Why don't some people take vacations ?

[Andromeda9mm]

I know I'm lucky, because I get 3 weeks paid vacation per year that I HAVE to use (I work for UPS). You must take the days, you can't cash them out.

Now, I don't always 'go somewhere' and sometimes we'll have a 'stay-cation', but why do you suppose some people don't go on vacation?

I realize a lot of jobs don't offer benefits like paid sick and vacation, so do you think people just don't take any days? Period?

I don't make a lot of money, so money is very important for us. We've saved for 18 months for this vacation.

Why are vacations a priority for some, and not others?

Just wondering ...

Your thoughts?

 

[sarahmae3]

My DH doesn't take vacations. He loves his job.

He doesn't think about special things either... like I have to make the holidays special for the kids, and I'm planning this vacation. I don't know, those things just don't "register" with him.

 

[DisneyGuess]

I don't know, I've never understood it.
I need my vacation as does my DH. Even when I didn't have paid vacations, I still just had to so I could de-stress. We may not have went anywhere on those, but I still had the time to relax. To each his own though.
We just got back from a week in Cape Cod, now I'm trying to plan our next Disney vacation keeping in mind having a little one when we go, but I'll still have my vacation!!!
Of course, this week is going on my 2nd week of vacation but not by choice. We had an outbreak of chicken pox at school and I'm not allowed in the building at the moment.

 

[Finally08]

We never took any vacations for many years. I worked for the state, you earn "annual" leave time, that could amount to a week or so a year which you could then use for vacation, but honestly mine never built up because the days were always used for things like sick children, needing to go to a dentist, or whatever other crap came up in life. Also, even had it built up, it wasn't "extra" pay, it was the same pay as if I had worked, so therefore, I could not afford a vacation. We still live pretty much paycheck to paycheck, but now with being self employed, sometimes I have teeny weenie little windfalls that have allowed me to save some cash for vacation.

 

[missiloveslouie]

when I was little, we rarely took vacations because both of my parents refused to fly, and didn't like to drive for very long either. My mom was happy to lay out in the sun (though we don't get much in Cleveland), and my dad went hunting on weekends.
Now I am married to someone who wants to travel too, so I have some catching up to do. Only problem is all I want to do is keep going back to WDW!!

 

[DisneyGuess]

Now I am married to someone who wants to travel too, so I have some catching up to do. Only problem is all I want to do is keep going back to WDW!!

LOL, that sounds like my problem! Glad to know I'm not the only one. DH did compromise and say we could go to DW every other year, just not every, hehe.

 

[missiloveslouie]

That's basically the deal i'm getting too from DH. He wants to go to a Sandals resort in Jamaica next year - ho hum, I suppose

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

My mom didn't take vacation when I was growing up, she usually ended up using it for her illnesses (hypocondriac), but we would occassionally go to my aunts house, she lives less than 2 hours away, but it still wasn't a real vacation. I was determined that my adult life wasn't going to be that way. I have to get away from home sometimes.

I have to have my vacation, I would not be sane if I didn't. My vacation is not "extra" money, but it does help to get paid when you're home sitting on your behind or well, at WDW. That is where all my vacation time is spent.

I am lucky that my family is as addicted as I am and we all have AP's and only live 6 hours away. WDW keeps me sane. I couldn't stand a week at home.

DH doesn't get paid vacation, so we just have to adjust sometimes. We also don't have children, so any extra money always finds it's way to WDW and that is fine with me.

Suzanne

 

[DisneyGuess]

That's basically the deal i'm getting too from DH. He wants to go to a Sandals resort in Jamaica next year - ho hum, I suppose

Yea, my DH has it in his head to go visit with family in Cape Cod every other summer. At least that's basically free, so it just adds to the WDW funds, hehe. For some reason the other night he mentioned going back to the Cape next summer since we'd have a little one and it may be easier on me!!!! Um, in 2009, if I'm taking a 13 hour car trip, I better see a mouse at the end of it.

 

[Cool-Beans]

They don't believe in taking time off unless they're too sick to work.

They can't afford it.

They travel for work and the last thing they want to do on vacation is get on a plane and stay in a hotel.

They visit relatives.

They'd rather stay home.

They're on probation and can't leave the state.

I'm sure there are many other reasons. To each his own.

 

[srwarden1928]

I have never understood not wanting to take a vacation. I REALLY dont understand wanting a stay-cation. To me vacation and trip are synonyms. Fortunately, DW likes trips too, although she wasnt raised on them like I was. So we tend to travel a few times a year.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Well, like many 9-5ers, my hubby gets up all year so his idea of a vacation is to stay home, relax, sleep in & go out to eat in the middle of the afternoon

He goes because DS & I like to go - and once he's there, he enjoys himself. But he wouldn't bother if he had to plan it. Fortunately I enjoy the planning so it works for us.

