For years, hubby and I didn't really go on holidays. I always had other priorities in terms of what to do with our money. We take trips to Ireland every 2.5 years to see his family, and I always figure, that eats up the rest of our holiday fund.
Last summer, my parents paid for us to go on a beach holiday. It was amazing, the kids are starting to be at that age where adventures are important and I am thus rethinking where our money goes. Going to Ireland is very expensive, even with the free lodging we get by staying at my in-laws (our last car rental, for instance, was 1100 for a compact car!!) but I feel like we need other holidays. Hubby is starting to insist upon it.
The thing is, I can come up with the money for another beach holiday this summer, but this means we have less money for savings. Specifically, we are saving to move or to do a build (since our house has no equity). We are going to try for a third kid, and we are in a small three-bedroom ranch as it is. We will need more space as the kids grow, so I don't feel like this is something we can just keep putting off. Yet, I feel like this long term goal shouldn't make us suffer in the present.
How do you balance these hard financial decisions? Do you take holidays every year, and where do you get the money to do so?
Just wanted to add that we are a cash family, save for mortgage and cars. We have no credit card debt, and we max out our retirement fund. We also make small contributions to college savings funds.
If you live near CHicago I would think there would be lots of fun little get a way trips you could do that would be reasonable.
I think hubby insisting on vacations is his way of staying connected with you as a family and is very important, as are date nights. But neither have to involve plane rides and $500 a night hotels.
Try the Illinois state travel guide.
I agree that you can take short, less expensive trips - you don't have to get on a plane and go somewhere. How about camping? What an adventure for the kids and will certainly connect you as a family. We're taking the kids camping right after school gets out (they are 6 and 3) and we're starting with one night b/c it's our first time. How about WI Dells for the weekend. Get on the internet and do some searching for tourism in IL and WI and our other neighboring states. I think you'll find some good ideas.
We like to go to St Joe michigan in the summer. You can go for the day even. It is less than 2 hours away. They have Silver Beach (lake Michigan but cleaner than the Chicago side) with new clean bathrooms, Whirlpool Fountain (a HUGE splashpad with fire hoses that spray every 15 minutes),an antique carousel, and two children's museums. We get a pass for the Dupage Children's museum for $115 a year and it is good for all the museums even the one in Chicago I think . It is called the ACM adventurer pass. There are shops and restaurants even a Jimmy John's so you don't feel funny have lunch in your beach wear. It is great to get a change of scenery even for a day. Hope this helps =0)
Getaways don't have to be lengthy or expensive. To me, it is about doing something out of the norm and spending time together as a family. Figure out what you can comfortably budget for it and find things within your budget. Redefine what it means to you, get creative, and make sure you don't waste much of your children's early years waiting for some milestone in the future. There's always something to work toward or look forward to, but NOW is fleeting.
We take vacations every year and consider them of utmost importance! My parents took me on so many wonderful trips, and they also went on trips of their own. I need time away -and I love introducing my kids to new adventures and places and I ADORE watching them at the beach. Sure, we could save even more money if we never went anywhere, but what am I saving it for? We save money in a "rainy day" fund for emergencies, and we save a lot for retirement. The kids have college fund saving plans, but we also save for vacations. I had rather save less now and have some amazing experiences than save it all with no real guarantees for the future.
***And one thing we really love to do that doesn't take much time if you don't want it to and is REALLY cheap -is camping! Check out state and national parks near you -you'll have nice campsites and often a pool or a lake beach, trails, playgrounds and bath and toilet houses.
Vacations are very important to me. It's the one time everyone unplugs. They don't need to be a big deal but its just the idea of leaving. If this is important to your husband, every 2.5 years, I'd just work around it. It will be awesome memories for your kids. Just scale back on what you do the rest of your vacations so it won't be a budget buster.
Regarding where the money comes from, we save $175 a month just for vacations.
Its important to have vacation time with the family. We are cash also so I know how hard it is but it really needs to be a priority. Your kids won't be young for long and they will be starting their lives and working and won't be able to take off time to spend with you. Try to do small trips and keep it simple. They don't have to cost alot, just something different to do as a family. Good luck!
We do not take vacations - one every 5 years or so, tops. And even then they are to see family and not overly expensive.
We live in the boonies -- people come here for vacation!
We send our kids to summer camp.
We send our kids on Band trips.
We send our kids on school trips.
Our children have not suffered because we don't take vacations. We find vacations miserably stressful, anyway.
We prefer to go skiing for the day whenever we can - we don't need to ski for a week in Colorado or Utah.
We prefer to go to museums or free concerts or whatever is available. Next week we are seeing the USAF Jazz band for free -- it doesn't get better than that!
We see high school plays - we don't need broadway plays.
We take day trips when we can. It is what it is.
It's all in what is important to you and yours.
LBC
We did not take holidays while saving to build a house. We got debt free and saved. A new house requires landscaping, furniture, and other things not included in the contract(water softener, sprinkler system, blinds).
We did not eat out for years unless someone else paid. We scheduled our trips to town to include the doctor, grocery, gas station, and anything else so we could save gas. We spent NO money on clothes, entertainment, hobbies, etc.. We simply quit buying everyone presents, funeral bouquets, wedding and baby gifts, graduation gifts, etc...
