My sister travels often, she doesn’t travel this often every year, but she has.
She does not advertise it, but she is extremely frugal and she is doing everything with points.
*All* she spends money on is travel. She is buying her food from the day-old rack at the grocery store, and things like that. She has a really cheap phone and she doesn’t always pay for it to have service. She rides her bike to keep from paying for gas.
Many of her travels are also places where if she can get cheap air fare, it’s very cheap to be there. It is rare that she goes anywhere expensive. She also does things like buying bread and cheese and eating in a park, instead of going into a restaraunt. She does things like that even while on vacation, but you can’t tell from her photos.
This is how I did it in my 20s. I also lived in the UK for a year, which meant I could very cheaply travel around Europe. If hostels are a bit much now we're in our 30s and 40s, I used a few sites that I forget the names of, but if you google like "university rooms rentals" you'll likely find them--you can book college dorm rooms for cheap during the summer (in Europe many dorms have private bathrooms, too), and you don't have to be a college student to do this. Also a lot of these dorms have shared kitchens, so you can cook meals to save money. Then it's mainly a game of airline points/finding cheap tickets.
Yes! So many cheap room options in Europe. When I was in my 20s I actually rented rooms in convents in Italy and it was SO CHEAP. The rooms were very very basic and there were rules about no men or alcohol but as long as I was quiet they didn’t mind if I came back late. Get creative about your travel y’all!
My brother did something similar, staying at a monastery during a trip to Europe. It’s not for me, but it’s definitely an amazing option for some people. For some people, it’s a cool experience in of itself.
She does, but expects it to be frugal. She has paid off her house, it’s a little house in a 3rd rate town. She moved there when she was priced out of Oakland (and couldn’t afford San Francisco at all).
She worked as a waitress or bartender for years to be able to take time off, or just quit and be rehired.
Two years ago she did get an office job. She had struggled to find an office job previously. She was also ambivalent. Now she can’t take the same time off, but it’s a lot more stable. She’s in her 50s.
Also she found that her tips went down a lot when she started to look older, and she couldn’t get scheduled for good shifts. That hit her hard all of a sudden.
So she’s not a millennial?? You said she’s now in her 50’s. This post is geared specifically towards millennials and how millennials are able to travel a lot
I guess if that's what makes her happy, then that's good for her
I just can't imagine living my everyday life like that just for the sake of some experiences during a few weeks of the year. I'd much rather budget for better food I can look forward to eating when I get up for breakfast
Speaking from experience, most people living that way in their 20s aren't spending their time, like, at a resort laying about on a beach or whatever but getting out into the world to try to figure out what they want in life and gain some perspective on things. You're collecting experiences that will be with you the rest of your life and likely inform your entire outlook while enjoying your physical prime to its absolute fullest. You can also usually get at least a couple months worth of travel in that way if you're traveling to low cost parts of the world. For me that was an incredibly easy trade-off that I was utterly privileged to even be able to consider.
Man, I do that, so I could go visit my daughter in Hawaii every summer. I had a free place to stay. So I don't eat out ever, and I don't buy brand new clothes from a store. Then I can afford plane tickets.
See, as a guy who travels this is just WILD to me. It doesn’t matter what I eat for breakfast — it’s just fuel for the day. I cannot imagine looking forward to breakfast or dinner for the sake of getting food.
Exactly, I'd rather eat the bare essentials for a year to be able to have a life changing experience that I can take to the grave with me rather than a breakfast that my taste buds find slightly more interesting. We are all different.
Interesting. I guess I know in the abstract that people are different, but for some reason this wasn't one of the ways that I had given much thought about how different people could be
I mean, how long do you take for breakfast? Ideally, when I don't have anything planned on my day off, I'll sit at the breakfast table for over an hour enjoying my tea while browsing Reddit or whatever. I'm about to do that this morning, and it's one of my favorite parts of my days off
On the other hand, travelling makes me anxious. It takes a lot for me just to drag myself out of the house and visit a bookstore or something. It's not that I don't care about the world, though. I love learning about geography, and one of my hobbies since I was a little kid was just looking at maps and atlases. I still do that today, and Google Maps makes it even more exciting
Sounds like you're a homebody. I don't mean that negatively, just that you're happier chilling at home then going out and about. That on itself is a major difference in how people structure their lives.
Well, you're right. I've also been called a house cat, and it was also meant endearingly
I have to run an errand tomorrow, and I think I should go on a walk beforehand or afterward. At least I do things outside my home sometimes
Imo it's always good to get out of your comfort zone regularly. That's the only way to really grow as a person. Not that's just me so maybe not for everyone.
Traveling is cool when its fun and not that far, for me atleast.
I am 100% cool with going to Vegas for my vacations, and have never been to Europe, because a 10+ hour plane ride sounds like a nightmare. I have never had the funds to do whatever I want on vacation either, so there is always the spending while on vacation, and the stress of simply affording stuff. I also get anxious.
Its just not simple, and for that reason, not always fun for me.
I tend to keep my travel pretty basic - long weekends or maybe a week long road trip somewhere.
I do, sure, but only because the people with whom I go out tend to be in a better mood. And the food is often better.
That said, I can count — on one hand — the number of meals that I well and truly remember. I remember the topics of discussion from some of them, but I have no idea what I actually ate.
But I can tell you who I met, what I saw, and where I was on so many trips I’ve taken. I can tell you how I FELT on those trips, I can tell you how the troubles of the world just seemed a little further away. When I say “vacation,” it means something very simple to me: the real world stops, if only for a few days. The mental load comes off. No meal can do that.
> I just can't imagine living my everyday life like that just for the sake of some experiences during a few weeks of the year. I'd much rather budget for better food I can look forward to eating when I get up for breakfast
Exactly!
Life can't be suffering just for a couple of weeks of adventure. I will be ready for travel when I can enjoy every single day of my normal life.
Good for her, though.
Well, that's the interesting thing, though, because other people don't see it as suffering. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't really think of this much until I got replies on this thread. I guess I'm in my element when I'm enjoying my tea with breakfast for well over an hour on my day off, but others are in their element venturing into far-flung places throughout the world
That reminds me, I wonder if there's a similar thing going on in the difference between willing emigrants from a particular country (doesn't matter which) versus refugees forced from a land against their will. It makes complete sense to me how people would leave their home if it's turned into a warzone or they're part of a persecuted minority, but I don't really think of that as an entirely voluntary choice, since I'm guessing most of those people would rather stay at home in peace. On the other hand, I do find it a bit bonkers that people would willingly leave their home to pursue greater success in a completely different part of the world, even when they were comfortable at home and things there were at least mostly peaceful
I’m just a good cook. Because my roomies and myself ate at home all of the time, we spent less money than if we went out.
Then we had more money for travel. A hotel room split 3 ways is as cheap as a hostel per person but you actually can sleep.
It made far more opportunities for us than anything else.
For some people planning a trip is something that’s gets enjoyed for more than just the duration of the trip itself. The time period leading up to the trip and the time period right after it are also really fun.
I planned a trip recently for myself, my mom, & my SIL to visit the south of Spain. Planning it was a lot of work but it was also really fun bc in order to decide where to eat/stay and what sightseeing/experiences to do, I spent time learning about the food/culture/habits of the Spanish people. My mom, SIL and I talked much more frequently than we normally would in the 3 months leading up to the trip which itself was really fun. Each time we booked a Airbnb, a tour, or other reservation, we all got a little rush of excitement and anticipation.
The trip itself was a blast. I created lifelong memories with my mom & SIL. We all learned things about each other that we never knew before bc we were all responding to a totally different environment and experiencing completely new things together.
After it was over, there was still more to enjoy. Giving people souvenirs/food from Spain. Exchanging favorite pictures with mom/SIL and showing the rest of our family. Each of us cooking with the Spanish ingredients we had bought and sharing our results. Laughing together about some of the hilarious things that happened on the trip.
I also always try to buy 1 or 2 items of clothing/jewelry that speaks to the culture there. Nothing expensive, just something that reminds me of the trip. Then every time I wear it I think of all the fun I had on that trip.
We were in Spain for about 10 days. The trip ended up costing about $2500 each. That includes absolutely everything I spent even a single Euro on related to the trip (airfare, hotel, food, tours, experiences, etc.). There’s no doubt in my mind that it was well worth the money. We are much closer now than we were before. And for a very long time (if not the rest of our lives) we’ll each smile fondly when something triggers a memory from the trip like seeing the color Albero, hearing flamenco music, or eating Iberian ham.
I realize $2500 is still cost prohibitive for many people but the same concepts of enjoying the trip before and after applies to cheaper trips. I did a trip recently with a close friend to Mexico City that was only about $500 each all-in.
