You have to save for a 3 thousand dollar vacation, right?

[pk1023]

Hey all,

So years ago we went to Disney on a 7 day junket with the no expiry tickets and stayed in Moderate, then we had enough days left for Spring Break trip the next year in an off site hotel. The first trip with all the expense I conned my Mom into paying for. The second I paid for myself but no park tickets. The first was an easy 5k if I remember right.

Fast forward about 5 years to the present, the Mom in question is going to Grand FLdian with some girlfriends for the first time since I was a kid. She'll have a great time, she'll probably bank roll much of it for them and all is well. I am happy to not be going or my kids or anything. I am glad she's spending her money on her. I wish my Dad and her could both agree to go, but they are always at odds even though they're still married. She's alot to take though and that's a different story.

Anywho, I priced out Disney at Poly and Pop Century just for giggles in mid Jan. Kids would miss school, but this is just to see prices. From here in Indy depart on Sunday return on Friday it was 4k for Poly and 3k for Pop. That had Flight and 4 park days in it.

I don't have 3k laying around and would never charge that kinda coin. But, Disney is fun and it does make a nice set of memories.

I got to thinking about life, money and people with this. Our yearly household is just north of six figures. We have a mortgage, two car payments, Camper payment and storage(less than 200 a month) and all the other phones/cable/inet junk bills everyone else does.

People with these stats have to live on budgets, right? You have to save for what you want or buy it on credit and pay someone interest to let you have your experience early.

But, two things dawn on me. I have an aunt who supposedly I am the heir to in her will. Her estate will be in the 300k range after tax and such, probably. Lets say that money comes to me next year. Next year my net worth is +300k. I'd probably pay off the house with that, I mean I'm paying 4% already for an asset that IS appreciating again finally. So I'd pay that off and then bam there's 13 hundred a month that I'm banking all of a sudden.

Second, I have a friend whose a Anesthesiologist. Great dude, started with nothing. All loans through school, got the grades, got the job, paid them back. Dude has 3 kids and house 200K above mine, but same cars and other bills etc. But this fella is probably 1.5 to 2.5 times more in a paycheck than me. But, really his expenses aren't more than 50 percent more than me. He's making money each month because he's got a better ratio. That's translates into the ability to do the things I want to do at often double or better rate.

Okay, I'll cut to the question because I am rambling. My point, I don't have 3k and would have to make a savings plan to reach that. My budget isn't going to magically fix itself and in 3 months I'll have 3k.

But, the way it works is that the playing fields aren't even. Some people have inherited wealth and some people have busted their *** to make wealth.

These people aren't Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, that's something else completely. These people are either lucky or smart or both! That's how people have 3k for a vacation every year. Their financial life looks different than mine.

Doesn't mean I can start improving mine today. Find ways to cut out waste, make my dollars go farther so that I can put 3k down without a hiccup.

But, sure would be nice to come into a cushion like 300k. That changes lives on the small scale and makes 3k possible.

Am I right?

 

[Marionnette]

Hey all,

So years ago we went to Disney on a 7 day junket with the no expiry tickets and stayed in Moderate, then we had enough days left for Spring Break trip the next year in an off site hotel. The first trip with all the expense I conned my Mom into paying for. The second I paid for myself but no park tickets. The first was an easy 5k if I remember right.

Fast forward about 5 years to the present, the Mom in question is going to Grand FLdian with some girlfriends for the first time since I was a kid. She'll have a great time, she'll probably bank roll much of it for them and all is well. I am happy to not be going or my kids or anything. I am glad she's spending her money on her. I wish my Dad and her could both agree to go, but they are always at odds even though they're still married. She's alot to take though and that's a different story.

Anywho, I priced out Disney at Poly and Pop Century just for giggles in mid Jan. Kids would miss school, but this is just to see prices. From here in Indy depart on Sunday return on Friday it was 4k for Poly and 3k for Pop. That had Flight and 4 park days in it.

I don't have 3k laying around and would never charge that kinda coin. But, Disney is fun and it does make a nice set of memories.

I got to thinking about life, money and people with this. Our yearly household is just north of six figures. We have a mortgage, two car payments, Camper payment and storage(less than 200 a month) and all the other phones/cable/inet junk bills everyone else does.

