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

[MamaJessie]

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?

My parents died young too, my dad at 45 and my mom at 65. I think that is why I spend way more on vacation time than I should - the fact that life is short is not wasted on me.

 

[tzolkin]

Your family must have children young. It caught my attention that you have a college age child and your father is only late 50s. My parents were late 50s when I was in college, my grandparents were late 70s. But my family tends to marry closer to 30 than younger. It is funny how it seems to be a family thing for us. Hardly anyone got married before late 20s/early 30s.

Yes, my parents are actually only 55. They got married immediately after high school and I am their oldest child. My DD in college is only 17, but yes, we are quite young (I will be 36 this week).

 

[fortwildernessishome]

I believe it was either Hotwire or Priceline. I know we didn't actually pay for the car until we got to the airport and I was actually nervous if the price was real. I've never in my life paid $1,500 to rent a car or van and have never had a surcharge dropping off in another location. Try travelocity, they are what I've used on my last two trips. I paid $235 at OGG in Maui to rent a full size car for 2.5 weeks last December. The year before I paid under $500 to rent a van at OGG for 3 weeks over Christmas. The earlier you rent a car, the cheaper it will usually be. Most sites allow you to pay at the airport so I always keep looking to see if I can find a better deal, then cancel the other rental. Travelocity makes you pay upfront so you need to be sure but I've found great deals lately. They also have great customer service.

As for hotel rooms, I start looking at Priceline early, also I sign up and collect points for Westin hotels and Sheratons, owned by the same company. In Scottsdale we rented two rooms at the Westin Villas from a time share site. We were upgraded from two studios to one studio and a joined one bedroom. Our most expensive hotel was the Best Western in Tusayan which we paid almost $300 per room. They were also the crappiest rooms of the trip. In Santa Monica we stayed at the Sheraton with a rate of $100 per room.

We never stay inside the parks but find a room cheaper close by.

When we traveled extensively with our kids we often would stay at places with a free breakfast. We always bought a cheap cooler and went to the grocery store to buy hummus, flat breads, veggies and fruits, a case of water, chips etc. Then dinner out somewhere.

In Maui we usually rent condos now so we can make our own meals most of the time. In Florida I've rented many 4 bedroom pool homes for $100 a night from VRBO, mostly in the Davenport area. In Paris last time I rented from VRBO a huge air conditioned 2 bedroom apartment in the heart of the city for $250 US a night.

We often travel based first on cheap flights. After I have our flights, I immediately start searching for a car and hotels/condos.

Any specific questions, ask away.

Thanks so much for sharing! I need to look into Priceline and Hotwire. Thanks again!

 

[Pacolovestacos]

No assumptions on my part.

That doesn't mean I don't have any money, lol. It means I spend what I get, as in what I make. If I didn't have any money, I couldn't travel the way I do. By the way, I'm typing this from an airport in Providencia Island, Colombia's paradise. But yeah, I'm broke, lol.

 

[sonnyjane]

Answering the question and not getting into the FA scuffle lol, I try to be a responsible saver while also enjoying the time I have now. I don't have kids, don't have any desire for fancy cars or gadgets, and we have a modest home. Our extra money goes almost exclusively to travel. We are sure to put a certain percentage toward retirement and emergency funds (we would like to retire early so we save aggressively), but after bills are paid, everything else goes toward "fun". A lot of my trips revolve around eco-tourism, and many destinations are rapidly declining, many species that I hope to see won't be around in 10 more years (some even less than that), etc., so those trips I take now and don't feel guilty.

 

[ThistleMae]

I wish I was on vacation everyday...oh wait....I am. Retired and loving life! I did save...I do have some physical issues with my knees, but I work around it the best I can. I have a new bionic knee that needs some recovery but I can still get out and get around. There is no one that can really answer this question for the OP, it's up to the OP. Rock on!

 

[Katy Belle]

It's so hard to know! We really do need a crystal ball!

DH is a saver, and his hobby is investing and $. He made a long term budget about 7 years ago. We reevaluate at the end of each year. He has a goal # that savings needs to be for him to retire. The # is crazy high...you know, those crazy high #s that people mention, and others say "no one can save that much." We are on track for that. He will likely retire at 58.