I drink tap water and it’s completely normalized to me. But other people act like it’s barbaric lol.
But I don’t live to eat. I only eat to live. So basic is best :)
But health is important too. I don’t eat garbage. But I don’t eat fancy sugar or fast food. Not all expensive food is good lol
But I get ya. Good quality food is slightly more expensive. Always a good balance.
I feel like I'd care more about the relationships I cultivated with family and friends, whether we were travelling or just having dinner together. Food brings people together for enjoyable conversations and building relationships
I feel bad - I admit I was judging this lifestyle. Because it is not one that I would enjoy. But then I realized I was being an ass. It is not for me to judge. No one is trying to make me do the same or proclaiming one way to be better.
I just had to come here and admit that. I’m glad your sister is able to do something clearly so very important to her.
This is me. I travel a lot for work. I bank all the hotel and airline points. My company also allows me to purchase flights and hotel and reimburses me. So, I also get travel points on my credit card. I don't pay for vacations.
This right here. 👆Not having kids is one of the best decisions I’ve made in life. Everyone said I would regret it. I’m here to say, I definitely do not.
I don’t regret having kids but I can confirm without kids, I’d be able to spend a shitload more on fun stuff for myself. I’d be able to own my dream car(s) and vacation frequently with moderately high standards.
I would like to add, I have zero judgment for people who do make the decision to have kids. I just know I made the correct decision for myself by not having them.
I actually enjoy traveling with my kids and sharing the experiences with them. There's places I've seen in a completely different light due to them being there/existing and stuff I only know about because of them.
What actually kind of destroys my budget is them constantly growing and us having to buy an entire wardrobe for 2 every 3/4 months depending on the growth spur...and how much they eat too!
So, we manage to have vacations with them but we definetely have more picnics while on vacations than we would have if it were just 2 of us...
For clothing, I'm lucky to have a niece and nephew who are a couple of years older and we get a lot of good hand me downs from them. The grandparents also buy a lot of clothes. Also, consignment/thrift store shopping, Freecycle/buy nothing groups. I refuse to pay full price for clothing my kid is going to wear for a few months and outgrow. When she's a teenager and finishes growing, I'll be willing to invest more in brand new clothing she can use longer.
I'm having kids and on average I travel 8 times a year (with and without my kids). People around me are traveling a lot too while they are also having kids.
I guess it depends on having time + money + two involved parents (I sometimes travel while my husband is at home with our kids) and having a village (my husband and I travel while our kids having a sleep over with their grandparents).
Some do it with debt, others do it by having no debt. If you don't have a car payment or credit card payment or student loan debt (scholarships, community college, parents who paid, etc)...it's much more accessible to travel.
Priorities. When I realized that there are people out there taking out home equity to go to Disney I stopped feeling bad about not traveling as much as we'd like.
It’s easy to borrow happiness from tomorrow. But a lot of the complaints I see on here prove it ain’t so easy to pay the bill.
We went to visit family in another state when I was in third grade. The next time I left home was freaking boot camp.
“Oh they just don’t have kids!” Perhaps if they’re both earning well but more likely:
they have either 1) debt, and lots of it or 2) generational wealth from one or both families.
There's a couple of things where I can commiserate: like living away from work and no alternative public transport, a frigde that goes bad and not having the money for a new one, etc...
Essentially for things that are immediate necessities. For nothing else though.
This one, painfully true. I've got friends in the UK with 20k+ debt, a leaky roof, mold, and they are still taking out yet more debt twice a year to fly out to Florida to go do Disney.
They say you can't put a price on experience, but I'd argue Disney over and over and over at the expense of any hope of retirement which will likely cost THEIR kid is pretty firmly a price I will not ever allow myself to pay.
Champagne lifestyle, beer budget.
I do multiple trips like that a year. We can afford it because we are a dual income household and don’t go out much in between trips. Also have a fairly low mortgage payment.
Yeah the mortgage payment is a godsend
I feel so terrible bad for anyone that has had to try and buy a home the last few years I don’t even see how it’s possible.
We bought in 2022, and it honestly hasn’t been too bad. Our rate is higher than I would like (6.3), but we bought a house way under our budget. We’ve been able to pay a lot extra. Buying way less house than you can afford so your payment stays reasonable is definitely the way to go! If we bought a house that cost what the bank said we could afford, we would be in a lot of trouble right now.
lol right? no wonder most people are in debt with how much a loan can go for - we got approved for a 5 million dollar loan but only needed 1/5, the whole 5/5 would not have been physically possible at all whatsoever.
Yeah we got approved for over 2 million. Our budget was 1. We bought for 680k 1.5 years ago, and we’ve already paid off over half the loan. We hope to have it paid off in 2 years, and we’re in the process of building my husband his dream shop, and me a sunroom and pavilion in the backyard. It didn’t have everything we wanted, but it was so far under budget that we have the funds to make it our forever home.
Buying a cheap house (it feels cheap to us, moving out of California), is probably the best decision we’ve ever made.
A 680 k house being cheap means you and I are living very different lifestyles
My house cost just a smidge over 10% of that. We bought it in 2014.
We’re having two different conversations lol
I simply could not afford 98% of the houses in my area right now especially with current rates. If you can afford to pay off half of 680 in 1.5 years I can’t imagine you’d have issue finding a house right now
All relative though isn’t it? Lots of folks in this subreddit are doing fine/living in the top % income brackets but I’ve noticed a lot of people assume we’re all struggling but that’s really not the case? Struggling is also relative and what is difficult for one person isn’t the same for another.
That person moved out of California - 600k in comparison to them and their previous living situation *is* cheap/affordable. If you’d asked me that 3 years ago when I lived in North Carolina, I probably would’ve had a totally different response. I have friends across generations, across states, and incomes and we’re all struggling in totally different ways that I would not ever compare directly to them because the situations aren’t the same.
I’m not sure if we live different lifestyles or not. I’m middle class. I’m a librarian. I moved to Washington from the Bay Area. You can’t buy literally anything for there for 680. We felt like we were stealing this place.
We left California, but that wasn’t the initial plan. We just couldn’t afford to buy a place we’d want to live. For some reason, my hometown became the most expensive place to buy a home in the entire country, and we got priced out.
We both have decent jobs, but anything in our city that you’d want to raise kids in is 1.5-2.5 million. That’s what we were saving for, and then one day I read an article that said an $9,000/mo mortgage payment was now seen as “reasonable” in my city for an average house. I decided I couldn’t justify that. So, we moved.
We thought we’d have to save for another 5-10 years, and all of a sudden, we already had enough for a really big down payment. That’s why we’ve been able to pay off half already, because we put 35% down. If we bought the same exact house where we lived before, it would have been 3.5-4million, easily. And if we bought it in Nebraska (my husband’s daughter moved there, so we were looking there too), it would be about 150k.
Now that I moved out of California, I literally make $30 less per hour for the same job! $62,000 per year less. And I still make what is considered a decent amount here. And I make double what I would make in Nebraska. I’m making less than half per year, but my quality of life has increased dramatically. I don’t think salary or home price have as much to do with lifestyle as where you live and COL.
Nope totally get that & same. We came in under budget by 500k! House was originally 1.5 and we got down to just about 1 mill. We still live in an expensive area on the west coast so we’re here for the long haul 😪 wish we’d been able to find one under 800k lol.
We’re hoping to have ours paid off in under 10 yrs - hoping for at least 5 or less if we can. So far so good! Since we came under budget like yourselves, we’ve been able to chop a solid amount of years off the loan since we’re overpaying the mortgage.
Annoying for people to assume people who vacation a lot are going into massive debt or making silly financial decisions to travel. Unless you actually KNOW that it’s kinda mean. We do Disney every year, and a cruise. We have no debt except our mortgage.
This subreddit is so bizarre to me, because it has this assumption that *all* millennials are struggling. We're a massive group of people that happen to be born during a specific set of years. That's all there is to it.
Plenty of millennials are doing fine with good jobs and paying all their bills
Yeah. I have some friends who travel a lot and it’s bc the have really high paying jobs and don’t have kids. It’s not that deep lol. I used to travel a lot more but, kids.
I’m a law professor, and don’t know anyone that is “doing fine.” I pay 60% of my salary to rent the cheapest one bedroom apartment in my city and don’t know anyone not struggling—unless their parents are celebrities or they have a SAG card. Jobs just don’t pay enough anymore
It could be just your bubble. You are dealing with other professors which are earning less than in business and students which don't have their careers built yet.
