Yearly Vacation Budget

[scfr]

I should probably add that planning our trips is something I really enjoy and spend a LOT of time on it, always trying to ferret out the most fun for a buck.

[disneysteve]

Day trips or overnight trips are a big part of our vacation plans.

Travel by air (domestic and international) usually involves going to visit family so no hotel.

For our 25th anniversary we plan on spending at the high end of the range (already planned and budgeted right at $1,000) for a trip to Hot Springs National Park.

We like the overnight/weekend trips, too, though even those trips can be somewhat costly between gas, tolls, parking, tickets to attractions, meals, etc. We did a weekend in NYC in August that ran well over $1,000. Just this past Saturday, my wife and I did a day trip into Philadelphia that ran about $175 including tolls, parking, lunch, dinner, and tickets to an art museum.

With a toddler, 3-4 days away from home is plenty

Not us. The first time we took DD to WDW she was 5 months old, and we drove from NJ. We've been back with her 2 dozen times since at every age along the way. We never had any problem traveling with her as an infant or toddler.

Part of our problem is that when we go somewhere, we like to do things that cost money. We can't stand sitting on the beach or lounging by the pool. We want to see the sights, check out museums, see a show, visit historic sites, etc. and all of those things come at a price. Plus we can't stand fast food or chain restaurants so we're always looking for the good local places to eat. We don't go crazy but even if we spend $25/day/person, that's over $500 for the week just on food.

[DaveInPgh]

We have two high school athletes (golf and volleyball) which translates into about $13-15K a year in travel.

I didn't even include sports travel with my budget number. Just this past weekend we spent around $600 to attend a soccer tournament.

[disneysteve]

I didn't even include sports travel with my budget number. Just this past weekend we spent around $600 to attend a soccer tournament.

I wouldn't include that unless you also made a vacation out of the trip. There's a difference between travel and vacation. If I go to a medical education conference, I don't count that as vacation if I go by myself and don't really do anything other than attend the conference. But if my wife comes along and we tack on a few extra days to go sightseeing, then it becomes a vacation.

[97guns]

I dont know how some of you travel so cheap, my vacations will usually run North of $3000, I'll burn through $500 or $600 just on a weekend getaway

[DaveInPgh]

I wouldn't include that unless you also made a vacation out of the trip. There's a difference between travel and vacation. If I go to a medical education conference, I don't count that as vacation if I go by myself and don't really do anything other than attend the conference. But if my wife comes along and we tack on a few extra days to go sightseeing, then it becomes a vacation.

Yep, we just consider it part of raising an athlete.

[disneysteve]

I dont know how some of you travel so cheap, my vacations will usually run North of $3000, I'll burn through $500 or $600 just on a weekend getaway

As noted, some are counting a weekend getaway as their annual vacation.

Polls like this are always a little hard to interpret because of all of the variables. For example, I take 4 weeks vacation each year plus some overnight and weekend trips. Odds are pretty good that I'm going to spend more than someone else who only takes one or two weekend trips in a year. Even if we could go away for a week for $800, our annual spending would be over $3,000 since we do at least 4 weeks of vacation each year.

[scfr]

As noted, some are counting a weekend getaway as their annual vacation.

Polls like this are always a little hard to interpret because of all of the variables. For example, I take 4 weeks vacation each year plus some overnight and weekend trips. Odds are pretty good that I'm going to spend more than someone else who only takes one or two weekend trips in a year. Even if we could go away for a week for $800, our annual spending would be over $3,000 since we do at least 4 weeks of vacation each year.

Gonna have to disagree with you here, friend. I'm not sure why it's so hard to interpret. The way I see it the one big, uncontrollable variable is the number of family members that go on the vacation. The remaining variable is how much one chooses to spend on those vacations. Yes, the types of vacations are different, and that's based on the choices we all make.

Would you say that a poll asking how much someone's primary vehicle cost was "hard to interpret" simply because some people drive used sedans and some people drive brand new Teslas? Or would a poll asking about daily food expenditures be "hard to interpret" because some people eat a rice & beans type diet and some eat a filet mignon & lobster type diet?

[disneysteve]

Gonna have to disagree with you here, friend. I'm not sure why it's so hard to interpret. The way I see it the one big, uncontrollable variable is the number of family members that go on the vacation.

There isn't really any meaningful comparison that could be made from a poll like this.

If I take 30+ vacation days/year and someone else takes 5, of course I'm going to spend more even if we both take similar types of vacations. That's all I was getting at.

The corollary to this poll would be, "How many days of vacation do you do each year?"

[Eagle]

How much do you budget/spend on vacation (yearly amount)?

We probably spend between $1000-2000 each year.

I think for this question to be more relevant further information would need to be taken into account. For example:

1. Location of Residence (State, country, etc)
2. Location(s) of Vacation
3. Number of Family members
4. Days of Vacation
5. Net Worth
6. Income
7. Budget & Expenses

A person who lives in Arkansas might view a $1000 vacation in a different light than someone living in California or New York.

There's also the difference in costs between taking a vacation in Florida, Hawaii, or Canada.

Then there's family members. A family of 6 will naturally spend more money than a family of 2 or 3.

The issue then becomes are these a couple days or 7 days of vacation.

A family's net worth and income also has to be taken into account. As well as the monthly budget. Some people may need to save money over time while others may simply cash flow whatever vacation that take in a given month.

[Fishindude77]

We are semi retired & FI, would guess we spend $15-20K vacationing annually.

[disneysteve]

The corollary to this poll would be, "How many days of vacation do you do each year?"

I posted this poll. Hopefully everyone who voted in this poll will vote in that one too. It might be interesting to see how the results match up.

[feh]

I dont know how some of you travel so cheap, my vacations will usually run North of $3000, I'll burn through $500 or $600 just on a weekend getaway

Depends on the nature of the vacation.

When I was a kid, we had one week of family vacation each summer, and it was exactly the same every year - a week at my grandparents' cottage on a lake. Expenses were small - gas for the boat and food. No lodging expenses, and travel was just a car ride of a few hours.

Until our son was about 10, my wife and I continued that tradition, so we spent very little. Since then, we've wanted our son to see more of the world; experience new places. As a result, our vacations have become much more expensive, since they now include lodging, airfare and the cost of tourist attractions.

[disneysteve]

Depends on the nature of the vacation.

Absolutely. I think in general over time, vacations have gotten more involved. People are more mobile and more apt to take the whole family to more exotic locales. When I was growing up, I was 13 before I traveled anywhere more than a 4 hour drive from my home. Our family vacations were to the same few places over and over - Atlantic City, Lancaster, Catskills.

Today, my daughter is 21 and has been to 18 states, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and several Caribbean islands. And a couple of those things she did without us, definitely not something that happened when I was her age.

[feh]

Absolutely. I think in general over time, vacations have gotten more involved.

I'm not sure if this is a general trend, or just generational differences for you and me.

Financially, I'm much better off than my parents, which makes for more expensive options. My parents simply couldn't afford taking the family to London, as we did this last summer.