How does anyone afford to travel now?

[Anonymous]

I am 64 and all my friends are traveling around the globe, and they aren't rich.

They use frequent flier miles for airline tickets, points for hotel rooms, etc.

But their mortgages are paid off and no car loans and kids are out of college.

[Anonymous]

The frequent travelers have at least one adult in the household that accumulates points from work travel.

The other explanation is wealth. A lot of people in the area are just very wealthy. 500K a year, that sort of thing.

We have neither, so we don't travel often, but we save up to visit family in Europe and Asia. Our last trip to Asia to see my cousins was in 2015 and cost 20K. We fly to Europe to see our parents about once every 2-3 years, and that's cheaper.

[Anonymous]

There was a long long thread on this very subject quite recently.

I give you the same answer as I did to that thread. I play the points game. With the credit card points convertible to flights and hotels, I've been able to travel with 2 kids at least 2 or 3 times a year.

There is certainly cash required to travel; you can't do it completely for free, but free tickets and some hotel nights help tremendously.

We just came back from a quick break in Cartagena, where 60% of the costs were covered by points.

[Anonymous]

We travel internationally. Its actually cheaper than traveling domestically. Get past the flights (and often times, an international flight to a European country is cheaper than a domestic flight) and things are just overall cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think people who travel for work and rack up the miles have the best chance for affordable travel.

I have a neighbor who games credit card deals, opening and closing cards to get the travel points and somehow doesn’t worry about his credit score.

This does not affect your credit score at all. As long as he pays on time and does not utilize 100% of his credit, his score is probably superior to yours.

[Anonymous]

I stopped traveling within the US. Seriously. Service is better internationally, food is better and cheaper, and lodging is too. We also use our CC points but we aren't cc-points obsessed either; just use it on our day-to-day purchases and the points add up over time.

[Anonymous]

We make 285 HHI so not rich. But we don’t have car payments and have a low interest rate on a 400k mortgage. Kids are in public schools. We manage to save for retirement, college and go on a ski trip and an international trip once a year.

We don’t eat out much and are generally frugal otherwise.

[Anonymous]

I am a nurse, so very much true middle class. I live in a VHCOL city. I take 2-3 int’l trips a year by keeping them to a week or less, buying very cheap airfare and going off season/ shoulder season. Once there, I stay in the cheapest hotel I can find that is safe.

Of note, i literally never, ever order DoorDash. Anyone who has ever paid $29 all-in for a single hamburger is not allowed to whine about the costs associated with taking a trip— you are pissing away your money

I don’t pay the premium for Instacart. I don’t have regularly scheduled housecleaners. I go out to eat with friends sparingly, not just because it’s 7 pm and I don’t feel like cooking.

Oh ! And I don’t have a $800-$1000 monthly car pay like a few of my coworkers who wanted the brand new bronco instead of the 18 month old used Corolla.

[Anonymous]

I responded in other similar thread but our HHI is $170k. We budget $10k for travel + 100;s of thousands in credit card points from churning CC's and this has gotten us 2-3 international trips per year, plus 2 visits to see family in FL.

But you learn the credit card game, where you get a few CC's per year, send your partner a referral link for the same cards. And then learn how to use the points effectively (not cashing them out).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because there are a lot of people who make a lot of money. It's that simple.

And yes, there really are a lot of people with large incomes. And if you are smart with money and budgets and travel, it's highly manageable. The most common complaint I hear around me isn't the cost of travel but the time scarcity.

What is a large income? I make $150k per year and cannot afford to travel at all. I don’t even spend much besides on food, rent, gas, and insurance

Then there is something seriously wrong with you. The mirror is your answer as to why you can't travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We prioritize it because it’s something we all enjoy.
We don’t have a college fund for DD. She’ll go to CC then transfer hopefully.

Not sure if this is rage bait but this is...unfortunate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We prioritize it because it’s something we all enjoy.
We don’t have a college fund for DD. She’ll go to CC then transfer hopefully.

Not sure if this is rage bait but this is...unfortunate.

Nobody needs a college fund. It's all a giant scam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because there are a lot of people who make a lot of money. It's that simple.

And yes, there really are a lot of people with large incomes. And if you are smart with money and budgets and travel, it's highly manageable. The most common complaint I hear around me isn't the cost of travel but the time scarcity.

What is a large income? I make $150k per year and cannot afford to travel at all. I don’t even spend much besides on food, rent, gas, and insurance

That's not normal, PP. We've made 150K a year as a family of 4, and yet we've been to Europe and Asia several times (but not more than one trip a year). You're probably pissing away money in all areas of your life without even realizing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because there are a lot of people who make a lot of money. It's that simple.

And yes, there really are a lot of people with large incomes. And if you are smart with money and budgets and travel, it's highly manageable. The most common complaint I hear around me isn't the cost of travel but the time scarcity.

What is a large income? I make $150k per year and cannot afford to travel at all. I don’t even spend much besides on food, rent, gas, and insurance

That's not normal, PP. We've made 150K a year as a family of 4, and yet we've been to Europe and Asia several times (but not more than one trip a year). You're probably pissing away money in all areas of your life without even realizing it.

Meant to say we've NEVER made 150K! We make less!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We travel internationally. Its actually cheaper than traveling domestically. Get past the flights (and often times, an international flight to a European country is cheaper than a domestic flight) and things are just overall cheaper.

+1