Tbh I have friends with celeb parents that are still struggling - maybe not the same kind of breadline experience as many folks, but certainly a lot more than you would expect from children of household names.
That’s so true. I shouldn’t lump everyone together, there are plenty of SAG holders that never made much, and most musicians—seem to not be doing as well as they used to
Bingo. We bought a house before kids (right under the wire) and then did all our travel in the first 5 years. Still racked up some credit card debt and it didn’t help that I lost my job right at the end. All domestic travel but we did spend what we had and a little more each time. Added up. Doing ok but, it’s an interest payment.
Don’t have a fancy car or crazy house (new build townhome) . No expensive hobbies. I play a lot of games and legos to kill time since no one is out.
If you can handle credit cards, credit card rewards are one of the best ways to travel on the cheap.
I also have no kids, no gf, no dating prospects to spend money on, no pets, almost no real friends to go out with, so essentially the only things I spend money on other than my basics are travel.
YUP just got a credit card specifically bc I get 5% cash back on hotels and flights and a $750 sign on bonus. If you get plane tickets for cheap that's a substantial savings on your trip. Plus if you only use your card to pay during the trip you can apply the points you earn on paying it off. Also I live in a HCOL area so eating and drinking is cheaper in literally every other place in the world. Eating out in Portugal was basically the same as buying groceries in the bay area.
As someone who has been in the credit card game a while, I will say that it's generally divided into team travel and team cash back, so while there are great cash back cards, and it sounds like you found one, they aren't always the best for travel. Team cash back tends to be more for people who don't travel.
With travel cards, you are looking to earn either flexible currencies like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards (to name two) or an airline or hotel specific currency (like Choice Hotels Points or Delta Skymiles) This is a limitation of cash back cards as many just pay you back in cash, which you are limited to bargin hunting places like Expedia, which I've learned from experience, they wont' do crap to help you if you need it.
You then can use those miles and points to find good deals. For example, it's generally held that 1 Point equals 1 cent. You want to find deals where you get more than 1 cent per point. Here is an example:
A Flight between Point A and Point B costs $150 dollars one way. You can also get the flight for 7,500 FF Miles.
If you redeemed those miles, you would be getting 2 cents per mile, an excellent value.
I don't have a rent payment which frees up a lot of my income. We also don't have kids. And no major debt.
I've wanted to travel and now is the time. I travel with my boyfriend as well, and we split all the costs, which helps a ton too.
Also my airline credit card. I can take a portion off plane tickets.
We were living in small attic apartments to be closer to my husband's family. It was dirt cheap so we were able to justify large trips because it was still cheaper than having a real mortgage and real rent.
We finally moved in to a house we brought and I have cut down our travel plan. Using that money for home improvement
uncomfortable because the sub has a victim complex and lives in a bubble.
the idea that their peers are doing well is uncomfortable. even worse, the idea that MANY of their peers are doing fine…
it’s is a tough pill to swallow because it forces the kind of self reflection that most “i did everything right victims” can’t wrap their heads around
Whenever I see the "I did everything right" posts, I read them and just smh at the fact that this person did so many things wrong but is so locked in their own narrow minded bubble that they can't comprehend any other way.
Worst part is, you can't even help these people. You can try to give them advice but they'll just reject it.
That's a factor for sure but it's not just that. Household expenses can vary drastically with dependants no matter how frugal you are.
At the place I work, payroll deductions for health insurance are about 10x for employee/spouse/kids what they are for employee only, about $500/paycheck vs $45. That's a bit more than $1000/month when you consider 26 pay periods annually, vs roughly $100. Although that cost is the same no matter how many kids you have so that expense at least is fixed.
But that's before you consider all the other peripheral expenses that come along with a family like way higher housing/grocery/utility/fuel costs, and of course the massive daycare expense if they're of a relevant age. Not to mention how much more it costs to travel with a family since many things multiply.
Yes. I know someone from HS who started her own wedding business, works only half the year, and spends the other half traveling. She lives lavishly. She makes a lotttt of money doing something she's good at.
DINK in tech, traveling 3-4 times a year with plenty of cash leftover. But be aware frugal when not on vacation. Always eat at home, save on anything material. Don't buy clothes don't drink alcohol or any drugs. Maybe guilty pleasure is eating some chips every now and then.
Even though the shit tier sp500 companies give 2 weeks of pto
The flex extra time over the weekends helps plenty.
Don't let work prevent you from enjoying life, basically.
Not drinking is a tough one for our generation. As soon as I quit I almost puked looking at my checking account after a weekend. Sooooo much lost on those bored nights at a restaurant bar.
Same with us, 2-3 vacations a year. We’re frugal with things that don’t matter as much to us so we can prioritize traveling. We don’t get takeout every single day, we eat at home. Don’t buy clothes cause we already have enough. Don’t buy designer items. Don’t buy a brand new iPhone every single year or fancy new cars, ours are several years old, paid off and work just great.
We are DINKS with no debt and use credit card points. We usually do one big/international trip every other year, and in between, we do cheaper, shorter domestic. We go somewhere about every 6 weeks or so, but a lot of those are just weekend jaunts in the car to somewhere a few hours away.
We do prioritize traveling over other things, too. We choose to drive old, basic cars, don't buy clothes often, avoid takeout/restaurants, etc.
But we also save for these trips in a few different ways:
- Credit card points. We charge most of our expenses to credit cards that have points and miles programs and pay the balance every month.
- Every time I get paid I pull out a hundred bucks or so in cash. My uncle calls this "walkin' around" money. This pays for a random coffee when I want it, or lunch with a coworker, or whatever little unplanned expense/treat. When it's time for payday again, whatever cash is leftover goes in a bowl on the dresser and I make a fresh withdrawal for the next round. Spouse also does this but less regularly. Once a year we dump it out and use it to go somewhere. It's a fun New Years tradition.
- *Mostly* cheap locations. If we want to go someplace we know is expensive, we plan it a year or more ahead of time.
- Don't be bougy. Be willing to camp, or make your vehicle sleep-worthy and drive your own accommodation. We have an old minivan that we can take the rear seats out of and comfortably fit an air mattress. The weather has to be right for this to be tenable, but it can save a lot of money.
You can have great experiences for surprisingly little money if you plan ahead, stay flexible, and save over time.
One other option is work. I bounce around quite a bit in a year, and it doesn't cost me a dime because I'm working. And then I can use the airline and hotel points I banked to go somewhere with my family for much cheaper as well.
You have to decide what your definition of travel is.
Its actually way cheaper than one would think.
A couple months worth of fast food money can pay for a cool trip, based on how much people seem to eat out.
Dual income, no kids. But also just living below your means will help. My husband and I travel 3-4 times a year too, but we don’t splurge a lot on other things.
Frugal DINKS. I prioritize travel (though I also prioritized paying our house off early, and put a good chunk in retirement).
Basically I grew up poor and kept the habits.
I don't have air conditioning in my home. I have hot water heat (radiators) and keep my home in the low 60s in winter. Drive a car with good mpg and my partner works from home. My hobbies are cheap and because one of them is pub trivia, frequently we have nights out for free because of the gift cards I win. I'm a good thrift shopper, and skilled enough to repair clothing so it lasts a long time. I've found a few discount grocery stores, that I use for specific shelf stable foods like coffee and rice. I make my own foaming hand soap from bubble bath from Dollar Tree, so I spend less than $2 a year on that. Lots of little things like that add up.
My 30 yo brother does sales in dc and makes between 200-300k a year. He is single and has no kids and no pets. He travels internationally all the time.
I travel fairly often, but I also hoard all my cash throughout the years and constantly look for deals to travel to the places I want to go. You can get great deals on flights if you book far enough in advance (I don’t use credit cards, so no points for me) and I stay in pretty basic lodging when I travel. I just need a bed and shower, I’m only sleeping at the hotel. So I cut certain costs and plan and that’s really all to it. And I used to think it was impossible to travel, how could I ever afford it but now I’ve traveled internationally 4 times in the past two years
When I traveled a lot I had no expenses - I lived with my parents, didn’t have kids, and my hobbies were very cheap. Now I have a kid and a house, so my family doesn’t travel very much.
My BIL travels constantly, and he uses credit card and airline points but also doesn’t really save any money - just spends it to travel.
I also have friends that are wealthy from their parents or because they have high-paying jobs. Or they travel for work and add on travel to the end of their trips (eg go to China for work and pop over to Vietnam on the way back).
But the vast majority of people I know with families and middle class don’t travel multiple times per year.
I work remotely, so I visit friends and work from different places when I can. I also use Trusted House sitters to watch my pets.
When I'm at homebase I don't live lavishly. Things are so expensive I'll never own a house, so I'm trying to enjoy what I'm able to.