People with these stats have to live on budgets, right? You have to save for what you want or buy it on credit and pay someone interest to let you have your experience early.

But, two things dawn on me. I have an aunt who supposedly I am the heir to in her will. Her estate will be in the 300k range after tax and such, probably. Lets say that money comes to me next year. Next year my net worth is +300k. I'd probably pay off the house with that, I mean I'm paying 4% already for an asset that IS appreciating again finally. So I'd pay that off and then bam there's 13 hundred a month that I'm banking all of a sudden.

Second, I have a friend whose a Anesthesiologist. Great dude, started with nothing. All loans through school, got the grades, got the job, paid them back. Dude has 3 kids and house 200K above mine, but same cars and other bills etc. But this fella is probably 1.5 to 2.5 times more in a paycheck than me. But, really his expenses aren't more than 50 percent more than me. He's making money each month because he's got a better ratio. That's translates into the ability to do the things I want to do at often double or better rate.

Okay, I'll cut to the question because I am rambling. My point, I don't have 3k and would have to make a savings plan to reach that. My budget isn't going to magically fix itself and in 3 months I'll have 3k.

But, the way it works is that the playing fields aren't even. Some people have inherited wealth and some people have busted their *** to make wealth.

These people aren't Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, that's something else completely. These people are either lucky or smart or both! That's how people have 3k for a vacation every year. Their financial life looks different than mine.

Doesn't mean I can start improving mine today. Find ways to cut out waste, make my dollars go farther so that I can put 3k down without a hiccup.

But, sure would be nice to come into a cushion like 300k. That changes lives on the small scale and makes 3k possible.

Am I right?

About what?

That it sure would be nice to come into a cushion of $300K? Sure. At the expense of losing a beloved relative? Not so nice.

Or are you asking if you're right about improving the look of your financial life now? Of course it's possible. It would certainly depend depend on how you spend your money now and how extreme you're willing to go in order to bank what you make instead of spending it.

Or are you asking if we agree that the only way that people afford $3K vacations annually is because they are either lucky or smart, or both. That, I would disagree with. Some people are hard workers who get out and work two jobs in order to afford luxuries. Others are very good at stretching a dollar. Are they smart? Not in the same sense as your anesthesiologist friend. They just know how to get what they want.

I'm not sure where you're going with this post. Are you looking for suggestions on how to improve your savings so that you can afford a trip?

 

[akcire]

Hey all,

So years ago we went to Disney on a 7 day junket with the no expiry tickets and stayed in Moderate, then we had enough days left for Spring Break trip the next year in an off site hotel. The first trip with all the expense I conned my Mom into paying for. The second I paid for myself but no park tickets. The first was an easy 5k if I remember right.

Fast forward about 5 years to the present, the Mom in question is going to Grand FLdian with some girlfriends for the first time since I was a kid. She'll have a great time, she'll probably bank roll much of it for them and all is well. I am happy to not be going or my kids or anything. I am glad she's spending her money on her. I wish my Dad and her could both agree to go, but they are always at odds even though they're still married. She's alot to take though and that's a different story.

Anywho, I priced out Disney at Poly and Pop Century just for giggles in mid Jan. Kids would miss school, but this is just to see prices. From here in Indy depart on Sunday return on Friday it was 4k for Poly and 3k for Pop. That had Flight and 4 park days in it.

I don't have 3k laying around and would never charge that kinda coin. But, Disney is fun and it does make a nice set of memories.

I got to thinking about life, money and people with this. Our yearly household is just north of six figures. We have a mortgage, two car payments, Camper payment and storage(less than 200 a month) and all the other phones/cable/inet junk bills everyone else does.

People with these stats have to live on budgets, right? You have to save for what you want or buy it on credit and pay someone interest to let you have your experience early.

But, two things dawn on me. I have an aunt who supposedly I am the heir to in her will. Her estate will be in the 300k range after tax and such, probably. Lets say that money comes to me next year. Next year my net worth is +300k. I'd probably pay off the house with that, I mean I'm paying 4% already for an asset that IS appreciating again finally. So I'd pay that off and then bam there's 13 hundred a month that I'm banking all of a sudden.

