Vacation Spending Percentage (and age)

[awassill]

Hi guys,

This is my first post :-)

I am trying to find some guidance as to how much I should spend per year on vacations as a percentage of my gross income/net income.

To get a more personalized answer, I have very little expenses (I live at home by choice), am in the age range of 25-34, and single.  Most of my money is tied up in the stock market.  I consider myself relatively frugal, but I do love splurging on vacations.  Lastly, I make low six figures.

Thanks guys!

Alex

[gooki]

There is no rule, it's a personal choice. What are your financial goals, are you meeting them?

[Bruised_Pepper]

Don't worry upfront about how much you spend.  Figure out what you want to do first, then find the cheapest way possible to do it.  For example, I want to spend a week this spring in Mesa, AZ watching the Cubs Spring Training.  What do you want to do? 

[dadof4]

(I live at home by choice)

That's a pretty odd statement. Aside from the homeless Mustachians, we all live at home. :)

Do you mean you still live with your folks?
-----------------------
I guess it all depends on what you mean by splurge. In my my younger days, I spent much more on travel. But there were a lot of diminishing returns. I learned that I got as much enjoyment from a 3 star hotel as I did a 4.5 star hotel. Or with renting a compact vs luxury car.
The frequency of travel also made each subsequent trip less memorable.

Nowadays, we spend about 3% of gross income on vacations.

[chasesfish]

I'm on the high side of vacation spending (5-10%).

I am starting to agree with the other poster about diminishing returns - you start figuring out what you really like about vacations and what you don't.   VRBO condos verses 4-5* hotels may seem similar in price, then you figure out you can make your own meals, no up-charges for parking, ect, less stuff because you have laundry.  There are also places you realize start looking alike (all the developed Caribbean islands are kind of similar, and all the "lesser developed" Caribbean islands are similar). 

I'm a firm believer in traveling early and often - you don't get back time and you loose mobility every year (seriously).  You'll also figure out that you can enjoy almost every location on a reasonable budget.

[awassill]

Wow, awesome feedback guys!

@gooki-Alas, I don't know if I am meeting my goals.  When I do a google search as to how much I should have saved so far, I am exceeding most norms.  So I do do a ton of savings, in my opinion.

@Bruised Pepper-When I travel, I love meeting people and kind of getting pampered.  Almost like I am a different person all together on vacation.  I usually go to just enjoy fine hotels, and also sight seeing.

@dadof4-haha yah i meant I live with my parents.  No real desire to leave yet since it affords me to ability to travel.

@chasesfish-Wow 5 to 10 percent....that is about where I am (gross income).  Is that a percent of gross or net?  And I like your idea on traveling early.  I feel like I have to do a bunch of traveling before I turn 30....

[twbird18]

DH & I love to travel - we take more than the normal amount of trips. My rotating shift work schedule affords me the time off to travel that most people with full time jobs don't have. So we/I take 7-10 trips/year.   We're in our early 30's & spend <10% of our take home pay on travel which comes out to be 10-15K/year. This frequently seems excessive to me, but we travel cheaply by most people's standards, few flights, house rentals, shared car rides, etc & most trips cost $1000 or less.

[chasesfish]

I will have spent 15% or more of gross on travel this year.  That's after utilizing a lot of reward points, ect.  The majority of that was spent on two weeks earlier this year in Hawaii.
 

[KingCoin]

@Bruised Pepper-When I travel, I love meeting people and kind of getting pampered.  Almost like I am a different person all together on vacation.  I usually go to just enjoy fine hotels, and also sight seeing.

I'd try to cure yourself of this attitude. My opinion? Staying at a youth hostel on Koh San Road in Bangkok will lead to far more encounters with interesting people and memorable experiences than staying at the Bangkok Four Seasons (where your primary interactions are going to be with the concierge and a sanitized tour agency). Doesn't mean you can't get a massage, but I've always viewed dropping $300/night on a hotel room the worst way to spend travel money.

I find that the more experienced you become with traveling, the less interested you become in luxuries, pampering and traditional sight seeing, and the more you become interested in "authentic" local experiences, genuine interactions (with both locals and fellow travelers), and generally immersing yourself in the "new" and different. That rarely happens in 5-star hotels which are designed to keep you in the dead center of your comfort zone.

I guess if you're making 6-figures and generally frugal otherwise, blowing some dough on a fancy beach get-away isn't the end of the world, but it's kind of the vacation equivalent of a $2,000 handbag. Nice, but ultimately unfulfilling.

[tracipam]

I spend about 12% of my "spending money" (ie, all of the money I live on per year) on vacations.  That's about 3% of my actual gross income. 

[HappierAtHome]

I spend 1.05% of my annual income on vacations. Which works out to about 8% of what I spend total every year (bills, groceries, etc).

But travel is not a high priority for me. I imagine that the number is very different for those who love travel.