Author Topic: Travel Budget - Post-Fire  (Read 17116 times)

WSUCoug1994

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 537
  • Location: Bay Area, California
Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« on: December 18, 2017, 02:48:36 PM »
I would give myself a 7/10 on travel hacking and until the Credit Card Industry takes this all away from me I am going to continue to take advantage of it.  As I am planning for my Post-Fire life I am struggling to figure out what a reasonable annual travel budget would look like.  In a perfect world our little family of 4ish (Myself, Wife and Daughter and working on a fourth) and we could spend 4-6 weeks a summer slow traveling the world.  Prices, duration, etc. will all change depending on when and where we go.  Since we haven't done any of this as a family I don't have much of a baseline. 

Any advice from those more experienced and further down the path on how to "budget" for this kind of travel?

Freedom17

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 84
  • Location: Travelling
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2017, 04:59:23 PM »
Check out the rootofgood site. He does plenty of travel and lists all the costs in detail.

limeandpepper

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4569
  • Location: Australasia
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2017, 09:47:19 PM »
As you say,

Prices, duration, etc. will all change depending on when and where we go.

So my answer to this...

Any advice from those more experienced and further down the path on how to "budget" for this kind of travel?

... would be to work out how much you can afford and are willing to spend, and draft out rough potential itineraries that can fit into that budget. There are plenty of websites and travel blogs etc. that can help you figure out how much things cost in various countries but aside from those, as a quick glimpse, I generally look at how much a decent guesthouse would cost on accommodation-booking platforms, and that is pretty good at giving me a general idea of the level of expenditure I can expect before I research on other costs.

HawkeyeNFO

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 347
  • Location: Moose Scrotum, Alberta
  • Retired at 44.....back to work at 45
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2017, 08:57:56 AM »
Annual budget doesn't work for me.  I like to be somewhat spontaneous with the travel plans.  If a great travel deal comes along, I'll take it.  If I can't afford it, then I don't go. 

Best thing you can do is travel when everyone else is staying home.  Stay away from the crowds if possible.  The problem I have is that we have 3 kids in school still.

WSUCoug1994

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 537
  • Location: Bay Area, California
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2017, 08:04:09 AM »
I appreciate the advice everyone.  I will do a little more research.  Thank you.

asosharp

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 64
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2018, 07:37:15 AM »
There's this couple who retired like 20 years ago and they've been travelling around the world living on a daily budget of something like $50 a day. I can't remember the name of the book though or the couple... I think the Mr Money Moustache blog refers to them. Back in the day the guy wrote a book about retiring early. They have a website which is sometimes updated with all their travels.

Sorry I can't remember their names but hopefully you might be able to find them online somehow through some Google magic.

bacchi

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7056
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2018, 09:34:07 AM »
The Terhorsts. They retired at age ~35. I believe one of them was a Wall Street trader so they didn't go ERE style though they weren't dotcom insta-millionaires either.


clarkfan1979

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3352
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Pueblo West, CO
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2018, 12:43:42 AM »
Travel is probably our biggest expense besides housing. We spend about $600/month or $7,200/year. We don't spend very much on hotels. We book trips to visit friends and stay with them. If they want us to get a hotel we tend to go visit someone else. 

Mrs. Rocker

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 50
    • Off Our Rocker RV
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2018, 08:00:49 AM »
Slow travel is so much more rewarding than rushing daily from place to place. We travel full-time in a motorhome and love it. We can do touristy things one day and then take a day or two to rest and recharge before going again. We take advantage of free and low-cost camping spots which keeps our expenses quite low. We post trip reports and monthly expenses on our blog. See link below. 

boarder42

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9332
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2018, 08:05:11 AM »
Annual budget doesn't work for me.  I like to be somewhat spontaneous with the travel plans.  If a great travel deal comes along, I'll take it.  If I can't afford it, then I don't go. 

Best thing you can do is travel when everyone else is staying home.  Stay away from the crowds if possible.  The problem I have is that we have 3 kids in school still.

this is how we do it.  and we have miles packed in the bank to get us to the good deal when needed from travel hacking. 

