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Taking the ferry is not going on the cheap. From Bellingham to Whittier you can easily spend over $2000.
How? The rates I have seen have been about $700 for a car and driver...there are only 2 of us, so an extra fare for a "walk on". No cabin - we'd be camping on the deck. Or am I missing something? And - is there a cheaper way to get to Alaska? We'd like to go via water part of the way, but definitely *no* cruise ships.
if you are in the position to safely delay ss it means when you take it is irrelevant because your draw should not change because you have enough assets in place .
all that happens when the delayed ss kicks in is the make up should change on the same amount and it becomes less dependent on your portfolio .
Quote:
Originally Posted by exit82
I feel like we are in a catch 22 situation- we want to front end load most of our travel plans into the first 5-10 years of our retirement while we are still young and flexible enough to get squashed into coach seats while on the other hand- putting off collecting SS until late 60's-70 while closely monitoring 401K withdrawals. Something has gotta give.
I think you ARE that unusual (for the USA), unless you are fitness orientated most of your life. Very few 80 year olds can do what you do. You, of course, see the exceptions when you travel, so it may seem like its not as unusual. I didn't work and save and live frugal to fly coach to Europe. Lots of ways to fly business class for cheap. I have over 400k Avios on BA, just by charging everything with the right offers. Business class is about $1000 with points. Easily worth it. Travel will be a huge part of my budget the first 10 years. At least $15k/yr, but since my house will be paid off, just no P&I more than covers it.
or down to Florida to take a cruise. Probably $1500-$2000 per year.
snip
(P.S. Don't ask how much I spent on gifts to take to the grandchildren in England!!!!!!!!!!!!)
A cruise I would really like. In January or February we could go on a week long cruise or two every year.
I've heard you can get fantastic last second deals if the ship is ready to sale with empty rooms. Don't need to take much in the way of money because we've been there before and as the tourists head to the whatever there is to see we'd just as soon stay on a near empty ship by the pool. This would be my idea of one great vacation.
How do you make last minute trips anyway? Is this actually done or is it a myth? What kind of prices are you looking at?
Oh, and through the Panama Canal... I want to do it and always have.
I understand the gifts for grandchildren. I have a separate line item in my budget for that.
A cruise I would really like. In January or February we could go on a week long cruise or two every year.
I've heard you can get fantastic last second deals if the ship is ready to sale with empty rooms. Don't need to take much in the way of money because we've been there before and as the tourists head to the whatever there is to see we'd just as soon stay on a near empty ship by the pool. This would be my idea of one great vacation.
How do you make last minute trips anyway? Is this actually done or is it a myth? What kind of prices are you looking at?
Oh, and through the Panama Canal... I want to do it and always have.
I understand the gifts for grandchildren. I have a separate line item in my budget for that.
I always said when I was younger that I would go on a cruise when I was "old." So I waited and a few years ago I decided I was old enough. Those deals sound really good but I think you must have to live nearby to be able to take advantage of them--that's the myth part, living close enough to get there at the last minute. For us, the most expensive part of the cruise was getting to it! The cruise itself was cheap and then they give you free money to spend on board. Since the cruise cost includes three meals a day, it's a really cheap vacation. We went in early January a few years ago to get away from this horrible winter weather and to go at a time when the ship wouldn't be loaded with kids.
Since the ship didn't really go anywhere of much interest (Bahamas) we only got off for a little while and mostly just enjoyed the atmosphere of being aboard a ship-- combined with balmy weather.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by exit82
Just to add to our (my) travel dilemma is where to live in the early years of our retirement- to accommodate traveling..... but My husband wants an acreage in a southern state and I'm asking him how the heck are we going to maintain a big place if we frequently travel?? So many decisions..........
I like being 20 min from a great international airport, yet on acreage and in a national scenic area. (No new building allowed). Our other rural places are <1 hr, more hassle for frequent flights.
All have seperate living space for: house sitters, caregivers, tenants, LT visitors, boomerang kids or grandkids.
While traveling a lot, Very handy to have tenants for watching the place, watering, mowing, feeding plants and livestock... and covering taxes, utilities, and insurance. Some places we rent out the big house and stay for free in the cabin. (And get $1000/month extra cash flow for travel.) We are very selective and have great tenants, they are happy to take us to airport and care for the place very well. We only occasionally run into each other. Seperate driveway, privacy entrance.
Build a shop or barn and add an apartment. (Add RV hookups) Quite nice as guest house.
I like being 20 min from a great international airport, yet on acreage and in a national scenic area. (No new building allowed). Our other rural places are <1 hr, more hassle for frequent flights.
I definitely agree with StealthRabbit on this. A lot of the hassle in traveling is just getting to the airport (or train, if you are fortunate enough to be near one) We have partially chosen our places to live with this in mind. Especially now that airport travel is getting nastier and nastier.
I take two or three small trips a year -- mostly road or by rail and I book early and have most of it paid for by the time I go. I probably spent $1,000 to $1,500 on a trip on average and I don't have to tap into my savings for that amount. I went to Peru and back a few years ago for ten days on my own itinerary for somewhere around $3,500 including airfare -- not too hard to plan for in advance.
I regularly get these brochures from my university alumni society for trips where they want to charge $8,000 to $17,000 per person -- I have no idea who would want to do that or why the cost is so high. We went to the same university but they must have studied. A recent alum trip was a bus tour of the Canadian Rockies for about $5k. Having been there I can't imagine why it would cost that much.
I have a larger budget for traveling in the first 5 years. This includes our 2 weeks vacation with our kids in Hawaii. Basically doubling what we normally spend before we retire. I think by the time my husband and I reach 75 we might not want to travel by plane as much. We might do local trips. But I set this budget sepeately for my spending budget, it's not part of my retirement portfolio.
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