I agree, the $implest answer is money. People will talk about travel being their passion and prioritizing that as a line item in their budget. In reality a lot of people don't have the ability to even have travel in their budget. I tend to avoid these threads because the answer really is money.
Completely agree with this. We travel, but it is not glamorous. We have friends who live in Alabama and have access to their parents beach house. We have family in IL. Family in TN and Georgia. We live in WI, so the majority of our trips have been to somewhere where we could stay for free. All of our trips, with the exception of one, have been road trips. Our kids think nothing of driving 18+ hours to get to a destination. I am a teacher and my husband works in a federal prison. We do not make even $100k together, despite me working a second job and having a master's degree. Our trips have to be affordable, so camping and road trips are what we do. I'd love to do more, but it isn't feasible because we don't have a "travel line" in our budget because our budget basically consists of paying our cost of living and throwing some into savings and retirement.
That being said, I am going to Africa this summer. A teacher friend of mine is finishing up her two year contract there, so I am going to visit and help her move back home. This is literally a once in a lifetime trip for me. I will never be able to afford a trip to Africa again. The ONLY reason it is doable this time is because I have a place to stay and a resident to get me around. It will still be amazing and I wish I could afford to take my kids with!
We have never taken our kids to Disney and don't have any interest in cruising. It just is what it is. I never rhad half the opportunity that my kids have and never traveled at all because my family was poor,so I try to remember that when I see people taking so many trips or see posts on here.
Which country in Africa? It’s a huge continent and I want to live vicariously.
The older I get the less I want to leave the states and go far. I don’t know what that’s about, but it’s been happening.
Ohhhh, I wish I could say the same. I’ve been to @25 countries, which is a lot, but I want to go to so many more. But my current reality is that international trips cannot happen every year. So I find fun things to do closer to home.
I want to take a road trip to Niagara Falls and Quebec City next year. And I want to do a bunch of national parks out West and the coast of California. And Seattle! Omg and Alaska.
I could plan trips all day long in my head.
Part of it is def anxiety, which I’ve always had. Then there’s also a part of me that’s like fuck it, anxiety is not going to get in the way, so a mixed bag. I’ll go anywhere as long as I have 100mg of Xanax. Lol
Ok douche, go ahead and call it mud. My husband DID have halitosis. We addressed it after I talked to you girls on here and guess what? Years later, no problem. Mofongo, you're a cunt. Eat shit. ~anonnamus
We have two decent incomes, school is free for one of our kids, and we don’t spend our money on other stuff. We drive 15 year old cars, we live in a smaller house, we don’t buy stupidly expensive electronics, so Al of our disposable income goes to travel. That’s what we prioritize.
We try to plan trips far out so everything is less expensive. We often go wherever we can find a cheaper flight. We don’t stay in fancy hotels, we use public transportation, we don’t eat at fancy places when we’re in other countries.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
I highly recommend joining a parents or singles group that focuses on local travel and using Chat GPT to come up with ideas. During the early months of COVID we were so stir crazy, but obviously not going anywhere, but we found a bunch of fun, outdoor, free things to do that we never would have known about thanks to a local families travel group I’m in.
And Chat GPT is great as a springboard for trip planning. For instance, I just asked it to tell me fun things to do in Wisconsin and it came back with this:
Visit the Wisconsin Dells, a city known for its water parks and outdoor activities Take a tour of the brewing facilities at MillerCoors in Milwaukee Explore the natural beauty of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on Lake Superior Visit the House on the Rock in Spring Green, a unique and eccentric attraction with a mix of architecture, art, and collections Take a cheese-making tour at a local dairy farm Go fishing or boating on one of Wisconsin's many lakes Hike or bike the Ice Age Trail, a 1,200-mile trail that winds through some of the state's most scenic areas Attend a Green Bay Packers football game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay Visit the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, which features a grand dome and guided tours Take a drive on the Great River Road, which follows the Mississippi River and offers beautiful views and historic sites.
All of these things are in driving distance from my home and most we have never done.
