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Without the memories of travel life would be too mundane to stand. As many posters on here have said it all about priority. We out aside "travel" money from each paycheck we get and use that yearly for vacations. I am amazed when I meet adults my age who have never traveled or evert been on a plane- but some people are uncomfortable outside their bubble and some just do not like to travel. And that is ok. I love to travel and experience different cultures.
I see no problem with your philosophy. You only live once and should enjoy whatever pleases you this time around. And if you have extra income to set aside for travel after all other necessities have been taken care of, that is is all good. I have a problem with people who spend money for traveling without making provisions for their old age when they will not be able to work and might not have enough money to survive, like the friend I spoke of.
I have a penpal in England and she and her friends and family travel constantly. Her sister once went on THREE cruises in one month. My friend takes at least four cruises a year plus many motor coach tours. Her sister and many of her friends retired with pensions in their mid 40's. My friend retired at 66 with no pension and had just an office job. She must have saved a LOT because she spends a lot of money on trips and expensive gadgets and eats out 3 times a week. Of course, they get free medical and we do not, and their taxes are only a little higher than the US, according to Wikipedia the US rate is 42% and Britain is 49%. Her telling me about her recent two week cruise is what set me wondering, like the OP, how can people afford all this travel.
It may sound like I'm jealous, but only a little. I find travel very stressful and tiring. I remember one joke where the doctor told this guy to "Take a vacation and relax, stay home"
^You might be the type who needs to just fly to the nearest tropical place with a beach and just stay there and chill for a few days or a week. I remember a vacation in Puerto Rico where I mostly got up, had breakfast, and went to the pool with my book and stayed there all day. Wonderful days. Somewhere where I had no obligations, the weather was gorgeous, and what I needed was there.
Me and my husband are in our late 20s. We just try hard to save up (means we normally don't go out to eat, don't buy bunch of crap, etc.). I like all-inclusive deals, even though this is might be the most expensive way to travel. But because we go on a vacation once a year, I like to have the luxury not worrying about anything, it's very relaxing. However, Im gonna look more into doing longer international trips, and rent a place instead of going to a resort, and eat locally.
I agree with posters who say travel is a matter of priority.
I had a friend once in his mid 60's who lived in a trailer and had no savings and lived day to day and afraid that he would have to work until death. He told me that in his mid 40's he made a lot of money and he and his wife spent a month in the Amazon and spent $30,000. I told him that if he had saved that $30,000 he might have had some savings to be able to retire. He and his wife almost snapped my head off, they said ''they had precious memories'' of the trip and did not regret it. I said ''then keep working until you die and stop complaining''.
I guess I'm like you, a comfortable and secure lifestyle is more important than the ''memory'' of a vacation.
If he made a lot of money then spending $30K wouldn't make him poor. There is something fishy about this guy.
I think most people do most of the traveling when they are young working adults without children. That is when I did most of my traveling. I usually did one longer trip to Europe and a few shorter, long weekend trips in the US, usually ski trips... It is possible to travel relatively inexpensively internationally from the US. This thread had a lot of good suggestions. These would be my main points for how to spend less money but see more:
1) Do not travel during the pick tourist season to the most popular destinations. These would be July/August and New Year/Christmas timeframes. Air fare and everything else is way more expensive and you see less since everything is even more crowded.
2) Take public transportation/walk everywhere. Avoid restaurants/stores that are primarily used by tourists.
3) Stay in the apartment rentals instead of the hotel that can be rented from HomeAway.com, AirBNB, etc... Very often you can save a lot of money and you have access to kitchen, etc...
4) Eat out in the restaurants once a day at most, perhaps every other day. Try to go to restaurants with the least amount of tourists.
The rest of the time, buy food in the stores/markets and either have picnic lunches or do some quick cooking/heating up in your apartment.
Some people drag their children with them to sight seeing trips. I really don't see the point of doing that until a kid is at least 7-9 years old and can learn at least a bit about different cultures and history. We took my four year old to Montreal and Quebec and it was a bit unpleasant for all of us. He was often tired, hungry, wanted to use a bathroom, etc... His favorite part of the trip was riding subway and Montreal and change of Guard at Quebec's Citadel. I think he could've had more fun at the beach vacation.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Traveling with your kids is a superb way to have more adventure, meet more people, and 'enlighten' / prepare your kids for 'world-mindfulness-cultural benefit'.
Our kids accompanied us for their entire 'home life' as we home schooled them while working and traveling in several countries and many 4-12 week 'field trips' in USA. 10 yrs beyond college, they still travel a lot. (Many times / yr, often internationally). They have a pretty broad perspective / interest level.
$10/ night hospitality homes worldwide has worked for us for 25 yrs.
We eat via grocery store. Typically ask produce manager for 'culls' (bruised fruit and veggies)
Travel like a local person, never a tourist. Be flexible and creative. Take some risks.