Second, I have a friend whose a Anesthesiologist. Great dude, started with nothing. All loans through school, got the grades, got the job, paid them back. Dude has 3 kids and house 200K above mine, but same cars and other bills etc. But this fella is probably 1.5 to 2.5 times more in a paycheck than me. But, really his expenses aren't more than 50 percent more than me. He's making money each month because he's got a better ratio. That's translates into the ability to do the things I want to do at often double or better rate.

Okay, I'll cut to the question because I am rambling. My point, I don't have 3k and would have to make a savings plan to reach that. My budget isn't going to magically fix itself and in 3 months I'll have 3k.

But, the way it works is that the playing fields aren't even. Some people have inherited wealth and some people have busted their *** to make wealth.

These people aren't Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, that's something else completely. These people are either lucky or smart or both! That's how people have 3k for a vacation every year. Their financial life looks different than mine.

Doesn't mean I can start improving mine today. Find ways to cut out waste, make my dollars go farther so that I can put 3k down without a hiccup.

But, sure would be nice to come into a cushion like 300k. That changes lives on the small scale and makes 3k possible.

Am I right?

I agree. If you have an extra 300k send it my way.

That said you have many things I would never consider owning with an income just over 100k in today's world. A camper is wickedly expensive. $200 a month to park it plus insure it and you haven't put gas nor driven one mile at that price. Eek!

We cut cable to afford other stuff.

We also have one ok car and one junk which a family member drives. My husband has a work car. No payments. Heck the one car is only worth a few hundred dollars.

Life isn't equal. I wasn't born with a silver spoon. Our family would rather have junk cars and good vacations. Just different strokes.

We cut coupons, eat at home a lot. Do most of our own home repair (often twice--many do overs)

But if you got extra cash send some our way.

 

[mchllevns]

I think a lot of it comes down to choices and priorities. I learned in my early 20's that charging is NOT the way to go...lived paycheck to paycheck while working f/t and going to grad school...had to learn the hard way that charging that new sweater was not a good plan!! (Or charging the oil changes and car repair...harder to pay off!)

That made me all the wiser about what do I really want and how will I get there. We're getting ready to hit 10 years on both our vehicles...they still run well and look good...not really interested in having another car loan until I absolutely need it. Worked 2 jobs for several years to transition from one career to another...and we made it a priority to pay off the mortgage as soon as possible (took advantage of a refi to a 10 year loan cut several years off our original mortgage). But mostly, am willing to forgo some of the things my friends enjoy (nail salon, hair appts every 6 weeks, new clothes each season) in order to save for my Disney trip. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who is an amazing saver and can find a way to make things work in our budget...as long as I find a deal (he has a hard time saying no to "free dining.") And, when I price it out, our Disney trip isn't any more expensive than a week at the beach or even visiting family out of state...Always planning that next trip and asking myself...do I really need that new sweater or would I rather stash the $$ towards vacation? Vacation usually wins!

 

[ellone]

It depends on what you spend your money on.
We have no car payments - we paid cash for our last 2 cars. We can afford a lot more house than the one we live in. So that's quite a bit of free cash each month. We don't eat out - maybe 2-3 times a year while at home. Kids are young so we don't go out much to movies and such (can't remember the last movie we saw in a theater).

So we could swing a 3K trip if we really wanted, but it's due to the fact that there's a lot we do without.

 

[mickeyboat]

DH and I are able to easily find $3k for a vacation because we work hard, and live below our means. It's as simple as that.

 

[Happyjen27]

Yup, I save up for it.

Everyone's financial life looks different. That is true around the world, every day, forever.

Everyone does simple math and makes decisions every day based on that math. Based on your decisions, no, perhaps you don't have 3K to drop right now. But, someone else may make different decisions which makes 3K simply a drop in the bucket.

That's true for calories, cash, lung capacity, flexiblity, fitness, everything. Everyone starts with a different baseline, and everyone makes decisions to make the changes they desire.

It's all rather simple.

 

[drcmk]

Are you right that life is not fair? Absolutely. But looking from the outside you really don't know what is "not fair" about someone else's life. Maybe another person doesn't seem to struggle very much with money, but maybe that person has invisible challenges that you don't know about. I think there are plenty of studies that say that people that come into large amounts of money that they don't earn don't usually make good use of it or derive much happiness from it.

