Family Vacation

[Jody Lynn]

My husband and I has been saving for a family vacation we intend to do by summer of next year. My husband said, we should spend the "travel savings" while I suggested to watch on our expenses during the trip. This made him so upset. I was just trying to point out that we can enjoy without spending much. Any ideas on how we can settle and compromise? He has always been the big spender.

[disneysteve]

Just to be clear, you have been saving up for a vacation. Your husband wants to use the money you've saved for that vacation but you want to use some amount less than what you've saved. Is that the deal?

I think the two of you need to sit down together and come up with a budget for the trip and then stick to that budget. Don't base the budget on the amount you've saved. In other words, don't adjust the spending upward to match the savings. Base the budget on a reasonable estimate of what the trip will cost. If you've saved more than that, great. Then you can decide if you want to splurge a bit - get a nicer room, eat some better meals, take a special tour - or if you'd like to use that as seed money for your next vacation instead.

[Bright]

Disney Steve pretty much said everything I thought. I do have a question though and it stems from my experience. Do you tend to budget lean in everyday life? Are you frequently trying to reduce everyday expenses where as your husband doesn't so much? I am the tightwad in our house and dh looked at fun stuff like vacation as a time to finally loosen the reigns big time. We have come to a good compromise over the years and part of it is me loosening up a lot about vacations and a bit in day to day budgeting. He on the other hand has become a bit more of a tightwad with these things as the " We can do this more often if we don't spend as much!" clicked in his head.

[Jody Lynn]

Actually, we really saved something for travel and it is quite a huge amount. My point is, we do not need to spend every centavo just to cover up the savings. I know that this is intended for travel and being the practical than I usually am, I just told him that we do not NEED to spend it all at one shot. Although, he already got my point, he seems to be decided where to go. He already made the reservation for a lighthouseinn vacation. I do not want to continue arguing so I gave in. But this, I have made clear, I am reducing the daily expenses not for vacation alone but to save in general.

[Drake3287]

I guess without knowing your financial picture it's hard to comment. I could take a round the world cruise if I wanted to but that doesn't mean I'm going to spend the money on it. I think most of us that have money (even modest amounts) are use to living within our means.

For a couple making $150,000 a year, a yearly trip to Hawaii makes some sense, for the same couple making $75,000 it doesn't. I've always tend to put money aside for vacations so it doesn't impact my day to day living. Having a job that offered OT has paid for many of my vacations.

Growing up in a large family with a modest income, all we ever did was to go camping every summer as kids. My kids have been luckier than I was and taking tropical vacations is almost the norm. Not sure if that's good or bad.

[snafu]

Happy New Year

I'm confused about your issue. You and DH didn't agree about vacation destination? Is the issue values? You're more practical and willing to stay in a more modest accommodation, enjoy good food but in less than 5 star restaurants, rent a basic sedan rather than DH's dream car. DH insists on flying business class etc. Have you worked out a budget with a daily guideline for accommodation, meals, transportation, area points of interest to visit admissions/entertainment and contingencies?

Can we help you lower daily expenses? It's a challenge to quietly, silently, reduce expenses without being obvious. If you work from a budget or if you prefer, cashflow based on 2014 disbursements you can seek multiple ways to reduce expenses by a thousand small, un noticeable, cuts. For example, cost of gas has dropped significantly in the last 6 weeks. What will you do with the sum saved by the decrease? Whatever is under budget can be squirrelled away in a linked, on-line savings account with a few computer clicks. While savings accounts are not keeping up with inflation they are a perfect instrument to accumulate significant sums for a yet to be determined purpose. e

At this time of year many of us workout a Net Worth statement so we have a roadmap to our financial journey December 31, 2015. You might click to 'Blogs' to see set ups.

[Like2Plan]

I agree with Drake3287. Without knowing your financial picture it's hard to comment.

I think it comes down to trade offs. Sometimes small changes can save a lot of money without much difference in the overall vacation experience--and that is all in the eye of the beholder.

If you want to economize on everything and your DH looks forward to a splurge on vacation, you should try to come to some sort of agreement prior or both of you could be miserable. You--if your DH is looking forward to a splurge on meals and accommodations. Your DH-- if you are accounting for every cent and worrying about every expense despite having saved up for it.

[Jody Lynn]

Thank you for all your thoughts. In terms of our financial standing, I can say that it is good since we have already fully paid our house last year. We are just paying for the car. No other loans or whatsoever.

As I have said, I would rather go on less expensive vacation rather than spending too much. Anyway, I guess my husband's point is we should just enjoy since we have saved enough and for me to stop worrying on our finances. I guess, I could not back out since reservation has been made. Well, the choice is good, I must admit. Lighthouseinn seems to be a good choice though.

[snafu]

Since you are doing DH's preferred vacation this year, perhaps you can agree to have your preferred vacation 2016. With the plan set for Lighthouse Inn, you may as well enjoy the accommodation and every minute of the overall experience.