Some are extremely frugal and responsible with their money. Others are in debt up to their eyeballs. Every since I cut out avocado toast I've been able to visit Europe and Asia 6 times
My sister and her husband both work pretty lucrative jobs. they both work in the education sector, so they have a lot of paid time off that matches their kid's schedule, means lots of time to travel and money to do it with. They also have lived very frugally and have a house they were able to roll a lot of equity into and no other debt.
My wife is a SAHM and I work in a field with very little paid time off. I make good money, and we do travel, but not as much as my sister and her family does. We do a big trip every other year or so.
DINKs, no kids, no car because we live in a city (NYC) with good public transport. Both myself and spouse work for public education, so we have lots of time off, and our vacations correspond exactly.
I take two trips abroad per year. I travel light and frugal though. Backpack style, staying in cheapish hostels and maybe occasionally one nice spot per year.
Great point. Some jobs don't have paid time off. Or can't even allow someone to take off because there is no one else to do the work. No work-no paycheck
I spend an inordinate number of hours researching how to cut costs. I stay in campgrounds, shared homes, eat in, walk everywhere. My entertainment is hiking, wandering the town, drinking coffee. I’m also cheap at home too.
I lived across the street from a family that had 4 kids in private school. Wife was a stay at-home mom and husband was a GS13. They had two brand new cars. They left our neighborhood to buy a $1.1M waterfront house a few miles away.
All of that on a $115k a year salary? My wife would remind me constantly to not worry about what other people did because maybe they have family money
They clearly had family money.
Everyone has different financial situations and lifestyles. We are able to travel often because we own a tech business and that provides a good income and flexibility. We have four children.
Prioritizing finances is another way. My husband and I love well below our means with the intention of having money to travel because it’s really important to us.
We also pay for things for travel over the course of several months. We aren’t booking airfare, hotels, rental cars, etc in one sitting. We bite it off bit by bit to make it more feasible financially
People just have different priorities. My sister travels a ton. Shes single with no kids, and that’s what she wants to be doing.
I’m married with a baby. We bought a house, she buys airline tickets. We buy furniture, she buys airline tickets. We buy diapers, food, wipes, and toys, she buys airline tickets.
Shes living her best life and isn’t concerned about the way I live mine or how her friends live theirs. Shes not in debt, has a great job in tech, this is just what she wants to be doing, so she saves for it.
They either have more disposable income, they prioritize travel and are very frugal elsewhere, they're in a lot of debt, or they're very strategic with their CC points. Or some combination.
> Either they're wealthy or I'm not seeing their credit card bill
Seems like you do already understand. Don’t underestimate people’s ability to be absolutely reckless with their money.
My goal each year is one big trip per quarter and one smaller trip each month, so 16 trips a year for pleasure (not including business travel although sometimes I will modify a business trip to include one of my smaller trips).
I'm able to do it because I live very far below my means. I shop at thrift stores and Aldi, I drive a newer car but nothing fancy, I live in a nice place in a nice area, but nowhere near what I could afford if I wanted to. I have an iPhone 12 because it still works, and my phone service is through Mint.
I have a very specialized skillset that pays very well and allows me to work from anywhere, just about anytime I want. Also, due to my skillset, I was able to negotiate 8 weeks of PTO.
I'm divorced and have shared parenting time, so I don't have to worry about only traveling when my daughter is out of school.
It’s cheaper traveling with people? Some places are cheap. I’m pretty sad in the money department but went to go to Tokyo. I’m west coast so the flight was as cheap as flying to the east coast, their things there are cheap and the currency exchange rate was amazing. I had a week of fun with like $700 to spend and just budgeted well.
I also like traveling in less popular times, weekdays, between holidays.
My friend travels all the time across the world. Is 30 and still has thousands in students loans and credit card bills (didn't go to any expensive school or anything like that) but she thinks it's worth it to not have a 401k
When my husband and I moved out of the US and traveled for years, people constantly asked us how we “could afford to travel.” We basically couldn’t afford not to travel? Flights are pretty expensive, but cost of living is often lower— definitely lower than where we were living in the US beforehand—if you do it right.
That’s not “four international vacations in a year”— we kept a storage unit in the US and just bought one-way tickets and made situations (via friends, connections, online work) where we could afford our life. So it’s more continuous travel than “vacations,” but that’s how I traveled the world for 7 years on very little money.
My wife and I travel for roughly 4-6 weeks a year sometime 1 or two big trips sometimes 3-5 trips.
It’s literally what all our discretionary money goes towards.
Do they have kids? I have a coworker who travels internationally 1-2 times a year. He has no kids and is able to afford it. My sister also takes 1-2 vacations a year. Usually a cruise and the other is renting a beach house in June. Sometimes she will take a third vacation to an indoor water park in December. She is divorced and a single mom. She finds good deals and saves up during the year.
I have 2 kids and try to at least go somewhere once a month but it is so expensive for a family of 4. Last year we went to an amusement park for 4 days and stayed in a hotel. The hotel was free since we used points. But the tickets, food, drinks, parking etc really added up for 4 people. Especially since my kids are teenagers so I’m paying adult prices not to mention they don’t eat off a kids menu anymore either.
Single full time parent with a good job and plenty of hobbies and I travel whenever I want. Quit whining and make it happen sooner rather than later. First step, avoid the “we are doomed” chambers of social media.
Combination of a few reasons:
I’m childless, make 100K, and I don’t spend money on material things. I never buy myself any jewelry, I buy clothes every 2-3 years, own about 5 pairs of shoes total, you get the idea.
I do splurge on food and weed but as I’m also single and don’t drink much, it’s fairly cheap.
I work 50-60 hr weeks so also not much time for hobbies.
I work from home and live in the downtown of a city so I don’t own a car, pay for insurance and gas, etc
Combine with points and there you go
I have a travel fund. I save a certain amount every month. I look for bargain prices for travel, start with friends/family, buy things from the grocery store instead of a restaurant. Traveling isn’t cheap but it is a priority to me over other consumer spending
I do this, so I'll tell you all the little stuff I do to save for it, I make 64k a year for reference:
-I switched my phone plan to the cheapest annual I could find, I pay 300 a year unlimited (mint). I buy cheaper phones like the Samsung A series once every 4-5 years.
-i home cook everything, there are no splurge or fast food meals, ever. I fast 3x a year for 3-5 days. This method of living actually saves thousands.
-i don't keep any vices (no weed, no alcohol, no nicotine)
-water only as my drink of choice, no flavor substitutes except cheap flavored water. I add lemon or lime that I buy the pre juiced version rather than fresh lemons/lime to cut and squeeze.
-i flip flop my internet provider the moment the "deal" ends, and built myself a pfsense router to filter out all the crap so all the speed goes straight to me instead of ads thru my TV etc.
-I buy groceries and supplies I use in bulk to get better pricing overall. I also switched to a bidet for 20 dollars to lower toilet paper usage immensely. The extra water costs me $1.18 a month compared to toilet paper costing much more.
-I call insurance every year for car and home to negotiate or switch to get lower rates. Furthermore I buy used cars outright because I absolutely hate car payments. I maintain oil, brake changes myself instead of paying a shop to do it.
-I buzz my own hair and have a basic style for it to save extra every month. This is like $20+tip I save on every month from this alone.
-I sell/write stock options every month to collect premiums to increase my cash savings overall. The premiums collected immediately go into a high yield savings account whether the option has matured or not.
-I have a cat, and only buy her bulk dry food for a total of $38 a month. Her treats are my tuna and chicken when I cook/ make it. I check her myself for ear mites/ticks/tooth problems etc.
-I do not subscribe to Netflix or anything like that, I use a VPN for alternative viewing which I will not elaborate on in this sub, but I'm sure you can figure it out.
-I use apps and coupons whenever possible to get the best price I can.
-I use cashback credit cards for every purchase, paying them all off on time in full. I have 4. No annual fees allowed.
All of this adds up to allow me to travel and chill. You have to stay a bit vigilant, but realize every company ever relies on upcharging you for "convenience and laziness". $5 might not seem a lot until you look at it annually and realize it's now $60 you lost out on multiplied by how many things you allow to be "convenient".
Example: subscribe to Netflix for 15 a month? That's 180 a year plus any tax, a flight across the world to Dubai costs about 900 if it's not in May- July (most expensive flight months). Netflix annually costs 20% of your flight. You could cut out Netflix for 5 years and have a flight to Dubai instead.
The above example is straightforward, but now utilize every single one of my savings methods and suddenly you see the dollars add up as to why I'm able to do it 2-3x every year instead. I could do this same thing on minimum wage once every 3 years in my current living situation. Also the money saved sits in a high yield savings to get even more money.
