Just curious.
Our combined incomes are roughly $180K, and I budget $1,200/mo ( $14,400/yr ) for travel.
We're a family of 4, take roughly 3 domestic and 1 international trips per year.
It's excessive, but we moved away from family and we like to visit. We're also dual citizens and enjoy going back to Europe every year to visit family.
Other than that, there are no beach or destination vacations - everything is for visiting family.
I never realized it before but we don't have a travel budget. We just make frugal travel choices. I churn about a dozen credit cards for sign-up bonuses and miles, so travel and lodging is often free (free + booking fees), but our largest travel expense is having to pay for boarding for our pets. I have yet to figure out a good way to frugalize overnight pet boarding.
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.True, but just remember life is all about doing what you love and some people here seem to love their travelling so it's not a bad thing if you do something you love even if it costs alot....as long as it doesn't put you in debt.
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.Average about $5k
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.
Now that the mortgage is paid, it is the second largest item on my budget after retirement investing.
Cool! I also assume people who have an SO and/or kids are including them in the budget and it's not per person. My travel spending is just for me so may be much higher than a family with seemingly larger expenses. Of course mine is for months at a time rather than weeks so that makes a huge difference. Probably need a per person per day expense breakdown. But really doesn't matter 'cause....travel!People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.Average about $5k
Median about $3k
I made a histogram of the results. Best I could estimate on some of them.
What is your definition of astounding?
Family of 5, gross income about $200k, our travel budget is about $10k per year. We don't spend that every year, though - I'd say we alternate between 5K/15K because we do a "big" trip every other year. Last year it was Hawaii, next year it's Japan. This year we'll just do local trips & such.
And yes, it's a large line item in my budget. I'm willing to cut in other places to give my children the experience of visiting other places. As a college professor I see many young adults who have never been outside their local area, and I think those kids are at a disadvantage over those who have seen the world.
I'd never traveled much before college. I grew up in PA (rural). When I was 7, we drove to NC to visit an uncle for a week.Family of 5, gross income about $200k, our travel budget is about $10k per year. We don't spend that every year, though - I'd say we alternate between 5K/15K because we do a "big" trip every other year. Last year it was Hawaii, next year it's Japan. This year we'll just do local trips & such.
And yes, it's a large line item in my budget. I'm willing to cut in other places to give my children the experience of visiting other places. As a college professor I see many young adults who have never been outside their local area, and I think those kids are at a disadvantage over those who have seen the world.
Kids that have seen the world before college? Do you realize how elitist that sounds? You may "cut" in places in order to have a 10k travel budget - but with your income it's not hard. The majority of parents in this country feel lucky to be able to take their kids on a road trip or camping and I'm sure their kids will turn out just fine.
We spend about 5k per year split up into a few trips. These are road trips to visit family or renting a house on the beach.
We budget for 1,950$ but, when my spouse is not looking, I secretly buy some sweet sweet VXC.
Hmmmmm... international exposure at it's best.
I'd never traveled much before college. I grew up in PA (rural). When I was 7, we drove to NC to visit an uncle for a week.Family of 5, gross income about $200k, our travel budget is about $10k per year. We don't spend that every year, though - I'd say we alternate between 5K/15K because we do a "big" trip every other year. Last year it was Hawaii, next year it's Japan. This year we'll just do local trips & such.
And yes, it's a large line item in my budget. I'm willing to cut in other places to give my children the experience of visiting other places. As a college professor I see many young adults who have never been outside their local area, and I think those kids are at a disadvantage over those who have seen the world.
Kids that have seen the world before college? Do you realize how elitist that sounds? You may "cut" in places in order to have a 10k travel budget - but with your income it's not hard. The majority of parents in this country feel lucky to be able to take their kids on a road trip or camping and I'm sure their kids will turn out just fine.
We spend about 5k per year split up into a few trips. These are road trips to visit family or renting a house on the beach.
The week after I graduated HS, my sister took me on a weekend "vacation" to stay with a friend in OH (she had a pool!)
My first ever plane trip was when I was a freshman in college, 18, with ROTC - all the way to GA.
I think I turned out just fine.