Livingthedream55

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 525
  • Location: Massachusetts, USA
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2018, 08:07:16 AM »
I'm a little over a year away but my plan (and this is just for one person) is to have a travel line item in my FIRE budget of $400 a month.

This should allow for one international trip and 5-6 US based trips (some via budget airlines and some via car)  each year.

I also will explore credit card hacking (not doing it yet) for free flights and some of the trips will be slow travel (like stay in one place for a month and get the monthly discount on AirBnb for example).

Kakanui

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 18
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2018, 04:27:26 PM »
I've done mine a bit differently. I've no travel budget at this stage but have taken a one year volunteering job with an NGO in a small Pacific country that has next to zero tourism. Role includes flights too and from assignment, two trips off island during stay (so can pop down to Fiji, over to the Solomons, or back home for some R&R), western style accommodation (basic but serviceable- have running water but no hot water), all medical and insurances covered, have a small living allowance and opportunity to pass on my skills/knowledge to help strengthen the organisation I'm working at. 

Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but is giving me the opportunity to get a good understanding of the people, the country and issues they are facing and is a great way to "travel" and give back at the same time.

Kakanui

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #12 on: April 05, 2018, 08:11:17 PM »
My estimated FIRE date is a little over a year away.  I have a monthly barebones budget that includes all my expected bills over the long term (including infrequent things like costly home maintenance) and averaged out per month.

The remaining figure after subtracting barebones from my take home pay is for saving/entertainment/buying non-necessities, but not broken down into separate line items.  In almost every year, I saved at least 90% of it.

When I FIRE, based on a 4% WR, that remaining figure after subtracting barebones will be smaller, but traveling will probably become a new significant portion of that along with more entertainment and still some splurging on misc.

So, as a single person, that will provide about $30,000/yr. for travel/entertainment/splurging, but it's not broken down into separate line items or to a monthly basis.  In fact, some vacations are much less expensive than others, so I might spend more one year due to one or more expensive vacations, then cut back the following year with some low cost vacations.

Wild card for me that could change things up is the possibility of selling my home, maybe some slow travel without a home base for an extended period of time, and eventually re-locating.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 08:18:15 PM by DreamFIRE »

WSUCoug1994

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 537
  • Location: Bay Area, California
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2018, 08:30:54 AM »
Thank you for the comments - this is helpful.

dude

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2369
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #14 on: April 06, 2018, 11:28:44 AM »
The Terhorsts. They retired at age ~35. I believe one of them was a Wall Street trader so they didn't go ERE style though they weren't dotcom insta-millionaires either.

Bill and Akaisha Kaderli have been doing it as well. Retired with $500k. Today they have much more than that. Here's a great recent article on them (and the 4% Rule):

https://assetbuilder.com/knowledge-center/articles/the-biggest-risks-of-the-4-percent-retirement-rule

snapperdude

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 107
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #15 on: April 06, 2018, 10:10:06 PM »
I am struggling ...


Being a Coug this is not surprising.

Bow down to Washington!

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #16 on: April 07, 2018, 09:54:53 AM »
I'm trying to stick to a $50/day travel/living expenses budget myself as a single person (so much cheaper per person if you have a partner) and think its highly doable even in the US.
Also single, I thought my $30K/yr travel/entertainment FIRE budget sounded pretty good from an annual perspective, but when I break it down per day, that's only $82/day.  Excluding healthcare costs, that's only $124/day for everything unrelated to healthcare.

jim555

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3235
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #17 on: April 07, 2018, 08:34:30 PM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?

LAGuy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 318
  • Age: 49
  • Location: Los Angeles
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #18 on: April 08, 2018, 09:30:22 AM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?

Just get rid of all your stuff. That's what I did. The replacement cost probably doesn't make the ongoing cost of a storage unit worth it (if you decide to settle down just buy it all over again). Do you have any family that you can just store a box or two of sentimental stuff with? As for the no income tax address, I'd just see if you can get a "roommate" in one of those states. Throw them a couple hundred bucks and have them sort your mail. Minimize your mail so the only thing showing up there is a replacement credit card or two once every few years. I know there's also services that will deal with your mail for you, but I'm not totally sure if that's legit with some banks, but that's worth a look as well. Luckily for me I have a brother in Washington state (no income tax as well).