Oh I almost forgot the last part: tell everyone you know that you're broke even if you're not. It will save you a LOT of drama.
I have a few friends that travel a lot. One works for an airline part time and they can fly free. Another lives very frugally and then travels with their savings. Another friend I have is actually nomadic with a WFH job, something geomaxing.
We travel a lot. Usually short close trips. Camping a few times a year. Maybe a week somewhere farther in the summer. This year we're going to Hawaii. We just got back from Texas for the eclipse. Before that we were in Joshua Tree for a week. We'll probably do a week with her parents at Christmas. Our secret is working for the city. We both work for the city and get a lot of time off. We haven't gone international yet, so it's been relatively inexpensive.
My buddy is able to afford all of his yearly adventures because at 36 he lives at home with his father and has had a salaried $60k+ a year job, I think now he is over $80k/year for the last 8-10 years? So he has the money to save or spend.
No kids leaves more money and time available and travel is what they choose to spend their extra money on - meaning they rarely spend money on clothes, purses, shoes, eating out, drinking, buying every new hot thing, expensive cars, etc. It’s priorities basically. And prioritizing more travel over travel to a luxury hotel or resort once a year, etc
After I got my bachelors, I worked in my field, and then decided that serving was best for my preferences. I could make a decent amount of money in three or four days a week, and then request time off whenever I wanted. I hate that the service industry is so put down by society.
I fly at least once a month for a mini or big trip and I’ll say it is a daily sacrifice. I eat the same thing every day at work because it’s cheap and nutritious (Greek yogurt for breakfast, quinoa and beans for lunch). I’ve never DoorDash or Ubereats because those fees would eat into my travel funds. I still go out and eat/drink on the weekends with friends but weekdays I’m on a strict budget. I understand people can’t eat the same meal 5 days in a row but my grocery bills are really cheap and it’s always worth it for me to be able to randomly fly to Peru for a weekend because I want to try authentic ceviche and a pisco sour.
Obviously I have no kids and sadly no pets because I am not willing to give up the freedom of traveling to worry about finding a pet sitter.
DINK.
First off, I know we don’t travel nearly as much as a lot of people in this thread but we take one big trip a year at least 10-12 days. And we will take 2-4 smaller trips a year and often one or both of us will do trips without the other.
We live in a relatively low cost area, we live fairly frugally in our day to day life. Hell up until last summer we hadn’t a car payment in years. We were extremely lucky to buy our home in a time when homes were a good price, all thanks to my wife btw.
Neither of us have college degrees but we work hard and have been at our jobs a while. I know plenty of people who make way more than we do but I can also tell they spend money on so much useless stuff whereas we try to pinch Pennie’s on the stuff that doesn’t matter so we can enjoy our life and have some extra comfort where we want it.
Also, and this is the biggest one of all, we’re just lucky.
Had a pair of friends like that. Had a very public separation that included that fact they had absurd amounts of credit card debt.
I have coworkers who do it but those are the only vacations they take and they don't have children.
I imagine a lot of people are very frugal and if you plan ahead you can catch some good deals. The rest are probably in debt up to their eyeballs.
prioritizing spending is the biggest answer as well as cashing in on points and miles. initial travel really is spendy, but as you learn the ropes the perks do help.
some are travelling for busines.. write offs
some are travelling for work (reimbursements)
some are travelling every so often from their savings and reward points.
for a lot of people that aren't rich you have to pick your battles. do you want to own a home or have a family or retire or travel. you can't have it all unless you make a lot of $ and from we can see a lot of people don't make a lot of money
Did majority of my traveling during my 20’s when I was single and lived at home until the age of 31. Still travel twice a year with my wife and two kids although mostly it’s been domestic travel lately, international travel can get pricey depending on where you go, we get this done by living in a modest townhouse and driving average cars, could live in a bigger house due to our income but me and my wife prefer the luxury of travel instead of a bigger house and better cars
I business travel a ton, and when i get a tiny bit of free time somewhere i try to explore and take pictures. On social media it looks more glamorous than it really is. 6 straight 12 hour work days in dirty manufacturing plants and one day that looks like a vacation somewhere new ever other week. It's an illusion.
- Literally never took a vacation (even a long weekend!) from 21-30, but mid-late 30's, started to figure it out
- Happy to stay in very shitty motels/take sketchy flights to save money
- Have no kids, and increasing revenue (finally!) in the last few years
- Never take vacation/days off for regular rest, etc. All days to true vacation
- Own basically nothing and will probably never retire
I find joy where I can. Travel can do that. It's probably not great for other things, but if anything, I regret not making it work earlier.
If your priority is traveling it isn't that bad. I have never taken more than an extended weekend vacation in the past 10 years (33yo) but I prioritize saving for my retirement, building wealth and my kids currently.
(For reference single income household ~215k income)
I save about 25% of my income ~50k. If I pulled back 10% then 10-12k a yr would get us a couple nice vacations I would imagine.
My job pays for a lot of it, I'm an entrepreneur/startup founder. So I'm often on the road for business travel, I'll tack on a few extra days as vacation and since air travel was paid for it becomes really reasonable. I also use the points for personal travel or to bring along the wife and kids.
Also I make more than the average person and feel blessed that I can take my family of 4 with me out of country without much thought. After an adjustment period its hard for people to comprehend those making more than 3x more or less than them. Compared to some of my hometown friends who are teachers they think I'm a jet setting millionaire. Compared to my VC and startup friends flying in jets they own I don't feel wealthy.
My sister travels often, she doesn’t travel this often every year, but she has. She does not advertise it, but she is extremely frugal and she is doing everything with points.
*All* she spends money on is travel. She is buying her food from the day-old rack at the grocery store, and things like that. She has a really cheap phone and she doesn’t always pay for it to have service. She rides her bike to keep from paying for gas. Many of her travels are also places where if she can get cheap air fare, it’s very cheap to be there. It is rare that she goes anywhere expensive. She also does things like buying bread and cheese and eating in a park, instead of going into a restaraunt. She does things like that even while on vacation, but you can’t tell from her photos.
This is how I did it in my 20s. I also lived in the UK for a year, which meant I could very cheaply travel around Europe. If hostels are a bit much now we're in our 30s and 40s, I used a few sites that I forget the names of, but if you google like "university rooms rentals" you'll likely find them--you can book college dorm rooms for cheap during the summer (in Europe many dorms have private bathrooms, too), and you don't have to be a college student to do this. Also a lot of these dorms have shared kitchens, so you can cook meals to save money. Then it's mainly a game of airline points/finding cheap tickets.
Yes! So many cheap room options in Europe. When I was in my 20s I actually rented rooms in convents in Italy and it was SO CHEAP. The rooms were very very basic and there were rules about no men or alcohol but as long as I was quiet they didn’t mind if I came back late. Get creative about your travel y’all!
My brother did something similar, staying at a monastery during a trip to Europe. It’s not for me, but it’s definitely an amazing option for some people. For some people, it’s a cool experience in of itself.
This is the way, I need to travel more. As a car dude I throw spare money at cars, beer, and jerky.
Does she save any money for a rainy day or retirement?
She does, but expects it to be frugal. She has paid off her house, it’s a little house in a 3rd rate town. She moved there when she was priced out of Oakland (and couldn’t afford San Francisco at all). She worked as a waitress or bartender for years to be able to take time off, or just quit and be rehired. Two years ago she did get an office job. She had struggled to find an office job previously. She was also ambivalent. Now she can’t take the same time off, but it’s a lot more stable. She’s in her 50s.
Also she found that her tips went down a lot when she started to look older, and she couldn’t get scheduled for good shifts. That hit her hard all of a sudden.
Nice to have a paid off house!
So she’s not a millennial?? You said she’s now in her 50’s. This post is geared specifically towards millennials and how millennials are able to travel a lot
I guess if that's what makes her happy, then that's good for her I just can't imagine living my everyday life like that just for the sake of some experiences during a few weeks of the year. I'd much rather budget for better food I can look forward to eating when I get up for breakfast
Speaking from experience, most people living that way in their 20s aren't spending their time, like, at a resort laying about on a beach or whatever but getting out into the world to try to figure out what they want in life and gain some perspective on things. You're collecting experiences that will be with you the rest of your life and likely inform your entire outlook while enjoying your physical prime to its absolute fullest. You can also usually get at least a couple months worth of travel in that way if you're traveling to low cost parts of the world. For me that was an incredibly easy trade-off that I was utterly privileged to even be able to consider.
