36% of Americans Plan to Take on Debt for Summer Vacations

[bjl584]

36% of Americans plan to take on debt for summer travel (cnbc.com)

[disneysteve]

Is this news? I'm sure the same people will then take on additional debt for holiday gifts and entertaining. Maybe they will have paid off the summer travel by then but probably not. They just create an endless cycle of spending and debt.

I have family members who were lousy with money. Every year they would go to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico or Jamaica, charge it to the credit card, and take a year to pay it off. Then they would repeat the process the following year, and the year after that, always borrowing first and then repaying over a year. They could have saved a ton of money in interest if they had flipped their plan. Take a year to save for the trip and then pay cash. Then take another year to save for the next trip and pay cash. But they couldn't have managed that because if they had actually managed to save any money, they would have ended up blowing it on something else long before it was time for the trip.

[ua_guy]

It's indicative of the "I deserve it" mentality that is so prevalent these days. That's not to say that a lot of people aren't deserving of a vacation, but it befuddles me why people would put themselves at a financial disadvantage for such an ethereal thing. Is it peer pressure, a desire to keep up an appearance, post the best insta photos? There are so many budget-friendly and relaxing ways to escape work which don't require signature loans or credit card debt at 20%++

[Fishindude77]

It's indicative of the "I deserve it" mentality that is so prevalent these days. That's not to say that a lot of people aren't deserving of a vacation, but it befuddles me why people would put themselves at a financial disadvantage for such an ethereal thing. Is it peer pressure, a desire to keep up an appearance, post the best insta photos? There are so many budget-friendly and relaxing ways to escape work which don't require signature loans or credit card debt at 20%++

Amen !
You can have an enjoyable week doing something inexpensive like camping or just staying home and doing things with family if that's what the budget allows.

[disneysteve]

Amen !
You can have an enjoyable week doing something inexpensive like camping or just staying home and doing things with family if that's what the budget allows.

Or as I said you can save a little every month and go when you have saved enough rather than going first and then paying it off.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I think Steve is thinking from his disney boards how many people have a dream disney trip and they charge it because it can be once in a lifetime but then it would be ever so much more pleasurable to have saved for it and then gone once in a lifetime.

[disneysteve]

I think Steve is thinking from his disney boards how many people have a dream disney trip and they charge it because it can be once in a lifetime but then it would be ever so much more pleasurable to have saved for it and then gone once in a lifetime.

Everything feels better and tastes better when it's paid for.