Dear Lord a Packers game is gonna dwt ya back at least $500! 🤣
But, as someone who lives close to all this, I can say we've done almost this entire list and they're all great memories!
We live in IL right by the border, so have done the Dells, Kenosha, and Milwaukee, but there is so much more to see!
I’ve been churning cc’s for years. But the most complete and easy way to learn how to do it is 10x points. They have a free course and they’re actually super helpful on FB. I’ve never found the Points Guy helpful. I really like Doctor of Credit for credit card and bank bonus info.
My problem now is that I could probably take some amazing trips with all the work I’m putting in, but can’t. 1. We have 5 small trips planned between now and the first week of June. Only ONE is a vacation and not sports related. What sucks is I can’t use points at most of these places the teams book. 2. We have no one to watch our kids anymore 3. Our family trip to Hawaii was a complete waste of money even with lie flat plane seats and resorts free
So I’ll keep collecting points, use them for family trips to all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean until the kids are out of HS, I guess. And THEN I will fly first class on Qatar or Eithad and go somewhere with an overwater bungalow and to South Africa for a safari and probably a lot of other places I’ve drooled over before then.
My work travel has to be on my corporate card, so I don’t get the points! That’s not typical? [womp, womp]
You wouldn’t get the points for the card purchase, but you should be able to add your FF or hotel loyalty # to any reservation and get the points for that!
Post by mysteriouswife on Jan 26, 2023 21:19:26 GMT -5
I really want to take my DD on a vacation just the two of us. I’m pretty sure we probably sleep all day. 😂 I have looked up Aruba and cruises. I might suggest this to H
Post by steamboat185 on Jan 26, 2023 21:20:11 GMT -5
Our flight getting canceled in the Southwest meltdown over Christmas is actually helping us a lot. Southwest gave every member of our family 25k points and they refunded our unused tickets. That took me from 5k Southwest points to 175k. We booked a last minute fare on United which earned us about 13k United miles and we charged it through on a credit card that pays 3 points per dollar on travel so that earned us another 9k points. Southwest refunded us all the money we spent while we were stuck and for the United flights. Two extra days of staying at my sisters house earned us almost 200k points. Edit we were not that calm when we booked the United flights. They were just about 3k and more than we had ever paid for a flight ever. Never mind a one way flight in the US.
Until about five years ago, H and I were riding the 50th percentile for income, so in our case it really wasn't money. We were just super thrifty in our everyday lives, and had no debt, so we could budget a large portion of our income - like 20% - to travel.
If you hang out on travel websites, you can usually find great deals on flights. Also, when you get to Europe or Asia, travel from country to country can be super cheap. We never stay in fancy hotels; we prefer funkier stays with a lot of character. We stayed in Tokyo for $75 a night, and that included a 5-6 course breakfast.
Now it will be a little harder to travel because we have a dog, but like Gretchen above, I'm pretty committed to taking one international trip a year even if other things must be sacrificed, because we only have all our kiddos at home for four more years. Somehow, we all seem to get along best when we're off on an adventure.
Completely agree with this. We travel, but it is not glamorous. We have friends who live in Alabama and have access to their parents beach house. We have family in IL. Family in TN and Georgia. We live in WI, so the majority of our trips have been to somewhere where we could stay for free. All of our trips, with the exception of one, have been road trips. Our kids think nothing of driving 18+ hours to get to a destination. I am a teacher and my husband works in a federal prison. We do not make even $100k together, despite me working a second job and having a master's degree. Our trips have to be affordable, so camping and road trips are what we do. I'd love to do more, but it isn't feasible because we don't have a "travel line" in our budget because our budget basically consists of paying our cost of living and throwing some into savings and retirement.
That being said, I am going to Africa this summer. A teacher friend of mine is finishing up her two year contract there, so I am going to visit and help her move back home. This is literally a once in a lifetime trip for me. I will never be able to afford a trip to Africa again. The ONLY reason it is doable this time is because I have a place to stay and a resident to get me around. It will still be amazing and I wish I could afford to take my kids with!