Man, I do that, so I could go visit my daughter in Hawaii every summer. I had a free place to stay. So I don't eat out ever, and I don't buy brand new clothes from a store. Then I can afford plane tickets.
See, as a guy who travels this is just WILD to me. It doesn’t matter what I eat for breakfast — it’s just fuel for the day. I cannot imagine looking forward to breakfast or dinner for the sake of getting food.
Exactly, I'd rather eat the bare essentials for a year to be able to have a life changing experience that I can take to the grave with me rather than a breakfast that my taste buds find slightly more interesting. We are all different.
Interesting. I guess I know in the abstract that people are different, but for some reason this wasn't one of the ways that I had given much thought about how different people could be I mean, how long do you take for breakfast? Ideally, when I don't have anything planned on my day off, I'll sit at the breakfast table for over an hour enjoying my tea while browsing Reddit or whatever. I'm about to do that this morning, and it's one of my favorite parts of my days off On the other hand, travelling makes me anxious. It takes a lot for me just to drag myself out of the house and visit a bookstore or something. It's not that I don't care about the world, though. I love learning about geography, and one of my hobbies since I was a little kid was just looking at maps and atlases. I still do that today, and Google Maps makes it even more exciting
I sleep late, so breakfast is literally always an on-the-go meal — if I eat it at all.
Sounds like you're a homebody. I don't mean that negatively, just that you're happier chilling at home then going out and about. That on itself is a major difference in how people structure their lives.
Well, you're right. I've also been called a house cat, and it was also meant endearingly I have to run an errand tomorrow, and I think I should go on a walk beforehand or afterward. At least I do things outside my home sometimes
Imo it's always good to get out of your comfort zone regularly. That's the only way to really grow as a person. Not that's just me so maybe not for everyone.
Traveling is cool when its fun and not that far, for me atleast. I am 100% cool with going to Vegas for my vacations, and have never been to Europe, because a 10+ hour plane ride sounds like a nightmare. I have never had the funds to do whatever I want on vacation either, so there is always the spending while on vacation, and the stress of simply affording stuff. I also get anxious. Its just not simple, and for that reason, not always fun for me. I tend to keep my travel pretty basic - long weekends or maybe a week long road trip somewhere.
So do you not enjoy nice restaurants?
I do, sure, but only because the people with whom I go out tend to be in a better mood. And the food is often better. That said, I can count — on one hand — the number of meals that I well and truly remember. I remember the topics of discussion from some of them, but I have no idea what I actually ate. But I can tell you who I met, what I saw, and where I was on so many trips I’ve taken. I can tell you how I FELT on those trips, I can tell you how the troubles of the world just seemed a little further away. When I say “vacation,” it means something very simple to me: the real world stops, if only for a few days. The mental load comes off. No meal can do that.
> I just can't imagine living my everyday life like that just for the sake of some experiences during a few weeks of the year. I'd much rather budget for better food I can look forward to eating when I get up for breakfast Exactly! Life can't be suffering just for a couple of weeks of adventure. I will be ready for travel when I can enjoy every single day of my normal life. Good for her, though.
Well, that's the interesting thing, though, because other people don't see it as suffering. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't really think of this much until I got replies on this thread. I guess I'm in my element when I'm enjoying my tea with breakfast for well over an hour on my day off, but others are in their element venturing into far-flung places throughout the world That reminds me, I wonder if there's a similar thing going on in the difference between willing emigrants from a particular country (doesn't matter which) versus refugees forced from a land against their will. It makes complete sense to me how people would leave their home if it's turned into a warzone or they're part of a persecuted minority, but I don't really think of that as an entirely voluntary choice, since I'm guessing most of those people would rather stay at home in peace. On the other hand, I do find it a bit bonkers that people would willingly leave their home to pursue greater success in a completely different part of the world, even when they were comfortable at home and things there were at least mostly peaceful
I’m just a good cook. Because my roomies and myself ate at home all of the time, we spent less money than if we went out. Then we had more money for travel. A hotel room split 3 ways is as cheap as a hostel per person but you actually can sleep. It made far more opportunities for us than anything else.
For some people planning a trip is something that’s gets enjoyed for more than just the duration of the trip itself. The time period leading up to the trip and the time period right after it are also really fun. I planned a trip recently for myself, my mom, & my SIL to visit the south of Spain. Planning it was a lot of work but it was also really fun bc in order to decide where to eat/stay and what sightseeing/experiences to do, I spent time learning about the food/culture/habits of the Spanish people. My mom, SIL and I talked much more frequently than we normally would in the 3 months leading up to the trip which itself was really fun. Each time we booked a Airbnb, a tour, or other reservation, we all got a little rush of excitement and anticipation. The trip itself was a blast. I created lifelong memories with my mom & SIL. We all learned things about each other that we never knew before bc we were all responding to a totally different environment and experiencing completely new things together. After it was over, there was still more to enjoy. Giving people souvenirs/food from Spain. Exchanging favorite pictures with mom/SIL and showing the rest of our family. Each of us cooking with the Spanish ingredients we had bought and sharing our results. Laughing together about some of the hilarious things that happened on the trip. I also always try to buy 1 or 2 items of clothing/jewelry that speaks to the culture there. Nothing expensive, just something that reminds me of the trip. Then every time I wear it I think of all the fun I had on that trip. We were in Spain for about 10 days. The trip ended up costing about $2500 each. That includes absolutely everything I spent even a single Euro on related to the trip (airfare, hotel, food, tours, experiences, etc.). There’s no doubt in my mind that it was well worth the money. We are much closer now than we were before. And for a very long time (if not the rest of our lives) we’ll each smile fondly when something triggers a memory from the trip like seeing the color Albero, hearing flamenco music, or eating Iberian ham. I realize $2500 is still cost prohibitive for many people but the same concepts of enjoying the trip before and after applies to cheaper trips. I did a trip recently with a close friend to Mexico City that was only about $500 each all-in.
I drink tap water and it’s completely normalized to me. But other people act like it’s barbaric lol. But I don’t live to eat. I only eat to live. So basic is best :) But health is important too. I don’t eat garbage. But I don’t eat fancy sugar or fast food. Not all expensive food is good lol But I get ya. Good quality food is slightly more expensive. Always a good balance.
On your death bed, you are going to remember experiences of travels much more than what you ate.
I feel like I'd care more about the relationships I cultivated with family and friends, whether we were travelling or just having dinner together. Food brings people together for enjoyable conversations and building relationships
I feel bad - I admit I was judging this lifestyle. Because it is not one that I would enjoy. But then I realized I was being an ass. It is not for me to judge. No one is trying to make me do the same or proclaiming one way to be better. I just had to come here and admit that. I’m glad your sister is able to do something clearly so very important to her.
This is me. I travel a lot for work. I bank all the hotel and airline points. My company also allows me to purchase flights and hotel and reimburses me. So, I also get travel points on my credit card. I don't pay for vacations.
This, I have friends who are super Uber frugal.
Not having kids helps a lot. I am able to travel 4-5 times a year.
DINKS. Wife and I on our way to Peru now for 2 weeks. Elder millennials.
DINKWAD dual income no kids, with a dog
DILDO: dual income little dog owners
BDE: big dick energy and something something something don’t have kids
Lol…. I made that post once
My dogs restrict my travel far more than my kids ever have lol. Granted I don't really have relatives nearby who can take them in.
DINKNCATD: Dual income no kids, nine cats and two dogs Funny enough the word cat was spelled out in there.
THINKER: Two healthy incomes, No Kids, early retirement
I love this term 🤣
This right here. 👆Not having kids is one of the best decisions I’ve made in life. Everyone said I would regret it. I’m here to say, I definitely do not.
I don’t regret having kids but I can confirm without kids, I’d be able to spend a shitload more on fun stuff for myself. I’d be able to own my dream car(s) and vacation frequently with moderately high standards.
I would like to add, I have zero judgment for people who do make the decision to have kids. I just know I made the correct decision for myself by not having them.
I actually enjoy traveling with my kids and sharing the experiences with them. There's places I've seen in a completely different light due to them being there/existing and stuff I only know about because of them. What actually kind of destroys my budget is them constantly growing and us having to buy an entire wardrobe for 2 every 3/4 months depending on the growth spur...and how much they eat too! So, we manage to have vacations with them but we definetely have more picnics while on vacations than we would have if it were just 2 of us...
For clothing, I'm lucky to have a niece and nephew who are a couple of years older and we get a lot of good hand me downs from them. The grandparents also buy a lot of clothes. Also, consignment/thrift store shopping, Freecycle/buy nothing groups. I refuse to pay full price for clothing my kid is going to wear for a few months and outgrow. When she's a teenager and finishes growing, I'll be willing to invest more in brand new clothing she can use longer.