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #19 on: April 08, 2018, 11:03:18 AM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?
LOL how about a beater house? Its the mustashian equivalent of an old beater car. You buy it cheap, put minimal work into other than required repairs and maintenance, and you only use it as needed and could probably sell it for what you paid for it after years of use. Could work for a part time traveller who wanted a home base they didn't really have to worry about. Of course here in Cali a beater house is still going to cost a lot.
I was actually looking into this earlier this weekend in relationship to the homeless comments in the thread we were discussing RVs/vans and slow travel.  In this LCOL area, about the lowest cost house I would consider as a home base and part time living is about $50K, decent small house, decent neighborhood.  Then you have the other related expenses, taxes, utilities, etc.  If I do the long term slow travel thing, like with an RV, I think I will either just keep my existing house (to avoid additional buying/selling despite higher expenses vs. a cheaper house that I probably wouldn't want to settle down in) or go homeless while I'm doing slow travel and concern myself with a home later.  And if I decide to maintain my house or get any other house while traveling, I will probably cut back to shorter or fewer intervals of traveling through the year, as you had mentioned as well, since I'll have my home to return to vs. full time traveling.  In either case, I may end up re-locating in the long run.
« Last Edit: April 09, 2018, 08:58:20 PM by DreamFIRE »

Exhale

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 822
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #20 on: April 08, 2018, 11:07:04 AM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?

Check out cheaprvliving.com for extensive and detailed information on almost every aspect of nomad living.

Dealing with mail => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XylgnHXA0go

Exhale

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 822
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #21 on: April 08, 2018, 11:16:43 AM »
Slow travel is so much more rewarding than rushing daily from place to place. We travel full-time in a motorhome and love it. We can do touristy things one day and then take a day or two to rest and recharge before going again. We take advantage of free and low-cost camping spots which keeps our expenses quite low. We post trip reports and monthly expenses on our blog. See link below.
How does health insurance factor into your travel budget? I find that the hardest expense to plan for when preparing for the nomad life.

snapperdude

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 107
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #22 on: April 09, 2018, 08:42:00 PM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?

Check out cheaprvliving.com for extensive and detailed information on almost every aspect of nomad living.

Dealing with mail => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XylgnHXA0go

Bob has some good content. But, please, don't become one of those people who shits in a bucket and throws it in a dumpster.

Mrs. Rocker

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 50
    • Off Our Rocker RV
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #23 on: April 10, 2018, 03:06:45 PM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?
We sold or gave away everything and would do it again. Saves the expense of storage lockers and less to worry about. We aren't materialist people and stores sell stuff everyday so can always replace items if needed.

Mrs. Rocker

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 50
    • Off Our Rocker RV
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #24 on: April 10, 2018, 03:10:37 PM »
Slow travel is so much more rewarding than rushing daily from place to place. We travel full-time in a motorhome and love it. We can do touristy things one day and then take a day or two to rest and recharge before going again. We take advantage of free and low-cost camping spots which keeps our expenses quite low. We post trip reports and monthly expenses on our blog. See link below.
How does health insurance factor into your travel budget? I find that the hardest expense to plan for when preparing for the nomad life.
The expense will vary depending on your age, location and income. ACA plans can be very affordable if you are able to keep your income low enough to qualify for subsidies.

jim555

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3235
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #25 on: April 10, 2018, 04:01:37 PM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?
We sold or gave away everything and would do it again. Saves the expense of storage lockers and less to worry about. We aren't materialist people and stores sell stuff everyday so can always replace items if needed.
My biggest concern would be losing original documents like birth cert, death certs, diplomas, SS card, etc..  Also hard drives with precious data.  Would not want to have to replace these due to being lost in travel.  Encrypt up to the cloud could be an answer for the data.

Edit:  A bank safe deposit box would solve this problem.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2018, 04:44:07 AM by jim555 »

Roots&Wings

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1555
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #26 on: April 11, 2018, 06:10:09 AM »
I've done mine a bit differently. I've no travel budget at this stage but have taken a one year volunteering job with an NGO in a small Pacific country that has next to zero tourism. Role includes flights too and from assignment, two trips off island during stay (so can pop down to Fiji, over to the Solomons, or back home for some R&R), western style accommodation (basic but serviceable- have running water but no hot water), all medical and insurances covered, have a small living allowance and opportunity to pass on my skills/knowledge to help strengthen the organisation I'm working at. 

Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but is giving me the opportunity to get a good understanding of the people, the country and issues they are facing and is a great way to "travel" and give back at the same time.

Kakanui

How do you find these types of volunteer opportunities?

WSUCoug1994

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 537
  • Location: Bay Area, California
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #27 on: April 11, 2018, 08:34:41 PM »
I am struggling ...


Being a Coug this is not surprising.

Bow down to Washington!

I can promise you one thing.....never in my life will I bow down to anyone other than my wife (even though she went to UCLA) and certainly not to some hairy dawg.

snapperdude

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 107
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #28 on: April 11, 2018, 10:22:55 PM »
I am struggling ...


Being a Coug this is not surprising.

Bow down to Washington!

I can promise you one thing.....never in my life will I bow down to anyone other than my wife (even though she went to UCLA) and certainly not to some hairy dawg.




Kitty-cat say what?


flyingaway

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 464
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #29 on: April 13, 2018, 09:07:06 PM »
I would give myself a 7/10 on travel hacking and until the Credit Card Industry takes this all away from me I am going to continue to take advantage of it.  As I am planning for my Post-Fire life I am struggling to figure out what a reasonable annual travel budget would look like.  In a perfect world our little family of 4ish (Myself, Wife and Daughter and working on a fourth) and we could spend 4-6 weeks a summer slow traveling the world.  Prices, duration, etc. will all change depending on when and where we go.  Since we haven't done any of this as a family I don't have much of a baseline. 

Any advice from those more experienced and further down the path on how to "budget" for this kind of travel?

I have been experimenting retirement travel since January and have used 9 pages of my new passport in 4 months. I can say that travel hacking is overrated by the bloggers who just want to write something and make some money from credit card companies.
Those points and miles are difficult to use for people who travel a lot and to low cost countries such as those in southeast Asia. The budget airlines and Hotels are convenient and cheap.

physdude

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • Age: 48
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #30 on: April 15, 2018, 02:01:22 AM »
Agree wholeheartedly, especially for SE Asia which is insane value for money. I am currently visiting Medan and staying at one of the very top hotels there (the four points) for under $50 a night all inclusive with breakfast (huge and tasty spread). I am staying here for the star points but I can get a pretty similar hotel with equally good breakfast for under $30 a night with fewer bells and whistles which I hardly use.  And all this is actually rather expensive for this area given that Medan is the local megapolis. A decent hotel at Lake Toba which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and which is a few hours from here runs under $15 a night (no breakfast but with a large balcony giving a fantastic sunset view over the lake). At that cost level, the miles and points don't really matter imho. Also, the more expensive places in SE Asia don't seem all that much more beautiful but are usually better connected and more tourist friendly in terms of language and food. With a bit of adjustability and available free time, these less expensive places are amazing value for money and the people in these areas are usually very friendly and nice to tourists since they get so few. I had the unusual experience of being treated like a star at the four points as I was the only foreigner for the first few nights with the restaurant manager greeting me specially every morning. Another memorable incident was the grab bike driver I gave a 8 cent tip to yesterday (yes, that is not a typo) who was embarrassingly grateful. 

All in all, I find visiting here much nicer than traveling in the US or Europe though one might face the occasional discomfort (isn't that what Moustachianism is all about anyway?).

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Tapatalk

« Last Edit: April 15, 2018, 08:03:13 AM by physdude »

physdude

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • Age: 48
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #31 on: April 15, 2018, 08:16:49 AM »
It is amazing what I can get here if I am prepared to spend something close to western prices. I just had dinner at the restaurant in the Four points hotel which is highly rated but almost always empty outside of the free breakfast. I got a grilled oxtail soup (local favorite) which was re-interpreted by the chef to a western style grilled oxtail which was amazingly succulent and tasty together with a decent large vegetable soup (nothing of note in it but it was fine). I rounded it out with a fresh avocado juice  and the complimentary banana chips for an excellent meal in a very posh restaurant. The total bill - US$10.50 including the high goverment tax and service charge (so no tip expected)!