We have never taken our kids to Disney and don't have any interest in cruising. It just is what it is. I never rhad half the opportunity that my kids have and never traveled at all because my family was poor,so I try to remember that when I see people taking so many trips or see posts on here.
Which country in Africa? It’s a huge continent and I want to live vicariously.
Kenya! She lives and teaches in Nairobi. We haven't finalized any plans, but there's so much I want to do while there.
Which country in Africa? It’s a huge continent and I want to live vicariously.
Kenya! She lives and teaches in Nairobi. We haven't finalized any plans, but there's so much I want to do while there.
Currently, the only country I’ve been to in Africa is Rwanda (which is amazing), so Kenya is on my list. I want to see more of Africa than I do any other continent. I’m so jealous!
I visited a friend of mine in Western Samoa back in the early 2000s. We both joined the Peace Corps at the same time, but I was medically separated and she stayed the full two years and I figured when the hell else am I going to get to Western Samoa? So I went and had the best time. The highlight of my trip was attending the funeral for the high chief of the village Salani. (Obviously it was also very sad because he was my friend’s home stay grandfather and lots of people loved him, but it was one the most surreal and incredible experiences of my life.)
Visiting people you love in places you’ve never been can be really remarkable for reasons you don’t expect. I hope your visit is wonderful.
Most of our fun travel was pre-DD. In those days we could travel 2-3 times a year because we could go in off peak times. Now that isn’t the case and we don’t travel nearly as much. Last year we did two big trips but honestly spent a bit beyond our means and dipped into savings. No regrets but we can’t do that every year.
Travel right now is insanely expensive. Points for flying don’t go far. We are doing a cruise this summer because if you book far enough in advance they are a good value and we won’t have to fly.
Honestly though part of what helps us is no student loan debt. Because of that we’ve always been able to pay cash for our cars. That extra money goes to vacation. We prioritize travel over material things. I recognize the privilege.
For us it's largely high incomes, no kids, living well below our means & prioritizing travel over a larger more expensive house, flashy cars etc. We haven't had any debt beyond our mortgage in over 7 years. Like someone else said, a shit ton of privilege.
On a smaller scale however, I churn credit cards. I plan my trips over where my points get me more bang for my buck vs picking a location and going from there.
Two ways. 1) I own a business and pay 5 figure CC bills every month for the business alone. This means a lot of points earned. I just spent a bunch of points for the kids’ first trip to the west coast/first international trip this summer. I paid around $200 in taxes and didn’t have to spend the $2400 in cash for the flights. I don’t have time to churn but I do sign up for mega offers. Last year there was one from Capital One that was $4K cash back for spending $50K. Literally free money.
2) I’m a saver in general. I’m ok with spending more to travel places with my kids as they get older and we have to stick to school breaks so travel is just part of my mental budget of fun things to buy. I have dreamt about using the fun money for a luxury work purse for years, but I've put off buying it to spend the money on experiences/stuff for my kids instead.
ETA - of the places on your list, I'd like to take them to Costa Rica and Europe, maybe to the Caribbean. The rest of the places they can go themselves when they are adults or they can go with their dad when they are in their teens or older. I'd be ok staying home.
Post by wanderlustmom on Jan 26, 2023 22:01:53 GMT -5
I would say it's definitely some privilege--DH didn't have student loans and I had some (40K) but managed that with state schools for my two degrees. We both really love travel, my DH used to earn a lot of miles from work travel (that was no fun for any of us but free flights). Now he doesn't travel for work. My husband was good about maxing retirement so we have saved a lot, we live under our means and have a modest house and old cars. We stay in reasonable hotels, pick countries that aren't that expensive and less traveled and we all stay in one room often. Also the kids go to publlc schools with a balanced calendar so more time off in off peak season. My DH is an engineer--so not a huge income. I'm a social worker.