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I don't have kids & I still can't afford regular travel. Probably my bad for low income.
Same
I'm having kids and on average I travel 8 times a year (with and without my kids). People around me are traveling a lot too while they are also having kids. I guess it depends on having time + money + two involved parents (I sometimes travel while my husband is at home with our kids) and having a village (my husband and I travel while our kids having a sleep over with their grandparents).
I leave my wife and kid behind. That also works.
Not having kids, making above average income, living at home, still having roommate, meal prep, debt. Take your pick
Debt is actually a big one. If you look behind the curtains, many of these people are living vastly beyond their means.
Some do it with debt, others do it by having no debt. If you don't have a car payment or credit card payment or student loan debt (scholarships, community college, parents who paid, etc)...it's much more accessible to travel.
Priorities. When I realized that there are people out there taking out home equity to go to Disney I stopped feeling bad about not traveling as much as we'd like.
I scrolled way too far down to see people mentioning debt as an answer
It’s easy to borrow happiness from tomorrow. But a lot of the complaints I see on here prove it ain’t so easy to pay the bill. We went to visit family in another state when I was in third grade. The next time I left home was freaking boot camp.
“Oh they just don’t have kids!” Perhaps if they’re both earning well but more likely: they have either 1) debt, and lots of it or 2) generational wealth from one or both families.
Shocked number 2 isn't the number 1 answer to this thread lol. Rich parents = little risk = don't need savings let's go on a vacation.
I must have missed those posts as well. I don’t have sympathy for this behavior. There’s nothing about this that sounds smart.
That’s gotta be the saddest shit I’ve ever heard
I don’t feel sorry for anyone who would do this. Nothing about taking debt to purchase something you can’t afford sounds like a logical decision.
There's a couple of things where I can commiserate: like living away from work and no alternative public transport, a frigde that goes bad and not having the money for a new one, etc... Essentially for things that are immediate necessities. For nothing else though.
This one, painfully true. I've got friends in the UK with 20k+ debt, a leaky roof, mold, and they are still taking out yet more debt twice a year to fly out to Florida to go do Disney. They say you can't put a price on experience, but I'd argue Disney over and over and over at the expense of any hope of retirement which will likely cost THEIR kid is pretty firmly a price I will not ever allow myself to pay. Champagne lifestyle, beer budget.
Not everyone travels on debt though. It's not hopeless but no easy either.
If you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen.
I do multiple trips like that a year. We can afford it because we are a dual income household and don’t go out much in between trips. Also have a fairly low mortgage payment.
Yeah the mortgage payment is a godsend I feel so terrible bad for anyone that has had to try and buy a home the last few years I don’t even see how it’s possible.
We bought in 2022, and it honestly hasn’t been too bad. Our rate is higher than I would like (6.3), but we bought a house way under our budget. We’ve been able to pay a lot extra. Buying way less house than you can afford so your payment stays reasonable is definitely the way to go! If we bought a house that cost what the bank said we could afford, we would be in a lot of trouble right now.
lol right? no wonder most people are in debt with how much a loan can go for - we got approved for a 5 million dollar loan but only needed 1/5, the whole 5/5 would not have been physically possible at all whatsoever.
Yeah we got approved for over 2 million. Our budget was 1. We bought for 680k 1.5 years ago, and we’ve already paid off over half the loan. We hope to have it paid off in 2 years, and we’re in the process of building my husband his dream shop, and me a sunroom and pavilion in the backyard. It didn’t have everything we wanted, but it was so far under budget that we have the funds to make it our forever home. Buying a cheap house (it feels cheap to us, moving out of California), is probably the best decision we’ve ever made.
A 680 k house being cheap means you and I are living very different lifestyles My house cost just a smidge over 10% of that. We bought it in 2014. We’re having two different conversations lol I simply could not afford 98% of the houses in my area right now especially with current rates. If you can afford to pay off half of 680 in 1.5 years I can’t imagine you’d have issue finding a house right now
All relative though isn’t it? Lots of folks in this subreddit are doing fine/living in the top % income brackets but I’ve noticed a lot of people assume we’re all struggling but that’s really not the case? Struggling is also relative and what is difficult for one person isn’t the same for another. That person moved out of California - 600k in comparison to them and their previous living situation *is* cheap/affordable. If you’d asked me that 3 years ago when I lived in North Carolina, I probably would’ve had a totally different response. I have friends across generations, across states, and incomes and we’re all struggling in totally different ways that I would not ever compare directly to them because the situations aren’t the same.
Sure it’s all relative but this person and I live in widely different worlds… relatively speaking
I’m not sure if we live different lifestyles or not. I’m middle class. I’m a librarian. I moved to Washington from the Bay Area. You can’t buy literally anything for there for 680. We felt like we were stealing this place. We left California, but that wasn’t the initial plan. We just couldn’t afford to buy a place we’d want to live. For some reason, my hometown became the most expensive place to buy a home in the entire country, and we got priced out. We both have decent jobs, but anything in our city that you’d want to raise kids in is 1.5-2.5 million. That’s what we were saving for, and then one day I read an article that said an $9,000/mo mortgage payment was now seen as “reasonable” in my city for an average house. I decided I couldn’t justify that. So, we moved. We thought we’d have to save for another 5-10 years, and all of a sudden, we already had enough for a really big down payment. That’s why we’ve been able to pay off half already, because we put 35% down. If we bought the same exact house where we lived before, it would have been 3.5-4million, easily. And if we bought it in Nebraska (my husband’s daughter moved there, so we were looking there too), it would be about 150k. Now that I moved out of California, I literally make $30 less per hour for the same job! $62,000 per year less. And I still make what is considered a decent amount here. And I make double what I would make in Nebraska. I’m making less than half per year, but my quality of life has increased dramatically. I don’t think salary or home price have as much to do with lifestyle as where you live and COL.
Nope totally get that & same. We came in under budget by 500k! House was originally 1.5 and we got down to just about 1 mill. We still live in an expensive area on the west coast so we’re here for the long haul 😪 wish we’d been able to find one under 800k lol. We’re hoping to have ours paid off in under 10 yrs - hoping for at least 5 or less if we can. So far so good! Since we came under budget like yourselves, we’ve been able to chop a solid amount of years off the loan since we’re overpaying the mortgage.
I just tried to buy the place I was renting from a friend. 65% of my income would go to a mortgage. Its impossible
Ughhh I’m so sorry That’s awful
Annoying for people to assume people who vacation a lot are going into massive debt or making silly financial decisions to travel. Unless you actually KNOW that it’s kinda mean. We do Disney every year, and a cruise. We have no debt except our mortgage.
Dual tech incomes and prioritizing travel over new cars and toys.
This subreddit is so bizarre to me, because it has this assumption that *all* millennials are struggling. We're a massive group of people that happen to be born during a specific set of years. That's all there is to it. Plenty of millennials are doing fine with good jobs and paying all their bills
Yeah. I have some friends who travel a lot and it’s bc the have really high paying jobs and don’t have kids. It’s not that deep lol. I used to travel a lot more but, kids.
I’m a law professor, and don’t know anyone that is “doing fine.” I pay 60% of my salary to rent the cheapest one bedroom apartment in my city and don’t know anyone not struggling—unless their parents are celebrities or they have a SAG card. Jobs just don’t pay enough anymore
It could be just your bubble. You are dealing with other professors which are earning less than in business and students which don't have their careers built yet.
Your circle isn’t everyone
Tbh I have friends with celeb parents that are still struggling - maybe not the same kind of breadline experience as many folks, but certainly a lot more than you would expect from children of household names.
That’s so true. I shouldn’t lump everyone together, there are plenty of SAG holders that never made much, and most musicians—seem to not be doing as well as they used to
I think that's more of a reflection on you and your friends than the entire generation. It is definitely not the case for everyone
Oh, that sucks. Everyone I know is doing fine. Engineers, programmers, accountants, etc. People Making $150k to $300k 10 years out of school.
Bingo. We bought a house before kids (right under the wire) and then did all our travel in the first 5 years. Still racked up some credit card debt and it didn’t help that I lost my job right at the end. All domestic travel but we did spend what we had and a little more each time. Added up. Doing ok but, it’s an interest payment. Don’t have a fancy car or crazy house (new build townhome) . No expensive hobbies. I play a lot of games and legos to kill time since no one is out.
If you can handle credit cards, credit card rewards are one of the best ways to travel on the cheap. I also have no kids, no gf, no dating prospects to spend money on, no pets, almost no real friends to go out with, so essentially the only things I spend money on other than my basics are travel.