Oh, my mom made $9000 a year in income back then.
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.
I never realized it before but we don't have a travel budget. We just make frugal travel choices. I churn about a dozen credit cards for sign-up bonuses and miles, so travel and lodging is often free (free + booking fees), but our largest travel expense is having to pay for boarding for our pets. I have yet to figure out a good way to frugalize overnight pet boarding.
As a child our family would drive to visit and stay with relatives several times a year. I went on two actual 'go somewhere far away vacations' during my entire childhood . . . We spent a week in Puerto Vallarta when I was 13, and we spent a two weeks driving around the east coast of Canada (Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia) when I was 16.
I'm incredibly grateful that my parents did not instill a love of travel in me, or normalize travel spending. Apparently this gift has saved me thousands upon thousands of dollars every year.
I almost feel like not being worldly was to my advantage in college.I'd never traveled much before college. I grew up in PA (rural). When I was 7, we drove to NC to visit an uncle for a week.Family of 5, gross income about $200k, our travel budget is about $10k per year. We don't spend that every year, though - I'd say we alternate between 5K/15K because we do a "big" trip every other year. Last year it was Hawaii, next year it's Japan. This year we'll just do local trips & such.
And yes, it's a large line item in my budget. I'm willing to cut in other places to give my children the experience of visiting other places. As a college professor I see many young adults who have never been outside their local area, and I think those kids are at a disadvantage over those who have seen the world.
Kids that have seen the world before college? Do you realize how elitist that sounds? You may "cut" in places in order to have a 10k travel budget - but with your income it's not hard. The majority of parents in this country feel lucky to be able to take their kids on a road trip or camping and I'm sure their kids will turn out just fine.
We spend about 5k per year split up into a few trips. These are road trips to visit family or renting a house on the beach.
The week after I graduated HS, my sister took me on a weekend "vacation" to stay with a friend in OH (she had a pool!)
My first ever plane trip was when I was a freshman in college, 18, with ROTC - all the way to GA.
I think I turned out just fine.
Oh, my mom made $9000 a year in income back then.
Fair enough. I also grew up in poverty and didn't go on a plane until I was 20, and I turned out just fine as well. But I do believe I, personally, was at a disadvantage in college and graduate school over my peers who were more worldly. And I do see a difference in my students between those who have experienced other cultures and those who haven't. My current institution has a $60k yearly price tag, so I'm doubting these students aren't traveling for the same reasons I didn't as a kid.
I'm certainly not asking anyone to agree with me, I've simply structured my life (and our finances) to include these experiences for us. I don't really see that as being elitist, and I don't think travel is imperative to success in life. But I do think it's helpful.
Asking someone their budget of anything is like asking someone what brand of underwear they wear.
Asking someone their budget of anything is like asking someone what brand of underwear they wear.
We spend 10% of annual budget on travel. Hanes.
People in this thread spend an astounding amount of money on travel each year.
No budget here, but if I look in Mint it tells me that we've (we = wife and me) averaged $248/mo (around $3k/year) on travel-related expenses since February of 2012. The amount spent appears to be trickling up each year.
I can take 16 days off in a row, 10 times a year, and only use 16 hours of vacation each time, if I want
No budget here, but if I look in Mint it tells me that we've (we = wife and me) averaged $248/mo (around $3k/year) on travel-related expenses since February of 2012. The amount spent appears to be trickling up each year.
Holy thread revival Batman! @v8rx7guy pulled up a nearly 3-year old thread, so I guess I should update my entry: last year we averaged $500/mo, and this year is looking to definitely beat that.
I can take 16 days off in a row, 10 times a year, and only use 16 hours of vacation each time, if I want
What? You can take half the month off ten months out of the year? I don't understand.
Our family of 5 spends about $2500 on year on travel. That includes about 10 nights of camping in state parks and 3-4 driving trips to visit family; some of those trips require motels and some eating out.
