"It will be worth paying off over the next few years"

[MicroRN]

Some friends just took a three week trip to Europe, traveling through 5 or 6 countries.  I was looking at photos on FB and feeling a bit jealous, when I saw another person had posted "Wow!  I really wish we could afford to do a trip like this, but it won't be in the budget until {small children} are out of daycare."  Friend responded "Oh, we basically maxed out 2 credit cards to pay for it.  I don't care though, the memories will be worth paying it off over the next few years."   

Suddenly I didn't feel nearly as jealous.

[CarDude]

I wonder if they'd have taken that trip if someone had told them that they wouldn't be able to share the pictures on Facebook upon their return.

[ketchup]

Holy shit.  It's like a bad joke.  That makes me sad.

[butchmonkey]

It's possible that some people are just wired differently. That they derive such pleasure from travel, consumption, etc .  That it is actually "worth it" to take on debt and work longer.


I cant imagine such an attitude working out long term. But who am I to judge?

[MicroRN]

And to be totally honest - I'm actually still jealous.  I love traveling so much, but we aren't at a good spot right now with our jobs and 2 toddlers.  I realized though that we could "afford it" the same way they did.  I have a total of over $40K available on credit cards (it's only 3 cards, they just keep raising my limits), and DH has a similar amount.  It just doesn't make sense to me to travel now and then pay interest on your vacation for 2 years.  Instead, you could save money for 2 years, earn interest on it during that time, and then go on your trip.   

[xtrfuel]

It's possible that some people are just wired differently. That they derive such pleasure from travel, consumption, etc .  That it is actually "worth it" to take on debt and work longer.

I can relate to part of this.  Travel and some restaurant splurges are important enough for us that we do spend quite a chunk on them.  Of course we don't take on debt and have this budgeted and are still on track for early retirement so a bit different for us.

[butchmonkey]

And to be totally honest - I'm actually still jealous.  I love traveling so much, but we aren't at a good spot right now with our jobs and 2 toddlers.  I realized though that we could "afford it" the same way they did.  I have a total of over $40K available on credit cards (it's only 3 cards, they just keep raising my limits), and DH has a similar amount.  It just doesn't make sense to me to travel now and then pay interest on your vacation for 2 years.  Instead, you could save money for 2 years, earn interest on it during that time, and then go on your trip.

What does make sense is for you to start travel hacking!

A google search for travel hacking, miles game, and the miles game should get you started.

[Forcus]

We plan on taking a month off of work (unheard of around here for anything except babies and cancer) 2015 or 2016 to do a driving tour of Europe. It will cost plenty of money. But I couldn't max out two credit cards and feel good about it. Instant gratification vs. sacrifice and frugal living to achieve certain goals.

[Numbers Man]

I can't get that song "Memories" out of my head. A nice tune to hum when in bankruptcy court.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w49CfsN-aqo

[shotgunwilly]

I wonder if they'd have taken that trip if someone had told them that they wouldn't be able to share the pictures on Facebook upon their return.

This is a very interesting thought.  I imagine there is a LOT of behavior that would change and things people wouldn't do if they were unable to go brag about it to 3 people who care and 563 that don't give a shit.  I really hate social media.

[payitoff]

I wonder if they'd have taken that trip if someone had told them that they wouldn't be able to share the pictures on Facebook upon their return.

This is a very interesting thought.  I imagine there is a LOT of behavior that would change and things people wouldn't do if they were unable to go brag about it to 3 people who care and 563 that don't give a shit.  I really hate social media.

+1

its like peer pressure, "oh they did this, we should do it too" it goes all the way from shopping/travel to 'healthy' lifestyle. it's good if it motivates you to lose weight, live a healthy lifestyle coz youre competitive like that, but some uses peer pressure like they're also celebrities living it up.  the cars, fashion, food and places they went to just to have something to post on FB. 

[golden1]

I love travel but it is a luxury, and not ever worth going into debt for.  You CAN travel on the cheap also - it doesn't have to be lux hotels.  When my kids were small and we didn't have a lot of money, we did camping with friends and it was a really nice vacation. 

[Cassie]

My BF saved for a europe trip with her hubby & died about a month before leaving.  At the time (12 years ago) we were also saving but when that happened we went & charged what we did not have saved up.  We did not regret it but never did it again. We have gone 2x's since but both times had the $. I think it was a reaction to what happened.  One of my friends suggested I put the photos on Facebook & I said no-we travel for our own enjoyment.

[limeandpepper]

I don't agree with what this couple did, but I find the anti-posting-on-Facebook stance hilariously cynical. You could say that about anything, not just travel. "Would you have a pet if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you have a kid if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you enjoy good food and drink if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you have a wedding if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you have a garden if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you go hiking and camping if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?"