Now, that is very expensive for a dinner in Medan and the locals who can afford it (there are actually many as it is a major export center for palm oil and high quality wood) probably employ full time chefs at home and so have little need for restaurants. For an international traveler, this is luxury dining at almost developed country fast food prices.

(I have attached a photo of the meal but it doesn't seem to show up in the preview.)

limeandpepper

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4569
  • Location: Australasia
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #32 on: April 15, 2018, 12:50:15 PM »
It's difficult for me to do travel hacking as I'm in Australia and with low income I'm often not eligible for the credit cards with the really great deals. But as what has been said above, with low cost countries it's not a big deal if you don't travel hack. And thankfully, Australia is not too far from Asia, and AirAsia operates here, so that works well for me. Also I'm not properly retired but I like to do mini-retirements in Asia, and being in the same region for months helps bring down the average daily cost.

Plina

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 663
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #33 on: April 15, 2018, 12:53:56 PM »
I was considering selling everything and going nomad.  I am stuck on what to do about a home base in the US.  Buy a shack in Nevada (no income tax)?  Or get storage unit?  Go totally base less?
LOL how about a beater house? Its the mustashian equivalent of an old beater car. You buy it cheap, put minimal work into other than required repairs and maintenance, and you only use it as needed and could probably sell it for what you paid for it after years of use. Could work for a part time traveller who wanted a home base they didn't really have to worry about. Of course here in Cali a beater house is still going to cost a lot.

I guess the question is why do you feel that you need a home base? I would not want the bruden of a house if I was gone. Who would look after it?

I am going to travel a year. I am going to rent out my apartment, get a safe for jewelry and some papersstuff and store most of the other stuff. The sofa and book shelf will be sold because they cost to much so store. Officially I am moving to my parents place so they can deal with the mail.

ol1970

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 151
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #34 on: April 17, 2018, 05:56:20 AM »
We have what I feel is the ultimate travel hack...my GF works in the airline industry and we just fly standby for free, or if it’s not on her company’s plan we get about an 80% discount on the fairs.  It’s awesome, she can shift her schedule around and open up big blocks of time, then as long as we are flexible on when we leave or get home it’s never an issue.  Best part is we negotiate on VRBO places that are not filled last minute and get great deals.  Definitely not for the Polly planners of the so le that’s for sure!  In the last year we will have used $80k (admittedly first class international adds up fast) of airfare for about $1k in taxes and fees.  Beyond that we probably spend $20k a year in travel/fun related expenses above and beyond what normal living expenses would have been anyway. In a couple years she can retire with flight benefits for life...it’s a pretty good set up!

Bendigirl

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 57
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #35 on: April 17, 2018, 04:39:04 PM »
We worked hard, as does everyone, for our retirement fund and darn it...We are spending it! 
$20,000 a year minimum....good hotels, good flights..first class I’d needed.
Spend the inheritance!

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #36 on: April 17, 2018, 06:30:38 PM »
We worked hard, as does everyone, for our retirement fund and darn it...We are spending it! 
$20,000 a year minimum....good hotels, good flights..first class I’d needed.
Spend the inheritance!
I mentioned $30K/yr earlier, but that's just for me.  Since I'm not too crazy about flying and want to save the environment, I figure I'll do most of my traveling on a bicycle.  hehehe

Bendigirl

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 57
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #37 on: April 17, 2018, 07:50:56 PM »
$30000 on a bike!  Woohoo...
I didn’t even think about what we spend on travel here, just the “big”trips.  Actually, after adding it up 2018 trips are at about $25,000 right now....that’s cross Canada on the train and exploring the maritimes, then India and Nepal.  Just back from Vancouver island...but didn’t count that.

Can’t bike that far, but I do commend your environmentally friendly travel.

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #38 on: April 19, 2018, 04:52:06 PM »
$30000 on a bike!  Woohoo...
I didn’t even think about what we spend on travel here, just the “big”trips.  Actually, after adding it up 2018 trips are at about $25,000 right now....that’s cross Canada on the train and exploring the maritimes, then India and Nepal.  Just back from Vancouver island...but didn’t count that.