 

[dawnball]

But, sure would be nice to come into a cushion like 300k. That changes lives on the small scale and makes 3k possible.

Am I right?

Or, profligate spending now that you "have money" pushes you into bankruptcy. It happens with lottery winners, where a "big" win is 50K+.

 

[pk1023]

Are you right that life is not fair? Absolutely. But looking from the outside you really don't know what is "not fair" about someone else's life. Maybe another person doesn't seem to struggle very much with money, but maybe that person has invisible challenges that you don't know about. I think there are plenty of studies that say that people that come into large amounts of money that they don't earn don't usually make good use of it or derive much happiness from it.

Right, but aren't there TONs of people out there running around with money they inherited from family?

I mean doesn't it make sense? Or since most people have kids and more than one then the inheritances get broken up a bunch?

 

[JanaDee]

I agree. If you have an extra 300k send it my way.

That said you have many things I would never consider owning with an income just over 100k in today's world. A camper is wickedly expensive. $200 a month to park it plus insure it and you haven't put gas nor driven one mile at that price. Eek!

We cut cable to afford other stuff.

We also have one ok car and one junk which a family member drives. My husband has a work car. No payments. Heck the one car is only worth a few hundred dollars.

Life isn't equal. I wasn't born with a silver spoon. Our family would rather have junk cars and good vacations. Just different strokes.

We cut coupons, eat at home a lot. Do most of our own home repair (often twice--many do overs)

But if you got extra cash send some our way.

You also live in a high COL city, if your location is accurate.

 

[mrodgers]

It's all relative. If you can't find $3k to go on vacation at being just north of six figures, I say you're doing something seriously wrong. Try finding the $100 for the electric bill when you are at half the $100k let alone vacation money.

If I suddenly had $100k income starting in 2014, I'd have my house paid off within the first two years (taking taxes into consideration), pay cash for two 2 year old cars the 3rd year (we keep them forever), my kids' colleges funded the next 3 years, and have about $50k just to play with there on out.

 

[angierae]

Right, but aren't there TONs of people out there running around with money they inherited from family?

I mean doesn't it make sense? Or since most people have kids and more than one then the inheritances get broken up a bunch?

Maybe? Both of my parents died with little to nothing for us to inherit. My stepfather owes more on his house than it's worth, so no one's inheriting anything there.

I don't think the majority of people are inheriting enough money to change their lives, no.

(Also, your description of "two car payments plus a trailer plus storage for the trailer" is not common for people I know. Most people I know are going on one car payment at a time, or even none.)

 

[JanaDee]

It's all relative. If you can't find $3k to go on vacation at being just north of six figures, I say you're doing something seriously wrong. Try finding the $100 for the electric bill when you are at half the $100k let alone vacation money.

If I suddenly had $100k income starting in 2014, I'd have my house paid off within the first two years (taking taxes into consideration), pay cash for two 2 year old cars the 3rd year (we keep them forever), my kids' colleges funded the next 3 years, and have about $50k just to play with there on out.

You're seriously overestimating how far just "north of six figures goes".

 

[pk1023]

(Also, your description of "two car payments plus a trailer plus storage for the trailer" is not common for people I know. Most people I know are going on one car payment at a time, or even none.)

Yeah, I should change this into a Camper vs Disney thread! I actually love my camper. It's small and was less than 10k, I'm paying it off over time because the interest is low and I can write it off in taxes. I've sunk a TON of bills into it though. Lots of car stuff plus the gas.

But, we love it. It's easy and cheap to get away. We've been horseback riding, fishing, mountain biking, etc etc with the boys in the 2 years we've had it.

But, it costs 50 bucks to a month to store because we live in the burbs. That's not fun. And the gas in the truck to haul it is pricey.

All that said, I love laying in bed out at a state park with all the windows open.

Disney is great, but it's the Luxury version of vacation. Our camper couldn't be luxury if you dipped it in gold and I like that!

 

[FreeTime]

I am bit confused as to the point of the post as well. But, our low income family could easily come up with $3k for a vacation tomorrow. We are savers and do not have cc debt. When you find that you go with a bit less, I have learned, you get so much more!