Post by sunnysally on Jan 26, 2023 22:08:19 GMT -5
We are DINKs who live frugally in our normal lives. When we bought our house, we intentionally bought something we could afford on one income. We've both more than doubled our income but we still live in the same house. I drive a 2005 Hyundai and H's is a 2007. We don't value stuff as much as we value experience. It may sound cliché, but travel is our priority. Depending on the destination we may stay in fancy hotels (like on safari where location really matters!) but most often we choose more budget friendly hotels. We try to alternate more expensive vacations with "budget" vacations. We are usually able to get airline tickets for the "budget" years with CC points earned in the previous year. I love researching and planning and usually make reservations well in advance.
I grew up very poor but always dreamed of traveling the world. I am fairly well traveled and consider it one of my greatest accomplishments.
Kenya! She lives and teaches in Nairobi. We haven't finalized any plans, but there's so much I want to do while there.
Currently, the only country I’ve been to in Africa is Rwanda (which is amazing), so Kenya is on my list. I want to see more of Africa than I do any other continent. I’m so jealous!
I visited a friend of mine in Western Samoa back in the early 2000s. We both joined the Peace Corps at the same time, but I was medically separated and she stayed the full two years and I figured when the hell else am I going to get to Western Samoa? So I went and had the best time. The highlight of my trip was attending the funeral for the high chief of the village Salani. (Obviously it was also very sad because he was my friend’s home stay grandfather and lots of people loved him, but it was one the most surreal and incredible experiences of my life.)
Visiting people you love in places you’ve never been can be really remarkable for reasons you don’t expect. I hope your visit is wonderful.
Thank you! My husband does not understand why I even want to go, but I cannot imagine giving up this opportunity. He's so not an international traveler, whereas my 10 year old would give anything to go with me. I truly want to see all the things. The daily life, the kids she helps in remote villages, a safari, and we may even swing an overnight on the coast. I absolutely cannot wait! Just need to figure out the best flight options now.
Post by Patsy Baloney on Jan 26, 2023 22:33:57 GMT -5
One other thought: shit is just really expensive right now. I don’t know if it will ever go back down. Every “normal” trip I price out ends up being 10K. We’re trying to plan something special for my H’s 40th this year and it has gone from France to Hawaii to a cross-country train to a road trip to, “Maybe we’ll have a bbq in the back yard?”
One other thought: shit is just really expensive right now. I don’t know if it will ever go back down. Every “normal” trip I price out ends up being 10K. We’re trying to plan something special for my H’s 40th this year and it has gone from France to Hawaii to a cross-country train to a road trip to, “Maybe we’ll have a bbq in the back yard?”
Ok, not that bad, but everything is $$$$$.
Yes! We are on the west coast so going to Hawaii is an easy trip. We would go to Maui once or twice a year. I haven’t gone since covid and looked up the hotel we just stayed in 2020. It is now $1,300 a night for a normal room! (Grand wailea). Faints.
We don't have kids, so we spend less money overall on life and only have 2 people to pay for when we travel. This obviously helps.
But we also use the Chase Sapphire Reserve card in combination with the Chase Freedom card for every purchase. This means we rarely pay much, if anything, for airfare. Our CC bills average 3-4k a month so we rack up a bunch of points every year.
We are also Airbnb or lower end hotel people. We average $100-150 a night and sometimes have points that help. We also don't do Michelin star meals, spas, etc... We are more likely to splurge on vacation than everyday, but a lot of our meals are simple or inexpensive too. We do not shop and generally will have a couple of drinks a day but don't drink heavily.
I think the most out of pocket we have ever spent on a trip is 5k, which is not nothing but isn't the huge dollar amount that I used to think it took to travel. We do make decent money now, but we went to Thailand and Costa Rica when we only made around 80k a year (combined) so not rich (we still aren't rich!). It's just picking the right places to stay and things to do when you are there.
Eta: also fully acknowledging the privilege to have extra money to spend in the first place! We do live in a townhouse with shared walls and share 1 eight year old car, so we also live somewhat frugally in some ways. My H has almost 100k in SL debt and we don't get any family help for most of our trips though!
