Where do you draw the line between living now and saving for a future that may never happen?

[kdonnel]

I am sitting here trying to decide if I should splurge on an Adventures by Disney Wyoming trip in February 2018 or if I am just being a bit too morbid and wasting money.

Both my parents passed away early, 64(mom) and 69(dad). Genetics would say I probably only have another 20-25 years but there is always that chance I live longer. My dad had a year long battle with pancreatic cancer and we had the chance to talk a lot before he passed. His big regret was always working. As a kid I always remember my dad working. As an adult I always remember my dad working. I have tried to be much more involved in my kids life and to vacation often.

I have always saved for retirement and like to think I am making good progress towards a decent retirement. My jobs have always been centered around a 401k so I am 100% responsible for my lifestyle in retirement. $12000 more saved now should be a good bit more 30 years from now but will I be there in 30 years?

So where do you draw the line?

Do you do it all and assume the money for later will come later?

Do you do as much as you can while you know you have the mobility and health while still saving some?

Or do you no do as much while young and save for an uncertain future?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Personally, I would find a cheaper way to go to Wyoming. I wouldn't not go, but I couldn't justify $12k for it either. But, you have to decide that balance for yourself.

 

[danielocha30]

yep! find a cheaper way... Disney is overpriced and if there is no castle, fireworks or a mouse in Wyoming don't book with Disney

 

[DaisyJ]

I am sitting here trying to decide if I should splurge on an Adventures by Disney Wyoming trip in February 2018 or if I am just being a bit too morbid and wasting money.

Both my parents passed away early, 64(mom) and 69(dad). Genetics would say I probably only have another 20-25 years but there is always that chance I live longer. My dad had a year long battle with pancreatic cancer and we had the chance to talk a lot before he passed. His big regret was always working. As a kid I always remember my dad working. As an adult I always remember my dad working. I have tried to be much more involved in my kids life and to vacation often.

I have always saved for retirement and like to think I am making good progress towards a decent retirement. My jobs have always been centered around a 401k so I am 100% responsible for my lifestyle in retirement. $12000 more saved now should be a good bit more 30 years from now but will I be there in 30 years?

So where do you draw the line?

Do you do it all and assume the money for later will come later?

Do you do as much as you can while you know you have the mobility and health while still saving some?

Or do you no do as much while young and save for an uncertain future?

Twelve THOUSAND dollars for a trip to Wyoming? Wyoming? You can do Wyoming so much cheaper. ABD is a rip off, IMO, especially in the US.

We have a great balance. We vacation, but I refuse to spend extravagantly on a vacation. Even when we eventually go to Hawaii, our airfare will be our highest expense.

 

[Kitty 34]

I am sitting here trying to decide if I should splurge on an Adventures by Disney Wyoming trip in February 2018 or if I am just being a bit too morbid and wasting money.

Both my parents passed away early, 64(mom) and 69(dad). Genetics would sayI probably only have another 20-25 years but there is always that chance I live longer. My dad had a year long battle with pancreatic cancer and we had the chance to talk a lot before he passed. His big regret was always working. As a kid I always remember my dad working. As an adult I always remember my dad working. I have tried to be much more involved in my kids life and to vacation often.

I have always saved for retirement and like to think I am making good progress towards a decent retirement. My jobs have always been centered around a 401k so I am 100% responsible for my lifestyle in retirement. $12000 more saved now should be a good bit more 30 years from now but will I be there in 30 years?

So where do you draw the line?

Do you do it all and assume the money for later will come later?

Do you do as much as you can while you know you have the mobility and health while still saving some?

Or do you no do as much while young and save for an uncertain future?

If you said you only had possibly 2-3 years left I would say go for it. But 20-25 years??......I know I don't even have that kind of time left and I certainly would not spend $12,000 going to Wyoming!!!! But that's my opinion!

ETA.....nothing against Wyoming, been there many times when I lived in northern Colorado.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Well, we are just now approaching retirement. I am still here and breathing, but physically, I am much older than my age. The quality of my life and travel are definitely restricted.

It sounds like you value travel, and have vacationed. And, I am all for that!!!
We have already taken our bucket list trips to Hawaii (Kauai) and Alaska. I am SO glad we did!!!

However, I agree with the above posters. Both of our trips combined did not come close to what you are considering for this trip in the lower 48.

Should you travel?
Yes!
Should you spend that much to take a Disney trip to Wyoming... I think that is a whole different animal.
The answer to those separate questions might be very different.