It cost us a few relationships and some people were "Where is my gift?"
That is rude and they didn't get our passion to be debt free.
It was SOOOO worth it. Now we are making new friends slowly. Many are debt free. We can afford a new car, but we drive the old one. We can afford vacations and we are taking 3 short ones and 1 long one this year.
If you can't afford it, you can't afford it.
Also, if you change your title to vacations, you will get more answers. Holidays means family drama to me and I nearly skipped this question.
Priorities. Priorities. Priorities.
We are a cash only family. Anything like a vacation, car purchase, etc. has to be budgeted for.
If you are trying for baby #3 - moving to a bigger house would be a priority to me - not a vacation.
If you have credit card debt? I would strongly suggest that you get out of debt and start living cash only. If you are unsure how to do it - talk to a financial planner or borrow a book of Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman from the library.
Keep a journal of every penny you spend for 1 to 3 months - some people do it longer - you will be AMAZED at the amount of money you waste on cups of coffee from Starbucks...lunch during the week (pack it!).
Then get your list of debt together and start going through your debt to get rid of it. Budget "fun money" - because you STILL MUST have fun. If this means being able to blow $100 a month (it's different for everyone) on "stuff" then do it - it has to be an amount agreed upon.
As to vacations? They don't have to be a week or even two weeks long. Since we live in Virginia - going to Williamsburg for the weekend or Gettysburg would be considered a vacation. It doesn't have to be extravagant or far away....I'd really like to go to Ireland! I didn't make it there when I lived in Europe!! A Holiday is what you make it. It could even be a camp out in the backyard with no electronics!! My girlfriend does that - they pitch their tent out in the backyard, have a fire pit and play games, eat on the picnic table they have and sleep in the tent - they have 3 year old twin boys and THAT'S exciting for them!! It's a mind set.
We go on one camping trip a year... it's usually Father's Day weekend. My Father-in-law pays for our camp site, so all we have to do is pay for gas and help with food cost. We really can't afford anything more. We live in a 1893, 1425 sq ft, 4 bedroom house and they are 7 of us... we have the 3 mo old baby in the dinningroom (room next to our bedroom) till we can move the 19 mo old in with his brothers and free up the nursery.
If you are wanting to save and go on vatations... you just have to figure out what you can live without - dinners out, cut grocery cost, less movies, down grade cable/dish services, reduce internet speed to lower cost, combine trips places, smaller gifts or birthday parties, reduce other utility costs, don't buy things you don't have to (clothing, shoes, nick-nacks, furnishings, dishes, ect.).
As for a bigger house - I personnaly think some people live in way to big of houses... sometimes it's nice living in a smaller one. It makes for a closer family - you don't have anywhere to hid from eachother :)
Taking a holiday is very important but keep in mind that anything outside of your normal routine and location can be a holiday and that they don't have to be expensive. You may find that alternating a big vacation with a smaller, closer to home vacation helps you to both get away and not spend as much money. One of the things we are trying to do is to be more diligent about taking smaller weekend trips. There are great state parks that offer wonderful accommodations for weekend trips or for day trips. You may find a staycation exploring sites within a few hours of your home or playing games together is just as invigorating.
The number one thing we do to afford annual vacations is to use miles for our flights. We have a United visa that we use for all of our personal charges and a Southwest visa that my husband uses for his business expenses (which his company then reimburses him for). We put everything we can on our cards just to get the miles, inlcuding things like our cable and insurance bills which we have autobilled to our card (and of course we pay it off monthly - you only get the miles when you pay the bill.) We figure if we're going to have to pay those expenses, we might as well get something for them! You'd be amazed how quickly you can rack up free flights this way, especially if you can plan well in advance and get the saver fares. Even if only one or two of your tickets wind up being comped, it can make a big dent in the cost of your trip.
Also, look into joining a group like Starwood Hotels or another hotel rewards program like Hilton. We belong to Starwood (Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, etc.) and they offer members special rates all the time. And there is no cost to join, you just go to the website and sign up! As one example, we took a trip to Hawaii in 2010 booked through our Starwood account, stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki for 10 days where we got 50% off rack rate because of a special rate they were running for members, received 35% off all restaurants at any Starwood hotel on the island during our stay, and got points for each night we stayed. We not only saved big on that trip because of the special percentages off, but also accrued enough points that my hubby and I were able to stay at the W Hotel downtown Chicago for free on our anniversary (W is also part of Starwood), and at another Sheraton hotel in Wheeling for free following a relative's wedding. And we still have enough points for another free stay somewhere else.
In short, definitely save up for your annual vacations, but help your dollars take you farther by taking advantage of the loyalty programs that are out there. You'll find you'll save a bundle and can be able to afford more than you originally thought you could. Have fun!
I think that family vacation time is really important too!! The key is balance. We take a "big" vacation every other year - Caribbean, WDW, ect. Alternate years we stay close to home and take a driving trip. We love going to the Dells, Cedar Pointe or Central Michigan. We enjoy luxury travel so we save for our trips through a dedicated vacation savings account deducted directly from my salary and pay for our trip in advance that way. You are right to want to vacation regularly with your family. Planning will make it possible.