People have been doing all of the above before Facebook existed, and they will continue to do those things after Facebook is gone. Also, I do like looking at my friends' travel albums on Facebook, so I certainly hope they don't stop posting just because they're worried to be seen as bragging. Likewise, I'll post what I like on Facebook, be it travel, food, or cats, and people can choose to look at them or not.

But yeah, travel cheaper if you can, and don't go into debt for a holiday.

[gooki]

Friend responded "Oh, we basically maxed out 2 credit cards to pay for it.  I don't care though, the memories will be worth paying it off over the next few years."   

I can pretty much guarantee the CC won't be paid of in a couple of years. They will carry that CC debit for many years as other must have's crop up in life. At 15% interest, they are a Credit Card companies ideal customer.

[The Hamster]

By the time they pay off the holiday (if ever) they will have forgotten all the memories anyway. 
I enjoy travelling but always end up a few years later wondering if it was worth the money.

[deborah]

As I type, I am looking at the wonderful view from my house - it is about the most spectacular time of day for this view, and I enjoy it each day. Before I had a wonderful view from my house, I made sure I had a spectacular view each day on my way to work, or back from it - it didn't need to be spectacular to everyone, just something that resonated with me.

This has certainly contributed to my lack of interest in traveling when other people show me their photos. I have this wonderful view every day - I don't need to be jealous!

I definitely travel, and enjoy it, but throughout my life, my views have saved me a tremendous amount of jealousy. I guess my bank balance is also better for it.

[Kaminoge]

I wonder if they'd have taken that trip if someone had told them that they wouldn't be able to share the pictures on Facebook upon their return.

Believe it or not people actually traveled before facebook, before photos even.

It's possible that some people are just wired differently. That they derive such pleasure from travel, consumption, etc .  That it is actually "worth it" to take on debt and work longer.

This. I find it odd how judgmental people on this site can be. For me the idea of living in one place for years on end sounds like a slow, boring death. Regardless of how much money you save. I don't assume that everyone who does that is an idiot though - just that we all get pleasure from different things.

Would I use credit cards to fund a trip? No. Does that mean I assume anyone who does is automatically making a bad decision? No. It's like having kids (yes I can hear the screams of horror from some readers now). To me it seems like a complete waste of money but I'm willing to accept that some people see it as a good choice regardless of the finances (and yes, kids do cost money, it doesn't matter how mustachian you are, unless you are breeding them to sell their kidney's then you aren't making the financially smart decision).

[Gray Matter]

The only regret I have about leaving my corporate job with bonus is that it's going to be much harder to travel now.  I could always count on that bonus to fund an international trip (and not that we took one every year, but just knowing we could was lovely).  DH and I went to Ireland recently and we've taken the kids to Singapore and Africa.  Next year we planned on a family trip to Europe, then a year or two after that China. 

That's not to say we couldn't still find a way to do it, but trying to pay for a family of five to fly around the world via monthly savings...it just feels wrong to divert that much money currently going to long-term savings to travel.

Luckily, we've got loads of open credit on credit cards, so we're good to go.

[johnintaiwan]

I don't agree with what this couple did, but I find the anti-posting-on-Facebook stance hilariously cynical. You could say that about anything, not just travel. "Would you have a pet if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you have a kid if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you enjoy good food and drink if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you have a wedding if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you have a garden if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?" "Would you go hiking and camping if you couldn't post pictures on Facebook?"

I think the point is that there are people who only do those things because they want to show everyone. Or at least the spend a little more money or try to show off just a little more because they know they will post it on FB. I know for a fact that there are many people where I live who go to restaurants or buy food and drink so that they can take a picture with it. They dont even enjoy the food and often don't even want to finish it.

[limeandpepper]

I think the point is that there are people who only do those things because they want to show everyone. Or at least the spend a little more money or try to show off just a little more because they know they will post it on FB. I know for a fact that there are many people where I live who go to restaurants or buy food and drink so that they can take a picture with it. They dont even enjoy the food and often don't even want to finish it.

Hmm, call me optimistic, but I'm quite sure that most people I know don't do this. I mean, really. How many people, when booking a flight, are actually thinking, "Oh gee, I can't wait to brag about this holiday over Facebook", instead of "Can't wait,  looking forward to visiting this place, it should be lots of fun"? Or when ordering food, thinking "Well this sounds bad but I'll order it anyway just to post it on Facebook" instead of "This sounds delicious, I think I'll try it"?

Or maybe I just hang out with more reasonable people...

[homeymomma]

And to be totally honest - I'm actually still jealous.

I feel ya. Sometimes I wish we didn't know what we know so we could be a little looser with our money. We still feel like we're being frugal out of necessity most of the time, rather than by choice. I think that makes all the difference.

[capital]

I wouldn't have used a credit card, but I certainly wish I had taken out a bit more in student loans during college, so I could have spent some of my summer earnings on international travel when I was often spending 1-month breaks at home. The student loans were paid off quickly, but it's a lot harder getting 1-month chunks of time for international travel while working full time.