I am curious... What is it about this particular Disney trip to Wyoming has such a draw?
What does your dream trip to Wyoming look like?

 

[CdnCarrie]

I can't imagine going anywhere in Canada or USA that you would need to go with a tour. As in a tour vacation like Adventures by Disney. Seems like wasted money.

 

[Tozzie]

To those of you saying it is a rip off have probably never taken a trip with adventures by Disney. I have taken 7 and they are worth every penny. If this is a once in a lifetime trip I say go for it. I will return later to explain my reasoning. I hate typing on my iPad

 

[Micca]

What is it about this particular Disney trip to Wyoming has such a draw?

I think there's a spa day for the guest and their horse! Yeah def take the trip and spend maybe a half or a third that much and bank the rest?

ETA: Also don't short yourself on your life expectancy, there could be cures for a LOT of things in the next 30 years.

 

[wilkeliza]

OP that is really up to you. If you are putting away and your financial advisor or you and your husband feel like you are putting away enough then so be it. Use the extra to live a little now so your kids don't just remember you as being at work.
There is always so much judgement on these boards on what people spend but it isn't their money so don't let anyone sway you. As long as you are being responsible in putting some aside and having a savings for emergencies then take your family on the Wyoming trip and make some memories. If it isn't a break the bank put you into debt trip then the cost really isn't anyone else's business.

 

[ThistleMae]

You ask a difficult question, one that ultimately will involve you making a decision without really knowing whether it was a good call or not. We can't predict our deaths. Given that both your parents died young would definitely make me think about genetics but you just never know. That being said, spend wisely. Save wisely. It sounds like you do a bit of both, so I'd say you are on the right path. Time does slip by without notice, and in a blink you are way older than you feel. How you spend the money depends on how you value that particular trip. If it's a once in a lifetime adventure, go for it. If you could find other equally exciting adventures, maybe you should save some of the money for another future vacation or retirement.

 

[DaisyJ]

To those of you saying it is a rip off have probably never taken a trip with adventures by Disney. I have taken 7 and they are worth every penny. If this is a once in a lifetime trip I say go for it. I will return later to explain my reasoning. I hate typing on my iPad

You're correct, I never have and never will take a trip with ABD.

 

[tzolkin]

Most are responding about this specific trip, but I will answer your general question for DH & I.

We are somewhere in the middle.

We think it is important to do some things and make some special family memories now, but we are much more conservative about retirement and savings than most people we know. We are definitely not the "spend it now because you never know when you will die" type. We are actually considering downsizing our home that we can well afford (including already saving 25% of our income) because we would like to be able to both save more for later and do more now.

That said, we do travel every year. We have yet to do anything very expensive because we haven't found something that justifies a huge price tag yet. We did think it was valuable to take our children to Disney (multiple times) when they were younger. That's not something we will ever have the opportunity to do again and we cherish those memories.

Because we value traveling, we choose to be very frugal in our daily lives-- don't go out to eat, don't buy much, etc. There will have to be a sacrifice in one area or another to make something a priority. We are trying to create an alternative to your two options (spend now/sacrifice later or save now/enjoy later) by sacrificing in some areas so we can both enjoy some now and save enough for later.

We are very debt averse (only have a mortgage), so we put a certain amount of money each month into an account for travel. We don't save for a specific trip, it's just a set amount that comes out of our monthly budget. That actually makes us more comfortable planning trips because there is already money set aside for that purpose. If we do something inexpensive, there's more left in the fund for an expensive trip in the future or vice versa. It also gives us the ability to save for something big or the freedom to decide to go somewhere spontaneously without having to make any adjustments to our regular budget.

 

[runwad]

I kinda went down this path myself this weekend. Not to the tune of $$ you are talking; but I have a relative in the hospital dying of cancer. Cirque De Solei came to my town and I've always wanted to go but just felt it was a lot of money for a few hours. Well you know what we went.

We have all our i's dotted and t's crossed so no reason not to enjoy ourselves. And I'm so glad we did, it was a beautiful show. If you have everything in order, go make memories. My loved one is leaving behind a boat load of money and regrets for things not done :-(.

Everything in moderation.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I never really did answer your question in my post above. If you have the money and really want to do this trip go for it. I've had relatives die very suddenly close to retirement age and never got to live their dreams.