Can’t bike that far, but I do commend your environmentally friendly travel.
I was being slightly facetious.  I would like to do some biking travel, maybe some RV/van slow travel, and take the bike with me, but I am not too excited about traveling abroad or flying in general.  It's not completely outside of the realm though, so I'll see how things play out after I FIRE next year.  With a $30k/yr travel and entertainment budget as a single person, I have some options.

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #39 on: April 19, 2018, 10:41:23 PM »
$30000 on a bike!  Woohoo...
I didn’t even think about what we spend on travel here, just the “big”trips.  Actually, after adding it up 2018 trips are at about $25,000 right now....that’s cross Canada on the train and exploring the maritimes, then India and Nepal.  Just back from Vancouver island...but didn’t count that.

Can’t bike that far, but I do commend your environmentally friendly travel.
I was being slightly facetious.  I would like to do some biking travel, maybe some RV/van slow travel, and take the bike with me, but I am not too excited about traveling abroad or flying in general.  It's not completely outside of the realm though, so I'll see how things play out after I FIRE next year.  With a $30k/yr travel and entertainment budget as a single person, I have some options.
Yeah that's a pretty large travel budget, and depending on the duration and type of trips, you probably won't need as much as you think. I have found travelling solo to be much more expensive then travelling with others if not flying or using mass transit so you're probably wise to have a higher budget for the type of travel you'll be doing (road trips in North America). Other than food costs, your expenses will probably be double than if you were travelling with another person. Kind of sucks but the trade off is you can do what you want with out having to be considerate of others.
Thanks.  I thought $30K/yr sounded pretty good for all the excesses over my basic budget, but it doesn't seem like so much when I break it down per month or day.  That's based on maintaining my home and not traveling full time.  If I sold my house, that would free up about $8500/yr (not including opportunity cost of the funds from the house - LCOL and much less expensive than yours.)  That's not something I would do early on - need to test the waters (I know we discussed this before.)

I can't even think of anyone that could travel with me - someone who is single, retired, can finance their share, and might actually be interested in some slow travel.  Nine years ago, an ex-gf of mine said she wanted to retire at 50 and travel.  At the time, I asked how she could do that, and I said she would run out of money.  She said she would go back to work later if she had to.   I told her I could never afford that.  It was only briefly discussed.  Funny, because that's when I was still expecting to work until 65 to 67, and now I'm looking at over a decade earlier.  And now, she's probably the one who is going to keep working. lol

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #40 on: May 17, 2018, 01:47:55 PM »
We take 2 trips/year and spend between 10-14k. This year we took a cruise and will do a 5k/miles trip in the states with our car and 3 dogs.  NOt taking the RV because with the cost of RV sites and gas we can stay in motel 6's which are dog friendly for the same price.

snapperdude

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 107
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #41 on: May 17, 2018, 08:47:55 PM »
We take 2 trips/year and spend between 10-14k. This year we took a cruise and will do a 5k/miles trip in the states with our car and 3 dogs.  NOt taking the RV because with the cost of RV sites and gas we can stay in motel 6's which are dog friendly for the same price.

Many Motel 6s limit the number of dogs to two. We have found letting some place like bringfido.com call them for prior approval helps to get the limit waived.

Also, we find LaQuinta pretty receptive to more than two when called by bringfido.com. We also find them a bit nicer than Motel 6.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2018, 08:52:40 PM by snapperdude »

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #42 on: May 17, 2018, 11:25:32 PM »
Because the 2 Little ones weighed 5 lbs each and all Maltese are white we just put one in a bag and no one is the wiser.  They are pad trained so no need to go out.

dude

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2369
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #43 on: May 18, 2018, 08:06:30 AM »
We take 2 trips/year and spend between 10-14k. This year we took a cruise and will do a 5k/miles trip in the states with our car and 3 dogs.  NOt taking the RV because with the cost of RV sites and gas we can stay in motel 6's which are dog friendly for the same price.

wow, those are expensive trips! do you have kids? The wife and I do 3-4 weeklong trips/year together at a cost of @$3k/trip. Generally to Mexico/Latin America (Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama). Typically, airfare + hotel runs @$1,800, then $200-$300 for a rental car, the rest spent on food and activities (surfboard rentals, scuba diving, etc.). Every few years we'll do a trip to Europe, which tends to run us @$4k-$5k for 10-14 days. Also, each year I do 2 solo trips, one snowboarding out west, one rock climbing out west. These are far cheaper trips (esp. the latter which involves camping instead of hotels).