I work a rotating 12 hour shift (that requires a calendar to keep straight). The shift is on a 10 week rotation, and based on an 80 hour, 2 week, pay period (rather than a 40 hour week). At one point in those 10 weeks, I work 6 12 hour nights at the very beginning of pay period 1. The second week, I work one 8 hour day, so 80 hour in pay period 1. The third week (pay period 2), I work one 8 hour day. The fourth week, I work my 6 12 hour nights at the end of the pay period. So, if I take those two 8 hour days off, I get 16 days off in a row.
I'll edit my original post...
Have you looked into either the BarclayCard Arrival MasterCard or the Chase Sapphire travel rewards card? Neither of these lock you into using a particular airline or hotel chain (you just buy your airline tickets and other travel-related costs with the card, and reimburse yourself for the purchase with your miles).
I love our BarclayCard--we don't spend nearly as much on travel as you, but so far it's saved us about $1,500 on the two trips to Europe we made in 2014 and 2015. With higher incomes, I bet you would rack up even more points than we do. :)
This year, we're going to Kenya and Rwanda
(snip)
Travel hacking for flights would make a huge difference and it would be such a sweet, sweet feeling to not have to pay very much for what is always an awful experience anyway. We had the Southwest Companion Pass last year and figured it saved us about $1500, but Southwest makes everything *so easy*. From accumulating to using miles/points and being able to change flights, etc. Reading materials on how to get miles on any other airline, and then use the different portals and transfer points between A and B and then the elaborate gymnastics you have to go through to find seats you can use those points on...it's like worse than studying for the Bar exam, TBH. I'm not sure when in my retirement I will have the capacity to do that work. So I sort of made my travel budget to allow me to spend more time actually traveling than working on the intricacies and frustrations of seat selection and blackout dates on all the carriers.
I'm taking a sabbatical this year, so I'll likely spend more. I'm taking my sister to Hawaii, for example. We generally try to keep it to around $10k. This includes 3-4 long weekends or visits to my family (requires flights for four), an adult only trip (we're driving to Napa for a weekend) & skiing.
I'm taking a sabbatical this year, so I'll likely spend more. I'm taking my sister to Hawaii, for example. We generally try to keep it to around $10k. This includes 3-4 long weekends or visits to my family (requires flights for four), an adult only trip (we're driving to Napa for a weekend) & skiing.
You're supposed to be retired by now!
I live in a place many people vacation to, so I don't really travel much. I probably spend $100-$200 on gas to drive to various trailheads in CO to camp and climb mountains. Once a year I drive to the desert to camp somewhere warm and ride bikes. I love taking little road trips around the southwest to ride bikes...but it's super cheap car camping type travel. I love where I live though, so being at home usually trumps any kind of traveling. Seems like it saves me a lot of cash, too! I've just never had the "travel bug" I guess...but I've also always made sure I am living in an amazing place with endless outdoor adventures, surrounded by mountains, etc...then I don't feel like I need to leave.
I wanted to comment also on the international travel before college thing. Seriously? Is this a thing that people think kids "should" be doing? My parents could barely afford to help me a little with groceries in college (paid for college with a scholarship). My only focus in high school was getting into a good college, not paying for it, and graduating as soon as possible. I'm sure it was a good experience for kids to do that type of travel before college, but I firmly believe I did not miss out on anything, and honestly from my perspective I was a lot more grounded than most of my classmates.
I'm FIREd so do longer trips (month or 2 at a time) and spend about $1500/month on average travelling solo (less if with someone and splitting costs). That's been for mostly camping road trips with occasional motels in the US or for a monthly vacation house rental in one place. So probably around $6k/ year for 4 months of solo travel.
I expect it to be the same for longer overseas slow travel I plan to do this year. lf solo I budgeted approx $2k/month all in but believe it will be less - and probably half if travelling with someone else. At this point I already booked a 3 month solo trip to Europe with r/t airfare for $360 and plan to either bike tour or do a 3 month Eurail Pass (about $300/month). Probably Hostels or cheap AirBNBs or some kind of low cost longer term apt rental. So should easily be able to stay on a budget of $1500 -$2000/month.
ETA currently my travel expenses ARE also my living expenses since I sold my house to travel full time. But back when I owned a place I spent about $6k/ year once FIREd - much less when working as I didn't travel much then.
Hmm, this is easy, $0.00 lmao
What do I win? lol