What percentage of income do you spend on vacation?

[GoofyGirl75]

Hi all! Lately, we've gone to WDW once a year, and my relatives think I'm crazy. We don't make a lot of money (but really don't spend a lot either), so it seems that people think we can't afford to do these vacations. (Our only debt is our mortgage and one car note, and we have 6 months of income in savings, in addition to small accounts for our kids.)

So, I started wondering... what percentage of our income do we spend on vacations? I figured it up to be around 4%. Is that too much? What do most people spend?

If you find this post too personal or prying, please ignore it.

 

[usnuzuloose]

We live in ca so we dont vacation to WDW. We went one time. We average about 3 to 4 percent. This year we are taking 3 different vacays and they are very minimal in price. But I feel fortunate to that. We dont have any bills to pay. We rent so no mortgage. Car is paid for.

 

[crisi]

1-2%.

 

[mom2val]

The past 3 years we have taken 2 vacations each year. One trip is WDW and the other is staying in a cabin in a state park for a week. We have spent @ 5% of our pre-tax income each year on vacations.

 

[NYEmomma]

We're not in a place financially to do yearly vacations. Sure, we COULD, but it would mean putting it on a credit card & for "unnecessary" stuff like a vacation, we'd prefer to pay in cash.

So I've been saving up for 2 years for our mediocre little trip coming up in October. It's kind of sad, but it is what it is at this point in our lives.

Speaking numbers, it's about 6% of DH's yearly salary. But I've been saving for 2 years for it, so I suppose that works out to be 3%.

 

[Pakey]

We spend 10-15% and take huge vacations (last year WDW twice plus China and Egypt); this year will be Hawaii, WDW, Costa Rica.

Kids are grown and married; we don't have debt. Vacations are very important to us.

 

[meriface11]

I am figuring about 2-3% of our post-tax incomes (including fully funding retirement fund on a pre-tax basis). but we have dvc, so that includes our maintenance fees, but of course we had a $16K buy in cost that i didn't factor in.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Around 4% is a good number for us. Really that works out to the 2 "extra" pays a year, minus what we normally put into the IRAs. Bonus money plays here too, plus whenever we are gone a week, our normal $200 for groceries/eating out, etc is also figured in.

We also charge everything on the Chase Freedom card, then pay it off monthly to avoid interest. That money goes toward our vacations. We also build Kroger and Speedway gas points and use those too.

As of now, we should have enough just from Chase to pay for our room in Nashville for 4 nights and tickets to the CMA Fest in June. There would be enough Speedway points for a $50 gift card, which should cover most of the gas. I know there is no Speedway in Nashville, but could top off in Bowling Green before hitting the border.

We'll build the points to do the same thing in Oct/Nov for our trip to Disney.

 

[eliza61]

Generally we average ~ 5 to 10% of our pay. We are not budget travelers. We lean toward the frugal side of life in real life so when I travel I'm a luxury traveler.

 

[DawnM]

Maybe 4%? I haven't really calculated.

I know it isn't higher than that.

Dawn

 

[momto2inKC]

About 5%, give or take.

 

[bdcp]

Around 4%. Usually 2 cruises per year-this year a cruise in summer, WDW and a cruise in October. Last year we did two cruises and went to NYC 3 times. It's just DH and I. When our kids were home, we probably spent more like 2% since we only took one trip per year and usually only to the beach.

 

[hsmamato2]

we vacation between 1-4 times per year,depending on the trip,sometime WDW,sometimes visits west for family,sometimes just local camping,usually a mix of all of those in a year....total % is about 1-2% of income....I relentlessly hunt for good deals so we CAN do this many trips,experience things. I think when the kids are grown, I will spend a lot ,and go many places I can't currently go on my budget.
without finding great deals, we would never be able to vacation as much as we do.

 

[dvcgirl]

We work out our annual budget right after the new year. We're going to Italy for two weeks in October....about 14K for that trip. And that won't include airfare as we have FF miles for that. It will include everything else including pet care for our dog.

We're putting aside $1,200 a month....and so that works out to be a bit 4% of our gross income.

 

[dvcgirl]

We spend 10-15% and take huge vacations (last year WDW twice plus China and Egypt); this year will be Hawaii, WDW, Costa Rica.

Kids are grown and married; we don't have debt. Vacations are very important to us.

Good for you! This is our plan in retirement as well.....when we get there. We're planning to be "someplace else" for 1/4 of the year. And it won't be cheap.

 

[Marionnette]

Only around 2% this year since we have two college tuitions to pay. In the past, it's been around 5% of our after tax income. It seems like the more money we make, the more lavish the vacation style. So that 5% number has pretty much held steady over the years.

 

[disneychic2]

This is an interesting thread. I never thought about % for vacation. We save a certain amount each month toward vacation and match our vacation to that amount. It's usually a trip to WDW with a few side trips to Virginia or Colorado to see family. You've piqued my curiosity though, so I'm going to figure out the %. Once our house is paid for (in four years) we will for sure go more places! Can't wait!

 

[growinupdisney]

We usually spend between 5% and 6%. Last year we went to WDW in April, Las Vegas in June and Myrtle Beach in July. So we topped the 6%. This year will just be the week at WDW and a week in Myrtle Beach.

 

[GoofyGirl75]

Thanks for all of the responses... interesting stuff. So, I guess my 4% isn't over the top (that's pre-tax by the way), but still.... if some of y'all are taking 3 vacations a year with 4% of your income or less, your income is obviously WAY higher than mine! But that's okay, I knew when I became a teacher (and married a firefighter) that we would never be rich, lol, and I'm cool with that.

Again, thanks for the contributions!

 

[LaDonna]

Very interesting ? I've always wondered myself what others who make the same income as us paid for their vacations.....seems I'm in the norm we average around 3-4%