[Kaminoge]

I wouldn't have used a credit card, but I certainly wish I had taken out a bit more in student loans during college, so I could have spent some of my summer earnings on international travel when I was often spending 1-month breaks at home. The student loans were paid off quickly, but it's a lot harder getting 1-month chunks of time for international travel while working full time.

So nice to see a different point of view on here!

Life is full of opportunity cost and you have to make decisions that you think are right for you. For some that may be focusing on ER as fast as possible to the expense of all else but for many of us we want to live a little along the way. Sure you can travel once you've retired but as someone who has traveled through my 20s, 30s and now 40s I can tell you that the experiences are totally different. I have never regretted for a minute the several 6 month chunks of travel that I did in my 20s. Now I'm in my 40s I have no desire to repeat the experience (although I do travel for 2 months every summer plus at least one other international trip, often 2) of 6 months of hostel dorms and sleeping in train stations. But I'm glad I did it back then.

[odput]

Life is full of opportunity cost and you have to make decisions that you think are right for you. For some that may be focusing on ER as fast as possible to the expense of all else but for many of us we want to live a little along the way.

I don't think "getting to FIRE and everything else be damned" is quite the point of everyone here...its more about not wasting money in the form of interest payments so that you can do the things you love when you can actually afford them

[cbgg]

Jaw. Drop.

Sometimes I wish the whole world were made up of people this stupid just to lower the bar so I could succeed more easily.

Oh, hang on, we live in a democracy and I'd be really bad at doing surgery on myself.  Scratch that idea.

What idiots.  Wonder if they knew that if they saved up in advance they could do the trip x2 without all those interest payments.

[socaso]

We partially funded a trip to Australia with credit cards and I'm glad we did it. Now that we have a child it would be a lot more costly to take such a trip and we did pay off the trip really quickly after we returned, within 3 months. Those memories are really special.

[Kaminoge]

I don't think "getting to FIRE and everything else be damned" is quite the point of everyone here...its more about not wasting money in the form of interest payments so that you can do the things you love when you can actually afford them

The trouble is that "wasting" money is something that it's hard to judge for others.

We partially funded a trip to Australia with credit cards and I'm glad we did it. Now that we have a child it would be a lot more costly to take such a trip and we did pay off the trip really quickly after we returned, within 3 months. Those memories are really special.

As I said before I'd never borrow to travel. To me it makes no sense BUT I can understand that it's not necessarily the wrong choice for everyone else (as in the quote above). You can earn money to pay off interest. You CAN'T get back time.

[mm1970]

And to be totally honest - I'm actually still jealous.  I love traveling so much, but we aren't at a good spot right now with our jobs and 2 toddlers.  I realized though that we could "afford it" the same way they did.  I have a total of over $40K available on credit cards (it's only 3 cards, they just keep raising my limits), and DH has a similar amount.  It just doesn't make sense to me to travel now and then pay interest on your vacation for 2 years.  Instead, you could save money for 2 years, earn interest on it during that time, and then go on your trip.

You know, I also love travel.  And I could afford a trip like that.  But I have an 8 year old and almost 2 year old, and all I can think of is how painful that trip would be with the toddler.  Too tiring.  Too expensive for the amount of work it would be.

We have been sticking mostly to home the last 2 years.

When I think about it, we traveled to Denmark to visit my husband's extended family in 2002.  My SIL and her husband were there also, with their 4 and 2 year olds.  They traveled WITH her parents, so it was helpful.  But man, cannot imagine it.

[MicroRN]

You know, I also love travel.  And I could afford a trip like that.  But I have an 8 year old and almost 2 year old, and all I can think of is how painful that trip would be with the toddler.  Too tiring.  Too expensive for the amount of work it would be.

Yup, for right now with an 18mo and a 3yo, we aren't traveling much.  Same reason we don't go out to eat.  We can do it, and our kids behave pretty well, but it takes enough effort to keep the 2 of them behaving that we don't have much fun, and spend a lot of money to not have much fun.

[SMP]

My wife and I gonna make a trip from Europe to the US this summer.
First time for both of us visiting this great country.
Traveling around California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
It won't be frugal, but we saved for it. Will our last chance, before there are (hopefully) some kids stepping into our life.
I would never take debt to pay for holiday, even in my pre-MMM days.

[robotclown]

People like this are the reason I bought stock in Visa.

[RetiredAt63]

Sometimes it really is worth it.  12 years ago my husband and I took sabbaticals and went to Fiji (to get over the jet lag), New Zealand and Australia, then Hawai'i where our daughter met us for a week, and then home.  It did not totally kill our finances, and our travel was fairly frugal (at that point the Canadian dollar was less than the US dollar, but above the Australian and NZ dollars, so exchange rates helped), but we wanted to do it while we were young enough to do all the physical activities.

Of course if you can retire early, you can do the trips after retirement and still be young enough for all the hiking and snorkeling we did  ;-)