USA. While we did save a lot of $, due to higher salary, while we lived there, we also spent big bucks on travel. I don't think any of our trips were ever over $10,000 though. We took a big trip ever Spring Break and a small trip one Eid vacation a year. Plus 2 trips to the USA every year at Christmas and summer. I don't regret spending any of that money. I guess we would have $100,000 + more in the bank, but I'm glad we saw what we did and made the memories we did.

I am frugal by nature too, its hard for me to spend $. This year DH told me our yearly vacation budget is $10,000. We discussed it and decided to take a couple of smaller trips and put the extra money toward next years trip and do a big one. Not sure what it will be, but its our 25th Anniversary, so we might as well plan something fun. It will still be under $15,000 I imagine.

Good luck to you! It is hard to make these big decisions.

 

[taaren]

I was thinking about this question, and it really depends, not just on the person, but what is going on in your life that makes demands on your finances.

The memories are priceless. Just got my Shutterfly photobook in from our trip last year. It was phenomenal. We planned it as a once-in-a-lifetime type trip, because I didn't know we'd be moving closer and have a new job a month after, and I planned it for two years prior and spent appropriately. There was no dollar amount pre-set, and I pinched every penny I could, but we didn't hold back from spending extra to make it as magical as possible, and every penny we did spend was memorable and worthwhile. Growing up my family placed a high value on travelling, partly because my folks were both travel-industry related fields (very common in Hawaii), and partly because we just liked seeing new places and doing new things together, and those memories are highlights in looking back at my childhood compared to some of the more mundane ones on Maui (I know, island paradise, hard to believe, but there it is). We also tend to travel with friends who don't live within easy driving distance so the time spent bonding we might as well do away from where we both live since we all have limited vacation time at this point in our lives, and thus, vacations become important and those memories less easy to make otherwise.

This year, we moved and are furnishing our new home from scratch, so really anything is too much, but fortunately we have frequent flyer miles, a timeshare that friends are helping to supplement the dues on this year, and tickets that were upgraded to APs for $20 last year so this upcoming vacation is as close to nothing as I can get, and we won't be doing TS or any of the "extras" we did last year that I can't cover with reward points/dollars.

I think you get as much value out of things as you put into them. If a vacation doesn't hold a high value for you in comparison to other things, your "too much" threshold will be lower than someone who does value it.

I value mine highly, though some years I value other things more ... so fit it into my budget accordingly. A close friend was telling me that she can't believe how much we vacation, when she knows that our incomes are currently fairly comparable. I can't believe how much she and her DH spend on Xmas (a ridiculous multiplier over what I spend on my child they spend on adults), or various other things, but she values them and I've never understood the point of spending money on holidays due to my background. Its all in the eye of the beholder, people will do what makes them happiest, just try not to judge others and enjoy finding that sweet spot in your own life that makes you find the maximum amount of utility for your money.

 

[Colleen27]

Memories do not require a vacation. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve me and my grandmother in the kitchen, going to the grocery store with my grandparents, spending weeks during the summer at my aunt and uncle's house, going to free movies and the like.

I feel sorry for families that have to go someplace to make memories.

While that is certainly true, there's something to be said for time away from all the mundane concerns and petty interruptions of home, particularly in our always-connected era. I'm sure my kids will have great memories of days at the beach and cooking with their grandparents, but I also want them to have the memories and experiences of going new places and having that week or two of uninterrupted family time. And it isn't either/or - vacation memories are in addition to the special everyday moments, not in place of them.

I don't feel sorry for families who find the way they best enjoy making memories, whether it is expensive foreign travels or camping in the woods or playing at the neighborhood park. I feel sorry for families who lack the resources to have those special experiences at all.

 

[pigletto]

Memories do not require a vacation. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve me and my grandmother in the kitchen, going to the grocery store with my grandparents, spending weeks during the summer at my aunt and uncle's house, going to free movies and the like.

I feel sorry for families that have to go someplace to make memories.

Why would it be an either/or situation? I too have amazing memories of my childhood spent with family and friends. I also have wonderful memories of our time away together.
A vacation enhances our family time and we love it, but it certainly doesn't mean that's the only time we make memories

 

[Marionnette]

So I am exploring vacation options(not Disney) for a family of 5, including 3 teen boys, plus possibly my Mom. I just can't wrap my head around the prices. When does the price just become too much? Having the funds is not an issue--no saving or borrowing required--but I am very frugal by nature and trying to determine the relative "worth" of a family vacation.