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #44 on: May 18, 2018, 09:42:15 AM »
We are 63 so our camping days are behind us unless we take our RV.  Our kids are long grown.  We spend about 5-6k for a cruise.  We go early to the city we are leaving from to explore and then stay in the port we go home from also. When we go to Europe we go for 2 weeks and Poland cost us 5k whereas Italy cost us 8k.

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #45 on: May 19, 2018, 07:40:05 AM »
We take 2 trips/year and spend between $10K-$14K. This year we took a cruise and will do a 5k/miles trip in the states with our car and 3 dogs.  NOt taking the RV because with the cost of RV sites and gas we can stay in motel 6's which are dog friendly for the same price.

wow, those are expensive trips! do you have kids? The wife and I do 3-4 weeklong trips/year together at a cost of $3K/trip. Generally to Mexico/Latin America (Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama). Typically, airfare + hotel runs $1,800, then $200-$300 for a rental car, the rest spent on food and activities (surfboard rentals, scuba diving, etc.). Every few years we'll do a trip to Europe, which tends to run us $4K-$5K for 10-14 days. Also, each year I do 2 solo trips, one snowboarding out west, one rock climbing out west. These are far cheaper trips (esp. the latter which involves camping instead of hotels).

When we go to Europe we go for 2 weeks and Poland cost us $5K whereas Italy cost us $8K.

Expensive travelers on here I see.  Heck, that makes my $30K/yr discretionary budget (for me alone) seem inadequate for much traveling when I FIRE.  The $30K will have to cover everything beyond my necessary expenses (barebones) including local entertainment, so the entire $30K can't go to travel.  I think I'll stick to US and Canada, though, and drive.  I'm not too crazy about going to Mexico, South/Central America, or overseas.

We are 63 so our camping days are behind us unless we take our RV.  Our kids are long grown.  We spend about $5K-$6K for a cruise. 

Yikes!  That's a little too cashy for me.  I think I'll stick to land and small boats.
« Last Edit: May 19, 2018, 07:52:44 AM by DreamFIRE »

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #46 on: May 19, 2018, 08:59:27 AM »
We did not travel much until about 15 years ago. Now this is our time to enjoy while we both are healthy

DreamFIRE

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1593
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #47 on: May 19, 2018, 01:34:16 PM »
We did not travel much until about 15 years ago. Now this is our time to enjoy while we both are healthy

You have at least a 16 year head start on me then.  :)

I'm not saying that you shouldn't travel if you can afford it, but those figures add up quickly if you're FIREd and have all year to travel, and my $30K discretionary isn't going to allow that much traveling at that expense, not that I'll have to sit at home, though.  :)  I'll look at more frugal ways to stretch my $30K/yr discretionary.  If I OMY to 2020 instead of 2019, that only buys me about 10% extra - not really worth it.

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #48 on: May 22, 2018, 10:47:12 AM »
We lost 3 friends between the ages of 59-67 and know couples where one person is not healthy enough for travel. So we are doing what we want while we can.  Also by age 80 many people say that traveling is a hassle.

itchyfeet

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 985
Re: Travel Budget - Post-Fire
« Reply #49 on: May 22, 2018, 12:33:26 PM »
We lost 3 friends between the ages of 59-67 and know couples where one person is not healthy enough for travel. So we are doing what we want while we can.  Also by age 80 many people say that traveling is a hassle.

Yeah, my parents used to travel a lot, but my dad had to get a pacemaker and he read (potentially an urban myth) that airport metal detectors can disrupt a pacemaker and now he refuses to fly. They still take a cruise once a year but that’s it. My parents are 79 and 73. They travelled a lot until dad hit 70 and then have really wound back. He got the pacemaker 2 years ago at 77.

DW and I are looking to have a big travel budget of $18K a year and arelooking at it as $200/day for 90 days a year, or $300 a day for 60 days a year, and if we want to do something pricey we will still be able to travel for 36 days in any year on a budget of $500/ day.