HELP! Spur of the moment "mini-vacation"

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2008
HELP! Spur of the moment "mini-vacation"
8
Sun, 11-09-2008 - 9:29pm

DH and I discussed over the summer the possibility of going to see the leaves in the mountains this fall.

Avatar for cl_beckymk
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Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 11-10-2008 - 9:10am

It is definitely hard to balance life with debt payment.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2008
Mon, 11-10-2008 - 10:50am

Due to a friend getting married in April my DH and I are taking a mini-vacation / wedding trip to Boston. This is a bit of a "forced" vacation in that we know we are going and we know what we will spend. Does it hurt me to know I will probably spend $1,000 or so on a weekend in Boston - sure but I also know this is my oldest, dearest friend and I will never see her get married but once.


Like the above poster, you have to balance debt repayment with life.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Mon, 11-10-2008 - 12:56pm

I agree with PP, this is a long journey and it is a balancing act. I still travel now and again...went on a fairly inexpensive cruise last year and to Hawaii on a not so inexpensive trip the February before. Life has thrown me a lot of curves in terms of family and my own illnesses in the last 2 years and honestly those 2 weeks were priceless. I think $400 is a totally reasonable weekend away and like Becky said, your kids aren't going to be around forever. It's important to build those memories too.

You did fine...don't beat yourself up. You paid cash, didn't spend extravagantly and it will all work out. Now that you know that this can really be something that recharges your batteries, you might want to talk about building it into your budget. I put money in my travel account pretty reliably even though I'm not out of student loan debt for this exact reason. The money is sort of burning a hole in my pocket but I'm trying to hold off on spending it until the economy settles down at least a little bit.

Peg

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-18-2008
Mon, 11-10-2008 - 5:17pm

Thanks guys!

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2003
Mon, 11-10-2008 - 9:28pm
I'm glad you went.
Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 1:15pm

When DH (who's a SAHD) was working on the weekends to try to help make ends meet, I thought of every frivolous expense in terms of how many hours he had to take away from the family for us to pay for it. He made roughly $75 a night. If a nice dinner out for the two of us was going to cost $150, we'd ask ourselves, was it worth it for him to be gone both Saturday night and all day Sunday for a dinner out, or could we get the same quality time over a couple of pints at the local pub for $25? It put everything into perspective: "how much is this worth DH missing out on family time?" Most things weren't worth it.

Even if you're paying cash, it's still cash that could have gone to something else. What else would you have spent $400 on? On the other hand, this weekend may have been EXACTLY what you needed, and you shouldn't worry about it.

I am a big believer in vacations and taking a break. We've always balanced the need for vacation time with at-home time. We prepare for it and budget for it. The important thing for us is to NOT do things spur-of-the-moment. We're aware of how long we'll go before we're fed up, and what are the things we can do to NOT get fed up too fast.

This past year, we went to Ireland for 10 days. We and the kids all had the BEST time. We'd been hoping to go for years, this year we finally had the money, and I don't regret the $15,000 we spent on it because it will never be like that again. We budgeted for it and it was completely paid for (and looked forward to for years!). Next summer we'll take a much less expensive vacation that doesn't involve flying. Even when we had very little money, we always took vacations every summer because it's a family bonding experience that we'll always remember. We could skip vacations and save the money, but this is an important thing for families.

But...our spring vacations we spend at home. We don't take a winter vacation. For the last couple of years, we've gone to the mountains for Presidents Day weekend, but that's it. It's a nice tradition, and a welcome break for DH in the long winter months of being a SAHD, but honestly, if we couldn't afford it next February, I'd skip it and everyone would understand.

It's all about balancing, and making sure that you're doing things for the right reason, and you can do it without regretting it.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 1:32pm

Sometimes the mind and soul just need a break.

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus


iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2007
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 5:54pm

We're about to do that in a couple weeks. We always go home for Thanksgiving. MIL is 75 and all the sisters-in-law are starting families (our kids are nearly adults themselves). It won't be long before those days are gone. We will surely pay minimums on some accounts and budget $300-$400 for the trip.

I think the main thing is being conscious of spending habits and it sounds as though you are fully aware of what you're doing. No bags under the bed or clothes in the closet with price tags still attached, I assume? Don't fret.

Dee