First, reduce your vacation to $1k. Drive to your destination, and pick a lower-cost place or stay a bit outside of the city (you'll have a car so you can drive in each day). Savannah, Charleston, etc. are all one-day drive away.

Then, if you chice is $1k from credit card or $1k from savings, take the $1k from savings but pay it back on a strict plan and stick to it. Your $1k from a credit card will cost you $1300 (compounded interest), while from your savings will cost $1030 (lost interest from 3% APR.. ok doing really rough numbers here).

Given your feelings about credit card debt, don't do it - you won't enjoy the trip as much as you think you will with the debt hanging over you, and it will only lead to more guilt/frazzle later.

Instead, take a smaller chunk of cash, say $300 out of your savings and do something you'd NEVER splurge on. Eat a minibar or Pineapple and Pearls. Go to a luxury spa. Order the most expensive steak and martinis. Take a good friend and treat them too.

Then...take a few days off work and give yourself permission to do NOTHING or anything you want. No chores, only fun things.

If you go on vacation, it comes out of the cash you already have saved. If you aren't willing to part with it for the vacation, then you don't go.

Your friend is an idiot.

No. The fact is, annual "nice trips" (defined as requiring plane tickets and 5-6 days of hotel stays) are a luxury that are NOT affordable for those of us with normal salaries, houses to maintain, and children to pay for. I know it's hard when you see your facebook friends' profiles with the pictures from all over. But the fact is, just like you can't afford a $1 mil house, $3k is not in your budget this year for a vacation. Fancy trips -- taken on a whim! and paid for by credit -- just are not something that everyone does.

If you DO want to prioritize a "nice trip," then you have to save for it. Maybe it will be once every 3 years instead of every year. That's how normal people do it.

Do you have credit card points to use?

Check cheapcarribean.com, travelzoo, and costco travel for inexpensive last minute getaways. I'm sure you can find something all inclusive for 4-5 days for $1500/couple.

There have been several studies that suggest having experiences make you happier than buying things. Travel is an experience. Do it while you are physically able. You have the money to pay cash now, and then rebuild your reserves for things like summer camp. Put the expenses on a rewards card and make it work for you. In the grand picture, $3k is not that much. I bet you can identify Things you can cut back on throughout the year (new clothes that look raggedy after a few washes, shoes you'll wear a couple of times and then forget about because they're not that comfortable, convenience foods with too much sodium, etc.) that actually don't bring happiness to your life. You'll get those savings back in no time.

Go on vacation, make those memories, and really ENJOY it. THAT is why you work. To enjoy life.

Anonymous wrote:Good grief, people. Time off is rejuvenating to the body and spirit, and sometimes that comes with travel. If you need to put it on a credit card and know that you can pay it off quickly, go for it. But I would aim for a less-expensive trip than $3K.

This. I believe vacations are a very good thing to maintain your mental health. But I also believe it can be done cheaper than $3000.

Anonymous wrote:I did this: I felt frazzled and entitled to a break. Then I felt entitled to a new car, and new clothes, and some home improvements, and the next thing you knew, I owed $15k in credit card debt. That made me feel much worse than not taking a vacation.

Save/budget for your vacation, and pay cash.

Ugh this happened to us too.

NO! No!

What do you have when it is over? Bills. Memories. A vacation does not have to cost $3000. Period.

Rule of thumb: do not use credit card for disposable expenses--i.e. restaurants, Starbucks, vacations. Use credit (when necessary) for durable goods--things that will last a while--refrigerator, car, etc.

You say you are stressed now. How much more stressed will you be when you owe an additional $3k?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll break with the crowd, OP.

Yes, I would. I have done this before. Sometimes, you do not have the cash on hand to buy the tickets when you need them. If you have a plan to pay them off over a relatively short period of time, and you are truly at the end of your rope, go for it.

Okay, and I have to, but in this case, her friend suggested aiming to pay it off by year end, so you're talking eight months here. OP hasn't clarified if that's what she would do, but that's a long time to be paying interest on a cc. Unless she can somehow transfer the balance to a no-interest cc?

I think it kind of depends on what's going on with the OP. If she is so frazzled that she needs a break now, from a mental health perspective, it might be worth it to her to pay interest for a bit in order to get the respite she needs now. Is it a super smart financial decision? Probably not. But if that's not the most important consideration, it's not like she's doomed forever if she carries a balance for a couple months.

I do think there are cheaper vacations than $3k that she could take, pretty easily.

A couple months is different than the eight months that the friend suggested.

what about a spa/wine tasting weekend locally? one night hotel, two days, a spa treatment, some vino, and sleeping in. (babysitter if necessary or trade with a friend to watch kids for the night).

I did this: I felt frazzled and entitled to a break. Then I felt entitled to a new car, and new clothes, and some home improvements, and the next thing you knew, I owed $15k in credit card debt. That made me feel much worse than not taking a vacation.

Save/budget for your vacation, and pay cash.

There's no way I'd go on a vacation that I couldn't afford. You're just going to end up more frazzled later this year when you realize you can't pay this off. And then you'll "need" another vacation from the additional stress.

You have a mortgage, student loan, and car loan. You also have a child who'll be summer camp. There is no need to add to your financial burden.

Take the time off work. Sleep in, if you can. Find a way to rejuvenate locally. A lot of museums & things in DC are free or low cost.

Save money up so you can go on one of those "nicer" vacations that you really want to go on.

To answer your question, I never finance my vacation through a credit card that I can't pay off that month.

Good grief, people. Time off is rejuvenating to the body and spirit, and sometimes that comes with travel. If you need to put it on a credit card and know that you can pay it off quickly, go for it. But I would aim for a less-expensive trip than $3K.

OP: give us some stats and maybe we can help you figure out a nice break that won't break you.

How many traveling? ages?

when?