How are people able to afford to travel so much? If you have a passion for something you find a way to do it. If you are just interested in killing time somewhere new you will probably overspend or not go because of the "cost".
When I was a teenager, 1971, I bought a backpack, a copy of "Europe on $5 a Day", a hostel membership & hitch-hiked around Europe & Turkey for 6 months. I bought excess one way tickets on a group flight, hostels cost $2-3/night + chores, ate street food or bought at markets & then ate in parks, visited "sights" on free days or with "Student Discount" (student IDs could be bought anywhere), made friends on the road & shared expenses & learned to bargain with vendors. Total costs less than $1400 for 6 months abroad.
2 years ago I booked a return flight USA/Thailand on JAL first class - only 8 pods up front with 19" video screens & a full laydown bed with pillow; free wine, cocktails, & excellent snacks on demand & very nice meals - for about $145 (this is about a $20K ticket) by using Frequent Flier miles gotten by signing up for credit card bonuses & using CCs for every single purchase in my life ( & paying in full each bill). On the layover I used the Executive Lounge with free showers, massage, internet, cocktails & an espresso bar... no waiting with the crowds on the hard chairs near the gate.
In Thailand I stayed at small, plain but clean catered apartment setups with maid service that cost a bit more than $20/night & ate street food or where budget minded locals/expats eat. I buy souveneirs at local markets after bargaining, I go to expat bars, not hotel or tourist oriented bars/restos. After 2 weeks in the tropics my bill, including the first class airfare, is around $600. I then splurge at a luxurious 4 star resort for my last 3 days at a good walk-in bargain price of around $200/night.
The whole 2 week trip total is about $1K, & next time I will use FF points for the 4* resort! I use priceline bidding & AirBnB for stays too.
I see no problem with your philosophy. You only live once and should enjoy whatever pleases you this time around. And if you have extra income to set aside for travel after all other necessities have been taken care of, that is is all good. I have a problem with people who spend money for traveling without making provisions for their old age when they will not be able to work and might not have enough money to survive, like the friend I spoke of.
I have a penpal in England and she and her friends and family travel constantly. Her sister once went on THREE cruises in one month. My friend takes at least four cruises a year plus many motor coach tours. Her sister and many of her friends retired with pensions in their mid 40's. My friend retired at 66 with no pension and had just an office job. She must have saved a LOT because she spends a lot of money on trips and expensive gadgets and eats out 3 times a week. Of course, they get free medical and we do not, and their taxes are only a little higher than the US, according to Wikipedia the US rate is 42% and Britain is 49%. Her telling me about her recent two week cruise is what set me wondering, like the OP, how can people afford all this travel.
It may sound like I'm jealous, but only a little. I find travel very stressful and tiring. I remember one joke where the doctor told this guy to "Take a vacation and relax, stay home"
Is your friend in England traveling outside of Europe?
How are people able to afford to travel so much? If you have a passion for something you find a way to do it. If you are just interested in killing time somewhere new you will probably overspend or not go because of the "cost".
When I was a teenager, 1971, I bought a backpack, a copy of "Europe on $5 a Day", a hostel membership & hitch-hiked around Europe & Turkey for 6 months. I bought excess one way tickets on a group flight, hostels cost $2-3/night + chores, ate street food or bought at markets & then ate in parks, visited "sights" on free days or with "Student Discount" (student IDs could be bought anywhere), made friends on the road & shared expenses & learned to bargain with vendors. Total costs less than $1400 for 6 months abroad.
2 years ago I booked a return flight USA/Thailand on JAL first class - only 8 pods up front with 19" video screens & a full laydown bed with pillow; free wine, cocktails, & excellent snacks on demand & very nice meals - for about $145 (this is about a $20K ticket) by using Frequent Flier miles gotten by signing up for credit card bonuses & using CCs for every single purchase in my life ( & paying in full each bill). On the layover I used the Executive Lounge with free showers, massage, internet, cocktails & an espresso bar... no waiting with the crowds on the hard chairs near the gate.
In Thailand I stayed at small, plain but clean catered apartment setups with maid service that cost a bit more than $20/night & ate street food or where budget minded locals/expats eat. I buy souveneirs at local markets after bargaining, I go to expat bars, not hotel or tourist oriented bars/restos. After 2 weeks in the tropics my bill, including the first class airfare, is around $600. I then splurge at a luxurious 4 star resort for my last 3 days at a good walk-in bargain price of around $200/night.
The whole 2 week trip total is about $1K, & next time I will use FF points for the 4* resort! I use priceline bidding & AirBnB for stays too.
A 2 week trip to Thailand for $1K including airfare? That is ridiculously amazing. Were the points you used to book primarily through charging expenses to the credit cards? Do you mind sharing how many points/miles you had to redeem for that $145 flight? That's insane.
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