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What salary justifies a vacation?



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amother
Lemon


 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 1:23 am
Just out of curiosity, how much of your yearly income is spent on taking trips/vacation? I am talking anywhere from a quick 2 day trip to Boston to travelling internationally? Do you make less than 100,000 and still take trips?
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eschaya




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 1:38 am
You are aware that there are ways to take vacations for almost no money at all?

Stay at a hotel with credit card points (free)
Go hiking in a nature reserve (free)
Visit a museum (free or minimal cost)
Eat at a basic restaurant (barely more expensive than the food you'd buy at home) or pack along
Use credit card points to "buy" a more exciting experience (free)
Splurge on one activity or food experience ($)

Tada! Multiday vacation, minimal expense.

Our family typically takes 1 vacation a year, usually nature focused. Whenever possible we use points for hotels. Or camp out (we own tents) or vrbo tyoe lodging. Food is packed along and basic. If we splurge, it will be on a cool activity or experience. Most activities involve hiking.
As a couple, we usually go away for a night in our region maybe twice a year. Again, use points for a (nicer) hotel. Will splurge on a nicer restaurant. Pick 1 unique activity (either $ or points, groupon when possible) such as glass blowing, white water rafting.

Our salary is over 6 digits, but with tuition and frum lifestyle we still struggle. Which makes taking occasional breaks from the stresses of life even more important. The amount we spend on vacation is a tiny percentage of annual income.
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essie14




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 2:35 am
Exactly what eschaya said.
It's not about the salary, it's also how many expenses you have and how you choose to vacation.
At this point in our lives, we do a lot of day trips. There's a whole country that we live in (Israel) that is drive-able. we wake up early and do hikes or attractions. I look for groupons or discounts. Sometimes we join another family and can get a group discount.
Once in a while we will rent an airbnb or use points for hotel and do a multi-day trip with the kids, but we generally use our points for one night getaways just me and DH.
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pesek zman




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 7:36 am
Yes. I make less than 100k and take vacations. I don’t remember the last time I paid for a hotel though (I use points) Even rental car is on points.
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 7:44 am
Do vacay you can pay?
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amother
Cerise


 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 8:04 am
Of course. When I have money left in my account I choose how I want to spend it. Everyone makes different choices, and travel is one my of mine. Do people who make less than $100k have cleaning help? I don't. Do they ever order take out? I don't. So they drive cars less than 10 years old? I don't. They're certainly not strange for doing any of those, but my personal preference is to save for other things.
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amother
Orchid


 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 8:13 am
As long as you’re not borrowing money or taking donations for it...
If you can swing it with a $30,000 income, great!
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Maya




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 8:32 am
Anything that allows you to pay your bills and live your life without taking handouts from others. The number doesn’t matter.
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amother
Goldenrod


 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 8:35 am
No number. If it’s important for you than you will save and make it happen. Even if a vacation for you means one night away in hotel.
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amother
cornflower


 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 9:18 am
We vacation a lot. We just went away for New Years, and I am ready again. We want to broaden our kids' horizons. When we made less than $100,000 the trips were regional. Now they are international. We take two major vacations a year.
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bunnyrabbit




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 12:13 pm
I've only use a debit card to avoid debt. Can someone explain what these points are that pay for so much? Is there such a system in Israel?
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sky




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 12:26 pm
What do you define as a vacation?
I call a big day trip with kids a vacation.

We do 1-2 a year but nothing so expensive but very memorable.
(There is Nothing like making breakfast over a campfire, taking a dirt road to you home, hiking and seeing 20 + waterfalls in one day... - my kids talk about it for months)
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amother
Indigo


 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 12:30 pm
bunnyrabbit wrote:
I've only use a debit card to avoid debt. Can someone explain what these points are that pay for so much? Is there such a system in Israel?

If you're using debit cards to avoid debt, that means you should stick to debit cards. Been there done that. Those extra points are worth nothing if you're under a mountain of debt.
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amother
Bronze


 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 12:37 pm
amother wrote:
If you're using debit cards to avoid debt, that means you should stick to debit cards. Been there done that. Those extra points are worth nothing if you're under a mountain of debt.


Mostly true, except in Israel the full balance is auto withdrawn from your account each month, it doesnt pile up like in the US. I use a Rami Levi credit card with a card limit equal to my monthly grocery budget & it gets discounts - saves me about 8% on groceries.
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HonesttoGod




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 09 2019, 12:40 pm
Another vote for it doesn't depend on salary. Obviously if a person has a high salary vacations are a no brainer and happen often. But for us, for example, we do not earn very much at all but we have no debt, we pay full tuition and we also save monthly towards a vacation fund so that we can have some $$ to go away. We also use miles a LOT.
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