 

[kkandaj]

We do have to save for a $3K vacation. DH and I make under $100K combined, by a lot actually, so don't have a ton of money left over every month. I don't consider us living out of our means though. We have a paid off car, paid off camper, another very modest car (Ford Focus) that is almost paid off, a very modest 3 bedroom home, don't have cable.

By the way, our camper is a small pop-up so barely requires any extra gas and is usually $20/night to camp. We take a few of these "vacations" per year to nearby lakes. Insurance is $12/month. Depending on the type of camper the OP has depends on how much extra money is thrown towards it.

We make a choice to spend extra money on our children's activities though. We choose that because it's important to us and we love to watch them do what they love. We could throw that money at a vacation fund, but we don't. When we are ready to plan a vacation, we cut back in other areas. We can save the $3K in less than 6 months, though I love to plan so usually have longer.

Would I love to inherit $300K one day? Sure, but the fact that my children still have 2 sets of great-grandparents and 3 grandparents is way more important to me than any amount of money. And no matter what--unless someone wins the lottery in my family--I will never inherit $300K, there are just too many of us to split it between--in my family and DH's family.

It does irritate me a little when people say "we can do this because we work hard." (Not the previous poster, just in people in general.) Just because you don't have a large salary doesn't mean you don't work hard. DH and I work hard also. DH works extremely hard, rehabilitating juvenile delinquents for the State. He makes very little money, because State wages are horrible, but chooses to work with these kids because he makes a difference in their lives and has a passion for these kids. He could've been one of those kids, but had some great mentors to help him along the way. I work in IT--and see lots of people that DON'T work hard, but make $150K/yr and get bonuses that could buy a small car. Sometimes your job's salary doesn't corelate with how "hard" you work.

I am thankful for the position we are in financially no matter how much we make or don't make. Your money will follow your priorities.

 

[mrsklamc]

Right, but aren't there TONs of people out there running around with money they inherited from family?

According to the author of "The Millionaire Next Door" this is a common fallacy- most millionaires are self-made. Thought I guess it depends on how you define TONs and how much 'money.'

 

[JanaDee]

DH and I are able to easily find $3k for a vacation because we work hard, and live below our means. It's as simple as that.

I dislike the insinuation that if you can't afford to come up with $3000 right now, you aren't working hard enough.

The majority of this country works hard and can't afford to vacation at Disney.

 

[JandJ]

If you're asking, do you need to budget to save for things you want? Yes. I personally think everyone needs to learn to love delayed gratification, too. I grew up in a household that never discussed money but never had a ton of it either and I lived paycheck-to-paycheck for many years until DH taught me the art of budgeting. So, as a result, I over-save and am quite OCD about it

We live well within in our means and save a lot. We budget everything - food, gas, dining out, doggie costs, haircuts, household repairs - everything. We live cheaper to have substantial savings for retirement and "just in case" savings. Our only debt is our very reasonable mortgage. We pay ourselves a monthly car payment and every 5 years we can buy one new car for cash (DH doesn't want to give up our 13 year old Civic that looks bad but runs great just for a new car so we'll keep on saving). We don't have cable. We get a discount on our cell phones through DH's company. We don't have kids (spent tens of thousands trying but God had another plan for us). We do help our niece out financially quite often and are happy to do so. We give a lot to charity. Vacations, well you can see in my siggy that we've taken some extravagant trips, but vacation comes out of DH's yearly bonus. If it's been a good year for the company he works for then he gets a really good bonus and we go to Europe. If it's been a not-so-good year then we take a short cruise or drive and Priceline a hotel for a weekend away and that's vacation.

It's a matter of priorities. We want to have a good cushion for retirement and those "Heaven forbid" things that could happen - a bad accident, a health crisis. Do I have $3k? Yes. Will I spend it from savings to go on a trip? No.

And the coming into money from a will thing - be careful counting on that. My aunt passed away a widow and they didn't have kids. She was like a second mother to me and I helped care for her at the end. She always said I was her favorite. She told me I was going to get 50% of everything (and all told that would have been well over $500k). She passed and her brothers came in and changed the will. I got a painting. I love the painting, and it reminds me of the special bond I had with my aunt. But, it's a good thing I didn't spend that money before I had it because I never got it.