Post by estrellita on Jan 26, 2023 23:03:50 GMT -5
We don't go to anywhere super fancy, but we just spent a week at Disney World. My honest answer as to how - my parents. They aren't rich by any means but have been very smart with their money. They are both retired and travel a lot (cheap if they fly standby because my dad worked for an airline). They've paid for most of a few vacations we've taken, usually the flights, hotel, park tickets, and food. So everything but souvenirs 😂
We have taken some trips ourselves but they are usually road trips to avoid car rentals, or we watch for deals as much as possible. I've learned that I have more luck booking hotels directly than on any of the "discount" sites, but it's worth checking around. To be clear, this is only US travel as we haven't been able to do international really (other than our Disney cruise, but there was no booking anything in the Bahamas). I hope to someday soon and I've been poking around Costco's travel stuff for location and pricing ideas.
Lastly, I currently have an airline card, but will be canceling it. I opened it last year when we booked a trip so we could get free checked luggage and some other perks. I've been trying to rack up miles before I cancel it (we don't travel enough to make the fee worth it). I know a lot of my friends who travel a lot have miles cards as others have mentioned here, although I'm not sure which ones specifically.
The vast majority of our travel spending is heavily subsidized, if not completely covered, by points. My H travels a TON for work. The travel points are one of the biggest perks of his job.
I find relatively cheap flights and have low standards once I'm in the country. I will stay at some very cheap, safe, and clean places. I'll travel by Flixbus or other public transport in a country.
I also have the luxury of a pretty flexible work schedule so I can go when tickets are cheap vs going when my schedule allows it.
This is how I travel. I will find a cheap flight and it maybe a year out, the off season. I also live near an awesome international airport so flight opportunities happen.
For example I booked a flight to Australia for $350 RT one January but the trip was in November. I had almost all year to find deals, plan the trip and other things.
Oh yeah, that’s another good point, being close to a good airport. I’m within decent distance to 5 large international airports, so that helps in being able to get good deals. Even if I have to pay $50 for a train ticket to get to the further away airports it’s typically worth it. I know not everyone has such great access!
One other thought: shit is just really expensive right now. I don’t know if it will ever go back down. Every “normal” trip I price out ends up being 10K. We’re trying to plan something special for my H’s 40th this year and it has gone from France to Hawaii to a cross-country train to a road trip to, “Maybe we’ll have a bbq in the back yard?”
Ok, not that bad, but everything is $$$$$.
Yes! We are on the west coast so going to Hawaii is an easy trip. We would go to Maui once or twice a year. I haven’t gone since covid and looked up the hotel we just stayed in 2020. It is now $1,300 a night for a normal room! (Grand wailea). Faints.
I’ve read that Hawaii hotels have gotten so expensive because supply hasn’t kept pace with demand. People stopped traveling internationally during covid (in part because we had no choice), and started going to Hawaii instead. As a result, airlines started flying bigger planes on those routes and cut fares, further driving up demand. Meanwhile, Hawaii has been facing the same labor shortages as everywhere else.
But, yes, everything is extremely expensive these days. I remember using my $1,300 tax refund in 2007 for a 10-day trip to Spain and Portugal. I don’t think $1,300 would even cover the airfare these days (certainly not during peak season.) The one caveat is that the dollar is kicking ass right now so once you get somewhere abroad it can be comparatively cheap.
Saving for travel starts again for me this year. Because of my heart problems I haven't traveled on a plane in a long time. I can now! Yeah!
Unfortunately I can't travel spur of the moment b/c of my job. I need to give a few months notice for a week trip. All of my vacation is spoken for this year already. No planes but road trips!
I think this board has a high percentage of high earners, DINKs, and people who travel (either themselves or Hs) a lot for work. So it is definitely skewed.
IRL, most people I know are not taking multiple big trips per year. The few I know who do are subsidized by family paying for it.
My kids are still little, so I hope we can travel more as they get older and more flexible. But holy cow it has been sticker shock going from planning a vacation for 2 to a family of 4. Kids make everything so much more expensive!