Would you sacrifice liquid savings to take memorable vacations with teens?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Memories don't come from more expensive trips. Some of our most memorable trips have been National Parks and amazing hikes.

But didn’t it cost you money to get there?

DP: you find National Parks that are nearby and camp/stay at reasonable places. You can do a 7 day driving vacation that is very affordable. You don't have to spend a fortune

OP is talking about 2K you numbskull. That’s not exactly a fortune.

Depends what percentage that is of her savings. If she has at least 100k in emergency fund this is nothing but if it's 10k, she should take a cheaper vacation.

Anyone who keeps 100K in an emergency fund is already living beyond their means. Think about it.

Not really. If you make $500K+, a $100K ef is very reasonable. eG should be 9-12 months of expenses ideally. So most making $200K should have that size ef.

Nope! If you need a $100k emergency cushion you are the definition of a profligate spender.

And basing what is reasonable on some arbitrary rule of thumb means you’re an unimaginative idiot. Sorry.

No you are the idiot. Someone who spends $100k in 9 months is not a "profligate spender" if they make $200k+. Housing likely costs $40K+ alone probably more (mortgage/insurance/utilities/maintenance ), food for family of 4 is easily $1k now with the way prices are, if you like to eat fresh fruits/veggies and quality protein sources. Thats well over $50k for just that, now add in car payments, insurance, gas, and medical and clothing and other basic expenses

Basing your spending on your income is profligate. You absolutely don’t need to spend that much money - you spend that much money because you’re entitled and irresponsible.

You are in absolutely no position to be giving anyone financial advice.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OP we are going on vacation later this year with our 21 and 23 yos.

I don't know if you should spend the money, but you shouldn't believe that the opportunities for vacation are coming to an end.

+1

If you still offer to pay for the vacation (or majority of it), most 20 somethings will happily join for a family vacay

It’s not the same when they’re adults in their 20s, though. I am shocked how many people ITT refuse to acknowledge that obvious reality.

In many ways it's much more enjoyable. No cranky teens, kids are adults and more aware of the world (and not as self centered). It's different, and I consider it more enjoyable now as adults.

x1000

Way more enjoyable in college and post-college than in HS.

We have gone on vacations with some of our parents in our 40s/50s (some they paid, others we paid) and our kids grew up seeing that, so I'm not sure why they would feel it would stop. Lots of friends in similar position.

Spoken like a selfish parent who didn’t actually like their kids, which is why you chose to hoard money instead of take them on trips until they were old enough not to annoy you.

Is this the type of parent OP wants to take advice from?

Have you ever lived with teens? Especially teenage girls?
Obviously you have not

Love my kids, took them on plenty of trips as teens and before. But it's much more enjoyable now as 20 something's as they become adults.

And it's not selfish--if prefer all kids have the benefit of affordable college without debt before they take expensive vacations. Trust me they will appreciate that more in their 20s than the fancy trips. You can still spend quality time with them at home/ neaby

On vacation with my teens right now! They’re super enjoyable. Sounds like you’re just a $hitty mom.

[Anonymous]

I would take a few lower cost trips OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have twins turning 15 this summer, and it’s hitting us that we probably only have 3–4 more “guaranteed” years of family travel with them. Some of our best memories together have come from trips, but as they’ve gotten older (and everything has gotten more expensive), we’ve pulled back.

Now we’re wondering if it’s worth leaning in for a few years, prioritizing more meaningful travel while we still can. The tradeoff is that we’d be building less in liquid, emergency-type savings. We live within our means, contribute steadily to retirement and college, but our cash reserves have never been especially robust.

In real terms, we’re talking about roughly $2,000 less in savings per year to fund the kind of trips we’re considering. That’s also the cushion that would help if, say, one emergency is followed by another.

So how would you weigh the pros and cons here? Has anyone made a similar choice at this stage with teens?

Absolutely would. These years are precious and you will miss them when they're gone forever.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Absolutely. Take it from someone whose kids are 24 and 26 and don't vacation with us any more. Make those memories.

Why not? My kids are 27 and 23. Spent 2 weeks in Europe in Dec and have another trip for summer (2 weeks again) with them. They still love to vacation with us, and we will happily welcome them and their SO (and eventually any grandkids) and help pay for it all.

My 24 and 26 year old children are in entry level jobs with only 2 weeks' leave annually. Not enough time to spend a week of it with their parents.

[Anonymous]

I would compromise and do travel without spending all the savings. Maybe one “big” trip. Where were you thinking of going, OP? We could maybe help you figure out how to go to cool places a bit more affordably.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on your budget and general finances and priorities. There are many things we don't spend on (eating out, cleaner, gardener, fancy things...) so we always have prioritized travel, either to see family abroad or US trips. I don't regret any of it.

And I do think it is harder when kids are older: most will not have a lot of vacation time, and they'll likely want to go on trips with friends/significant others. Sure, if they have time and you pay they might do both, but these are not "growing up" memories and these are special and unique.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Memories don't come from more expensive trips. Some of our most memorable trips have been National Parks and amazing hikes.