Oh, my dad died last year, at 90. My mom is 91 1/2 and going strong. DHs dad is 75 and dying of a brain tumor. His mom is 74 and going strong. We have to assume we will live to be old.

So there is a line item for vacation. We usually budget about 12,000. Some years we budget more, some years less. Last year we did 8 days in Orlando, at WDW and Universal, all 5 of us. Three of us went on a school Band trip to Italy in December. So we spent about $22,000 on vacation last year.

I guess we just keep that goal # in site, and pay attention to our spending.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Your family must have children young. It caught my attention that you have a college age child and your father is only late 50s. My parents were late 50s when I was in college, my grandparents were late 70s. But my family tends to marry closer to 30 than younger. It is funny how it seems to be a family thing for us. Hardly anyone got married before late 20s/early 30s.

Yup, we're the opposite. My parents are upper 70's and my oldest is in HS. And the grandparents are LONG gone.

 

[DawnM]

Yes, my parents are actually only 55. They got married immediately after high school and I am their oldest child. My DD in college is only 17, but yes, we are quite young (I will be 36 this week).

When I am 55, my youngest will be 17.

 

[mjkacmom]

Yup, we're the opposite. My parents are upper 70's and my oldest is in HS. And the grandparents are LONG gone.

My FIL is almost 90, my youngest are 14.

 

[tzolkin]

When I am 55, my youngest will be 17.

I'm looking forward to only being 43 when all of my kids are out of the house.

I know we went off topic with the age discussion, but I actually think that it is a factor in the original topic. DH and I never had a period of our youth or early marriage to enjoy and travel-- we never even went on a honeymoon or out for "date nights". We both were working full time while attending college full time (plus had a daughter to care for). We purchased our first home when we were 21 and have sacrificed financially for me to stay home with our children.

If we had spent 15-20+ years travelling and doing whatever we wanted when we were young, perhaps we would not be as concerned about saving enough money to be able to travel and enjoy life when our kids are grown. There are some areas where we can offer general advise, but really everyone has different priorities based on their life experiences and individual situation.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

When I am 55, my youngest will be 17.

Same

 

[mnrose]

When I am 55, my youngest will be 17.

That's not so bad. I'm 58 and my only children are 17. So, it's hard to get my head wrapped around being 55 and having a 17 year old GRANDchild. LOL.

Since we had our children after we were 40, we had a huge advantage of being debt free, double income, and no kids in our 30's. We traveled a great deal when we had tons of energy and could do anything. No physical limitations whatsoever.. We didn't have to "wait" for retirement to travel either. I don't recommend it for everyone, but it played out nicely for us.

 

[ThistleMae]

I think the most important thing to consider is how comfortable are you with your plan? Whatever you choose to do, you have to feel good about your decision....safe. We can't predict what will happen. Even if there is longevity in your family, you just never know, and accidents happen. I often have conversations with my sweetie about investing. No matter what...it is still a gamble, will the stock go up, will it go down....what to do...decisions, decisions? I have my retirement invested in a safe place, it will never go down but it grows very slow. Some years it was 4% and now it a bit over 2%. But the safety of the investment is what I'm comfortable with. Make a decision based on what feels right. That's all any of us can do.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm looking forward to only being 43 when all of my kids are out of the house.

I know we went off topic with the age discussion, but I actually think that it is a factor in the original topic. DH and I never had a period of our youth or early marriage to enjoy and travel-- we never even went on a honeymoon or out for "date nights". We both were working full time while attending college full time (plus had a daughter to care for). We purchased our first home when we were 21 and have sacrificed financially for me to stay home with our children.

If we had spent 15-20+ years travelling and doing whatever we wanted when we were young, perhaps we would not be as concerned about saving enough money to be able to travel and enjoy life when our kids are grown. There are some areas where we can offer general advise, but really everyone has different priorities based on their life experiences and individual situation.

This exactly.

I'll be 41 when my youngest graduates HS. I didn't get to travel in my 20s like so many of my friends did. They have been all over the world and we did local weekend trips and a few times to WDW with the kids. Now they are in their early 30s getting married and ready to have kids. They'll be ready to do that all again around retirement age. I can't see myself waiting until retirement to start traveling since I didn't get to do it in my 20s. We do travel more now that they are older and we have more money but I want to pick it up a notch once DD gets older.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm looking forward to only being 43 when all of my kids are out of the house.