I am wondering how others determine what is a prudent price to pay for a vacation?

I'm going to stay away from the "memories are so important" argument that these thread always seem to deteriorate into. I'm just going to address your question.

Each of us has a tipping point where the perceived value of something is exceeded by the price tag. It's personal and difficult for anyone else to assess. My own perspective is this: I don't want to reach the end of my life and with regrets that I didn't spend the money I had on the things that would have enriched my life and the lives of the people I love.

My parents are the product of the Great Depression and WWII. They are frugal to the point of denying themselves things that they could well afford. It's a mindset that they cannot shake. Due to illnesses, I know that their remaining days are very few in number. As their executor, I also know that there is a sizable amount of money that could have been spent to add some fun to their lives. I find it to be sad that they never allowed themselves the luxury to spend their hard-earned dollars on the things they always wanted to do.

If you can afford it and it is something that you have dreamed of doing, then I think that you should pull the trigger and book the trip.

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm going to stay away from the "memories are so important" argument that these thread always seem to deteriorate into. I'm just going to address your question.

Each of us has a tipping point where the perceived value of something is exceeded by the price tag. It's personal and difficult for anyone else to assess. My own perspective is this: I don't want to reach the end of my life and with regrets that I didn't spend the money I had on the things that would have enriched my life and the lives of the people I love.


If you can afford it and it is something that you have dreamed of doing, then I think that you should pull the trigger and book the trip.

this is well said!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Memories do not require a vacation. Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve me and my grandmother in the kitchen, going to the grocery store with my grandparents, spending weeks during the summer at my aunt and uncle's house, going to free movies and the like.

I feel sorry for families that have to go someplace to make memories.

No, memories do not require a vacation. However, memories are pretty much guaranteed to be made on a vacation. It's great that you have such great memories of your grandparents and other family members! I have those too. I also have awesome, irreplaceable, memories of the trips I took with my parents. I know that with my daughter, someday I will have memories of doing "normal" things with her, like baking cookies and going to dance recitals. But I also want to have memories of things like the first time she sees the Disney castle, or the Eiffel Tower or the Grand Canyon. All of those things will be priceless to me.

No, you don't have to go someplace to make memories, but if you can afford to do so, why not?

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm finding it funny how a large, modern TV has somehow become the epitome for frivolous spending or being materialistic. Right now I can see on Amazon a 50" Samsung LED tv with 1080p for $832, no tax.

I just don't equate this with the BMW/Lexus crowd.

But a 32" can easily be had for around $230, so that's $500 I didn't spend: two r/t airfares.

I guess that part of what makes the large-screen TV part of the equation for many people is that the larger the TV, the larger the room that it is in needs to be; if you are sitting too close to it you'll see pixels. The perception is that if you have a big TV, you probably also have a large house to put it in.

 

[hlg22]

Now, then, I have to say something about the "value" of travel. IME, people tend to fall into two categories about what they are willing to do with their discretionary funds: they are either "stuff" people or "experience" people.

This, exactly. I am an "experience" person, so whatever amount I spend on travel has been "worth it" to me. When I was in college and didn't have much money, that meant traveling around Europe on a shoestring, eating bread and oranges and staying in $10/night hostels. Now, it might mean a luxury safari in Africa or a quick weekend trip to Paris. It's impossible to put a price tag on climbing the Great Wall of China, hearing lions roar in the dark while staring up at the Milky Way, raising a glass at Oktoberfest in Munich, or almost (oops) getting arrested in Budapest. I have never regretted a cent.

 

[TwinkleKS]

You can make memories anywhere, with or without spending money. To the original question - how much is too much is really an individual question. If I make $40,000 a year - a once a year trip to the local zoo might be the most I could swing. If I make $400,000 a year - $18,000 trips to WDW might not be as big of an issue. You spend what you are comfortable with.

This year, we may give up the $10,000 we spend on Christmas presents and take a trip instead. (I'm throwing random numbers out there, but you see what I mean).

DH is fine never leaving town. He just isn't that into it. So $1,000 on vacation can be a waste to him. I want to see everything and know it is "for real". So flying around the world to India for $7,000 was cheap to me.