But didn’t it cost you money to get there?

DP: you find National Parks that are nearby and camp/stay at reasonable places. You can do a 7 day driving vacation that is very affordable. You don't have to spend a fortune

OP is talking about 2K you numbskull. That’s not exactly a fortune.

Depends what percentage that is of her savings. If she has at least 100k in emergency fund this is nothing but if it's 10k, she should take a cheaper vacation.

Anyone who keeps 100K in an emergency fund is already living beyond their means. Think about it.

Not really. If you make $500K+, a $100K ef is very reasonable. eG should be 9-12 months of expenses ideally. So most making $200K should have that size ef.

Nope! If you need a $100k emergency cushion you are the definition of a profligate spender.

And basing what is reasonable on some arbitrary rule of thumb means you’re an unimaginative idiot. Sorry.

No you are the idiot. Someone who spends $100k in 9 months is not a "profligate spender" if they make $200k+. Housing likely costs $40K+ alone probably more (mortgage/insurance/utilities/maintenance ), food for family of 4 is easily $1k now with the way prices are, if you like to eat fresh fruits/veggies and quality protein sources. Thats well over $50k for just that, now add in car payments, insurance, gas, and medical and clothing and other basic expenses

Basing your spending on your income is profligate. You absolutely don’t need to spend that much money - you spend that much money because you’re entitled and irresponsible.

You are in absolutely no position to be giving anyone financial advice.

First it's an example. Second, nobody said it was basing your spending on income. It was a list of costs. And yes in a cola spending $3.5k monthly on mortgage, insurance, maintenance and utilities is a reality. That's a $2-2.3k mortgage payment and rest is insurance and multiplies and maintenance (saving it whether you use it or not)


Also I personally am uhnw so I think I know something about finances and how to budget

[Anonymous]

One suggestion - you can go all out for a few more modest weekend trips a year. Some of our more memorable vacations have been splurging on an airbnb and exploring new places in driving or cheap flight (maybe not as feasible these days) distance for a long weekend. Places we've enjoyed over the years with tweens/teens: charleston, savannah, asheville, nashville, annapolis, harpers ferry, obx (great for a random spring weekend), providence RI, NYC.

[Anonymous]

We're prioritizing travel, because I love it and have watched my nieces and nephews get busier (with less PTO) as they have graduated college.

We don't add to our general liquid savings at this point. We have what we want saved in an emergency fund, and now save for specific items as needed (which includes vacations). So I don't quite get your question- do you have the money, and are deciding whether it's worth spending it on vacation vs. something else? If so, for us it is more important than other savings right now.

[Anonymous]

I would, but only if it didn't cause our liquid savings (which includes a brokerage account) to dip below 1 year of living expenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP we are going on vacation later this year with our 21 and 23 yos.

I don't know if you should spend the money, but you shouldn't believe that the opportunities for vacation are coming to an end.

+1

If you still offer to pay for the vacation (or majority of it), most 20 somethings will happily join for a family vacay

It’s not the same when they’re adults in their 20s, though. I am shocked how many people ITT refuse to acknowledge that obvious reality.

In many ways it's much more enjoyable. No cranky teens, kids are adults and more aware of the world (and not as self centered). It's different, and I consider it more enjoyable now as adults.

x1000

Way more enjoyable in college and post-college than in HS.

We have gone on vacations with some of our parents in our 40s/50s (some they paid, others we paid) and our kids grew up seeing that, so I'm not sure why they would feel it would stop. Lots of friends in similar position.

Spoken like a selfish parent who didn’t actually like their kids, which is why you chose to hoard money instead of take them on trips until they were old enough not to annoy you.

Is this the type of parent OP wants to take advice from?

I just came back to this thread, and WTAF. People are sooo weird. I literally said we've gone on vacation with our families, so our kids grew up with that. They'd been to 9 countries in Asia and Europe by the time they were 18, so no I wasn't hoarding $$.

[Anonymous]

Take the trips. Just took my HS senior on a spring break trip and spent a bit more than I probably should have. No regrets.

[Anonymous]

I 100% would. I am a divorced dad to twins. They are freshman in HS. We have a big trip coming this summer and I have no regrets dipping into my cash savings for the trip. We will remember it forever. I am already priority #3 or #4 lol, and in a few years dad will be an afterthought. So I am enjoying this moment.

I am on track for retirement and kids' college savings. I don't waste money. I don't spend money on alcohol, cigarette or gambling. I don't see the point hoarding money at the expense of spending it to enjoy time with my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely. Take it from someone whose kids are 24 and 26 and don't vacation with us any more. Make those memories.

Why not? My kids are 27 and 23. Spent 2 weeks in Europe in Dec and have another trip for summer (2 weeks again) with them. They still love to vacation with us, and we will happily welcome them and their SO (and eventually any grandkids) and help pay for it all.

How do your kids have 4 weeks off a year to vacation with their parents?