I have had many many years where my only vacation was only the week off over Christmas when many companies/projects shut down, and those were usually a flight to see family. To add to that, I’ve averaged at least 6 days a week for probably 85% of the last decade.
I typically work as a contractor and don’t have paid holidays or vacation. It makes it really hard not to look at the opportunity cost of things. Right now my day rate is $850/day, plus $980/wk per diem. If I take 6 days off work, I’m already down $5100 (enough for a lean months spending for us). Then you add in the cost of a vacation, and it makes a pretty big difference taking that time off. Fortunately, I get paid the weeks per diem regardless..
All this aside, just last week my contract was up for renewal, and even though I just got a raise in January, I was able to negotiate two weeks paid vacation and 8 or 9 paid holidays.. That will make a huge difference in my quality of life. Not because it’s more money, because I simply wouldn’t take much vacation and work extra days to compensate for the holidays. But instead, I can take some extra time off and actually RELAX..