 

[hopelea]

I love vacations!! I would rather take vacations that update my house! I could have had a really nice pool in my back yard for all the money I have spent on vacations over the past five years. I save money all year for a good vacation (or two). I don't understand why people don't like to travel.

I am guilty as well about only wanting to go to Disney! It is so much fun to go there and leave the world behind. My DH loves to cruise. So, this year I get one day at MK for MVMCP and then we are going on a carnival cruise. I will take any vacation I can get, anytime!!

 

[PA Princess]

We know many people who choose not to travel or take vacations. They may have paid days off from work, but they use those to stay at home and do normal types of activities and chores, etc.

Traveling is and always has been something dh and I highly value. Even early in our marriage when money was super tight, we still traveled...many trips we did tent camping, but we went.

Now we can afford to travel even with me home full time with our 4 kids, because we have made lifestyle choices that enable this. We do not live in a new house in the suburbs or drive new cars or have large amounts of credit car debt, etc.

We value having the ability to travel so much that it is a contributor to why we homeschool our kids. This past school year we traveled somewhere every single month - it was awesome! Some trips were for a weekend (or a long weekend) and a few bus day trips to New York City. Our kids were able to see and experience so much, it was truly awesome!

I often am asked how we can do it...some mean financially but many surprisingly mean why would you want to do all of that traveling. I am always surprised by this attitude.

 

[almburr]

My late grand-parents took vacations every year about 2 weeks at a time maybe three. But when my granddad retired he was able to use his paid vacation time and retire early by six months. He had 6months of paid vacation time banked up!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

My DH doesn't take vacations. He loves his job.

He doesn't think about special things either... like I have to make the holidays special for the kids, and I'm planning this vacation. I don't know, those things just don't "register" with him.

Do we have the same husband?

 

[DisneyJen0504]

When I was growing up my parents always planned family vacations, from simply camping trips to WDW, to a cruise. Once we were older, my parents started going on vacations just the two of them. I guess that carried over b/c DH and I would seriously go insane without vacations! We have been doing 2 a year since we got married, usually a big one like 8 days on an island or a cruise, then a smaller vaca like we have done WDW or Vegas. It is a priority for us so we budget all year as needed to go on these vacations where as friends of ours budget all year as needed for their very expensive cars. To each his own.

 

[jamieT]

I think some people underestimate how valuable time away is. Even simple little trips are so important. Sometimes yuo do not have the time or money to go on a quote unquote real vacation, but you should at least get away for a weekend. We have a really nice campsite that is not even 15 minutes from our house. But it has horses, a nice pool, and breakfast for 5 bucks a person. It's 27 a night I think. We go and feel like we are miles away. We don't spend a lot of money or use a lot of gas, but we come back refreshed. We all know that for most of us Disney is an ordeal. It requires saving and planning and it is reall worth it. But sometimes it is just as crucial for you to just take a step back and have a few days of rest out of your home. I think a lot of our relationships suffer because we don't get away enough however I am on the opposite end with my husband,. He is always planning a trip. I'm always saying we haven't even taken this trip stop planning for the next one!!!
But it gets him through the day in a hot factory!!! I can't blame him for that! It gets him through the overtime and such!

 

[Feralpeg]

While growing up, my family never took vacations. My dad worked six days a week for the majority of his life. When he was 36 years old, he had to have open heart surgery. Back then, you had to be off work for six months following the surgery. Once he returned to work, he refused to accept a pay raise for two years because he felt he hadn't earned it by being off for six months.

He grew up during the depression. He left school and started work at a very young age. He worked his way up from a job as a brakeman on a railroad to executive VP of a railroad, without finishing high school. He had a very strong work ethic. He worked hard and we lived well. He was going to make sure that his children never had to go without like his family had when he was young. Vacations just weren't in his vocabulary.

We did go on two family trips. We went to Chicago once and to New Orleans once. Both times, my father was on a business trip and we just tagged along.

 

[1hero2princesses]

I guess we are an example of what you are talking about, but it is not like we don't want to go on vacations. Unfortunately we can't afford it. We are going to disney world in September for our first vacation in 8 years (since our honeymoon). We did go to a wedding for a weekend during that time period and this winter we stayed overnight one night at a waterpark. That is it. We are going during free dining and I got two of our 5 plane tickets using miles. I have three small kids and stay at home. I suppose if I got a full time job we could do more vacations, but my kids would be in daycare from 8 to 6. It is a trade-off I just don't want to make right now. Maybe when the kids are older and in school. With my kids not yet being school age I wouldn't really bring home much money anyway after daycare. I really hope we are able to go again in 2 years but who knows. We will just do our best. I grew up going on vacation every year, and yes I miss it, and hope to be able to do that for my kids someday...