I know we went off topic with the age discussion, but I actually think that it is a factor in the original topic. DH and I never had a period of our youth or early marriage to enjoy and travel-- we never even went on a honeymoon or out for "date nights". We both were working full time while attending college full time (plus had a daughter to care for). We purchased our first home when we were 21 and have sacrificed financially for me to stay home with our children.

If we had spent 15-20+ years travelling and doing whatever we wanted when we were young, perhaps we would not be as concerned about saving enough money to be able to travel and enjoy life when our kids are grown. There are some areas where we can offer general advise, but really everyone has different priorities based on their life experiences and individual situation.

It really is such a personal consideration. DH & I are in a similar situation - I had DS from a previous relationship so it was never just us, and we had our girls early in our marriage. So for those early years we prioritized the more immediate - buying a home, starting a business - over long-term savings and learned to live simply. But for us, it hasn't been a strong motivator to save aggressively for retirement. Now that we've got more wiggle room we've upped our retirement contributions but we've also made experiences a high priority because neither of us wants to count on having our good years of traveling and enjoying life later on, only to risk never having that.

We also anticipate doing some catching up in our later working years. It isn't as efficient, losing the time-value of savings that way, but with a paid-off house we plan to downsize and two private school tuition bills that will end while we're still in our peak earning years, we will be able to sock much more away in our 40s & 50s than we are now without living entirely for bills & saving with little/no room for fun.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I know if Eliza were around, she'd disagree, but I don't. I'd rather go on the cheap than not go at all

Traveling for less, doesn't necessarily mean, you're "going on the cheap". I've been accused of traveling often AND we enjoy it IMMENSELY!! Our accommodations are very nice..much prefer boutique hotels, so not expensive. We love to picnic...grabbing some wine, cheese, bread and fruit from the market. Occasionally, we'll splurge on a really nice meal, but nothing out of our norm. We book some tours, but like to wander on our own too.

OP..I would NEVER consider spending $12k for one week in Wyoming. ABD (Anything by Disney) is waaayyy overpriced. IMO You seem uncomfortable with spending that much money on a vacation. It won't be much fun, if you are experiencing buyer's remorse. Do a little research, using the proposed itinerary. I'm willing to bet, you can create a wonderful experience, at a more affordable price.

BTW..missing Eliza61 too!

 

[TLSnell1981]

I did a quick google search of Dude Ranches in Wyoming and the #1 rated place runs $3900 per week in June for three people in a double queen room, including breakfast. There's a $1000/night 5* hotel-Four Seasons-in Jackson Hole, though, so I guess it is possible to spend $12,000 a week in Wyoming, which I didn't even think was possible unless you actually buy the horse.

And, that depends on the horse.

 

[PatriciaH]

ABD has gone up so much. I remember we did Knights and Lights and Viva Italia in 2008 back to back and the trips were about $2,500pp. The VI trip was one more night too. So with pre and post nights, Disneyland Paris, Pompeii/the coast of Italy on our own one day with a private driver and air- those 2 trips were less than $12k. The trip was 21 days.

 

[PlutoPony]

Back to the OP's original question...... I think you have to find a balance between spending/travel and saving that you are comfortable with. We married a little late and traveled quite a bit then - but it was reasonably priced travel, not splurge year in year out. And we saved big time for retirement. Had a kid late and did some travel but again, reasonably priced and a variety of places to show our son as much of the country as we could (not Disney every year, I know sacrilegious lol). AND saved as much as we possibly could for college, retirement, and general savings.

Now that we're close to retirement age, we are so so so glad we've done the amount of savings we have - it's saved our life and sanity in more ways than one. Our son could still go to college when husband was downsized during the kid's senior year in HS. And when I ended up with a diagnosis that none of us want to get, WE HAD SOME $$ TO GIVE ME OPTIONS for treatment and general lifestyle. I didn't have to struggle to work when I couldn't or it wasn't smart for me to do. And even with good insurance, having some money back gives you treatment options that you could well be thankful for - trust me on this.

Yes we have memories from our travel, but we also have good family memories from our general life here - even day to day stuff. I don't regret the trips we've taken and money we've spent on that. But i can absolutely positively tell you I would have regretted it if we didn't have money back given what we've been through lately.

Good luck and most of all - enjoy living whatever life you have!