 

[stazmatic]

I have similar internal conflicts regarding saving versus spending. My dad died before he could retire and take the trips he planned. I don't want to die with regrets, and I love to travel, so I spend more than would be comfortable for most. I have retirement savings, and my bills are paid, but I could certainly save more.
That being said, I looked up the sample itinerary for this trip and I really think it could be done so much cheaper. The first resort Wort Hotel is on Expedia for $400 a night, but the hotel has a free concierge service that will help you plan excursions. The excursions listed are the exact same ones they list on ABD. In fact, for 12000 you could stay at the Four Seasons and eat room service for 3 meals a day and come out ahead. I have never taken an ABD trip, so maybe there is something I'm missing, but 12k could buy you an amazing Wyoming trip and a Disney trip and, and, and....
So while I agree in spending money, I don't agree with overspending. Since you are on this board, I am going to assume you enjoy the planning process. Plan and price out this trip on your own and then see how you feel. Maybe the price difference is worth it, maybe it isn't.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I'm another one who doesn't see the great call of Wyoming for that kind of money, but if the trip speaks to you, it's worthwhile to figure out why. Is it Wyoming per se that calls, or is it ABD? The cost seems very high.

As to overall financial stuff, I think you have to strike a balance. It's different for everyone--we try to be frugal in our everyday life, but we also do some travelling/splurging. In fact, this summer I'm taking my girls to Italy--definitely not cheap. But, we chose to only have us girls go (DH will stay home with DS11 and DS20). And we're doing a tour, which probably isn't the cheapest way to go , but none of us has been, or speak the language, so we felt it would be money well-spent, having a guide and a plan.

Just because your parents died fairly young, doesn't mean you will. My DFIL died at 58, but his brothers are both north of 80 now--go figure. I think you would be foolish to plan on dying fairly young, unless you have a specific diagnosis or other scientific basis (you've had genetic screening and you're shown to carry specific markers--that kind of thing). OTOH, any one of us could get hit by a bus tomorrow--and that might mean instant death, or years of lingering in rehab, running through savings. So, even planning for every possibility is impossible.

I would say, if you're currently contributing towards retirement (have a pension, IRA, 401k, whatever), and this money is extra, then you're probably okay to spend it on this trip or however you like. However, if your retirement "plan" involves dying young, living with your children, hitting lotto, and/or receiving some kind of inheritance down the line, you need to grow up and do some saving.

 

[kuhltiffany]

I'm in the middle ground here too. We travel yearly and save as well. We share a car, live in a modest house and live fairly simply to do so. I've known too many people who put off doing things and then never got to enjoy them, so building memories now is not something I'm willing to risk missing out on...

 

[morgan98]

It is really hard to decide the worth of this trip to you OP. Are you trying to justify $12k to visit Wyoming? If so, I would tend to agree that seems like quite a bit of money for Wyoming.

However, if you are questioning $12,000 expenditure, that is a different question. To a household earning $300,000 a year, that may no seem like a lot, to one earning $40,000 a year, it probably seems like quite a bit more. Some people seem to think that the whole idea of spending $12,000 is crazy, but it may not be in your income/financial situation.

You say you are saving for retirement and the future, but only you know how much you are saving. Are you on track to meet your retirement needs or are you saving, but way behind in the amount you should be saving?

Travel is important to us too, so I get where you are coming from. I too would rather have experiences and it is nice to have them when people are healthy enough to enjoy them.

What it is that appeals to you so much about this particular trip? Is there a way you can achieve that without spending so much money? If so, that may be a good compromise.

 

[jevs]

I am sitting here trying to decide if I should splurge on an Adventures by Disney Wyoming trip in February 2018 or if I am just being a bit too morbid and wasting money.

Both my parents passed away early, 64(mom) and 69(dad). Genetics would say I probably only have another 20-25 years but there is always that chance I live longer. My dad had a year long battle with pancreatic cancer and we had the chance to talk a lot before he passed. His big regret was always working. As a kid I always remember my dad working. As an adult I always remember my dad working. I have tried to be much more involved in my kids life and to vacation often.

I have always saved for retirement and like to think I am making good progress towards a decent retirement. My jobs have always been centered around a 401k so I am 100% responsible for my lifestyle in retirement. $12000 more saved now should be a good bit more 30 years from now but will I be there in 30 years?

So where do you draw the line?

Do you do it all and assume the money for later will come later?

Do you do as much as you can while you know you have the mobility and health while still saving some?

Or do you no do as much while young and save for an uncertain future?

I've had too many relatives including my own parents who have saved for travel in retirement but are unable to travel due to health reasons.

Personally I don't think it needs to be one or the other, you can live now as well as save for the future. It just means that some things might take a little longer.