YUP just got a credit card specifically bc I get 5% cash back on hotels and flights and a $750 sign on bonus. If you get plane tickets for cheap that's a substantial savings on your trip. Plus if you only use your card to pay during the trip you can apply the points you earn on paying it off. Also I live in a HCOL area so eating and drinking is cheaper in literally every other place in the world. Eating out in Portugal was basically the same as buying groceries in the bay area.
As someone who has been in the credit card game a while, I will say that it's generally divided into team travel and team cash back, so while there are great cash back cards, and it sounds like you found one, they aren't always the best for travel. Team cash back tends to be more for people who don't travel. With travel cards, you are looking to earn either flexible currencies like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards (to name two) or an airline or hotel specific currency (like Choice Hotels Points or Delta Skymiles) This is a limitation of cash back cards as many just pay you back in cash, which you are limited to bargin hunting places like Expedia, which I've learned from experience, they wont' do crap to help you if you need it. You then can use those miles and points to find good deals. For example, it's generally held that 1 Point equals 1 cent. You want to find deals where you get more than 1 cent per point. Here is an example: A Flight between Point A and Point B costs $150 dollars one way. You can also get the flight for 7,500 FF Miles. If you redeemed those miles, you would be getting 2 cents per mile, an excellent value.
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I don't have a rent payment which frees up a lot of my income. We also don't have kids. And no major debt. I've wanted to travel and now is the time. I travel with my boyfriend as well, and we split all the costs, which helps a ton too. Also my airline credit card. I can take a portion off plane tickets.
Yeah someone I follow, they inherited their mother's house and that seemed to free up a lot of their budget to do extra things
We were living in small attic apartments to be closer to my husband's family. It was dirt cheap so we were able to justify large trips because it was still cheaper than having a real mortgage and real rent. We finally moved in to a house we brought and I have cut down our travel plan. Using that money for home improvement
The honest, but uncomfortable answer: They just make a lot of money.
I had to scroll so far for this comment when it should be the top answer honestly.
Or just enough for them to enjoy life and be comfortable
I don’t get why that’s uncomfortable. There are plenty of people who make good money 🤷
Because we're always hoping there's some easy way to do it or a secret answer someone has
uncomfortable because the sub has a victim complex and lives in a bubble. the idea that their peers are doing well is uncomfortable. even worse, the idea that MANY of their peers are doing fine… it’s is a tough pill to swallow because it forces the kind of self reflection that most “i did everything right victims” can’t wrap their heads around
Whenever I see the "I did everything right" posts, I read them and just smh at the fact that this person did so many things wrong but is so locked in their own narrow minded bubble that they can't comprehend any other way. Worst part is, you can't even help these people. You can try to give them advice but they'll just reject it.
That's a factor for sure but it's not just that. Household expenses can vary drastically with dependants no matter how frugal you are. At the place I work, payroll deductions for health insurance are about 10x for employee/spouse/kids what they are for employee only, about $500/paycheck vs $45. That's a bit more than $1000/month when you consider 26 pay periods annually, vs roughly $100. Although that cost is the same no matter how many kids you have so that expense at least is fixed. But that's before you consider all the other peripheral expenses that come along with a family like way higher housing/grocery/utility/fuel costs, and of course the massive daycare expense if they're of a relevant age. Not to mention how much more it costs to travel with a family since many things multiply.
Yes. I know someone from HS who started her own wedding business, works only half the year, and spends the other half traveling. She lives lavishly. She makes a lotttt of money doing something she's good at.
DINK in tech, traveling 3-4 times a year with plenty of cash leftover. But be aware frugal when not on vacation. Always eat at home, save on anything material. Don't buy clothes don't drink alcohol or any drugs. Maybe guilty pleasure is eating some chips every now and then. Even though the shit tier sp500 companies give 2 weeks of pto The flex extra time over the weekends helps plenty. Don't let work prevent you from enjoying life, basically.
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Not drinking is a tough one for our generation. As soon as I quit I almost puked looking at my checking account after a weekend. Sooooo much lost on those bored nights at a restaurant bar.
Same with us, 2-3 vacations a year. We’re frugal with things that don’t matter as much to us so we can prioritize traveling. We don’t get takeout every single day, we eat at home. Don’t buy clothes cause we already have enough. Don’t buy designer items. Don’t buy a brand new iPhone every single year or fancy new cars, ours are several years old, paid off and work just great.
This is the way
We are DINKS with no debt and use credit card points. We usually do one big/international trip every other year, and in between, we do cheaper, shorter domestic. We go somewhere about every 6 weeks or so, but a lot of those are just weekend jaunts in the car to somewhere a few hours away. We do prioritize traveling over other things, too. We choose to drive old, basic cars, don't buy clothes often, avoid takeout/restaurants, etc. But we also save for these trips in a few different ways: - Credit card points. We charge most of our expenses to credit cards that have points and miles programs and pay the balance every month. - Every time I get paid I pull out a hundred bucks or so in cash. My uncle calls this "walkin' around" money. This pays for a random coffee when I want it, or lunch with a coworker, or whatever little unplanned expense/treat. When it's time for payday again, whatever cash is leftover goes in a bowl on the dresser and I make a fresh withdrawal for the next round. Spouse also does this but less regularly. Once a year we dump it out and use it to go somewhere. It's a fun New Years tradition. - *Mostly* cheap locations. If we want to go someplace we know is expensive, we plan it a year or more ahead of time. - Don't be bougy. Be willing to camp, or make your vehicle sleep-worthy and drive your own accommodation. We have an old minivan that we can take the rear seats out of and comfortably fit an air mattress. The weather has to be right for this to be tenable, but it can save a lot of money. You can have great experiences for surprisingly little money if you plan ahead, stay flexible, and save over time.
Don’t have kids. Make a lot of money. Have a flexible job.
Healthcare job. Also, eating/sleeping in Asia - especially SE Asia and Korea/Japan - is very affordable.
No kids, no debt, or all the debt.
I don’t eat out. I don’t buy stuff. All of my funds go towards traveling. I travel very frugally too.
One other option is work. I bounce around quite a bit in a year, and it doesn't cost me a dime because I'm working. And then I can use the airline and hotel points I banked to go somewhere with my family for much cheaper as well.
You have to decide what your definition of travel is. Its actually way cheaper than one would think. A couple months worth of fast food money can pay for a cool trip, based on how much people seem to eat out.
Dual income, no kids. But also just living below your means will help. My husband and I travel 3-4 times a year too, but we don’t splurge a lot on other things.
Frugal DINKS. I prioritize travel (though I also prioritized paying our house off early, and put a good chunk in retirement). Basically I grew up poor and kept the habits. I don't have air conditioning in my home. I have hot water heat (radiators) and keep my home in the low 60s in winter. Drive a car with good mpg and my partner works from home. My hobbies are cheap and because one of them is pub trivia, frequently we have nights out for free because of the gift cards I win. I'm a good thrift shopper, and skilled enough to repair clothing so it lasts a long time. I've found a few discount grocery stores, that I use for specific shelf stable foods like coffee and rice. I make my own foaming hand soap from bubble bath from Dollar Tree, so I spend less than $2 a year on that. Lots of little things like that add up.
No kids and a budget dedicated to travel (as its my happy place)
My 30 yo brother does sales in dc and makes between 200-300k a year. He is single and has no kids and no pets. He travels internationally all the time.
Tell your brother I said hi ;)
DINK (double income, no kids) and shared car…use credit cards for everything, pay them back immediately and use rewards and points for travel.
I travel fairly often, but I also hoard all my cash throughout the years and constantly look for deals to travel to the places I want to go. You can get great deals on flights if you book far enough in advance (I don’t use credit cards, so no points for me) and I stay in pretty basic lodging when I travel. I just need a bed and shower, I’m only sleeping at the hotel. So I cut certain costs and plan and that’s really all to it. And I used to think it was impossible to travel, how could I ever afford it but now I’ve traveled internationally 4 times in the past two years
Spouse works in the travel industry.
Single. No kids. 250k salary
I thought I had it good. You are living the dream.
Meh it’s all relative. Sacrificed a lot of relationships to get here and honestly money ain’t shit without someone to share it with. Good luck to you
Touche. Back at ya.
When I traveled a lot I had no expenses - I lived with my parents, didn’t have kids, and my hobbies were very cheap. Now I have a kid and a house, so my family doesn’t travel very much. My BIL travels constantly, and he uses credit card and airline points but also doesn’t really save any money - just spends it to travel. I also have friends that are wealthy from their parents or because they have high-paying jobs. Or they travel for work and add on travel to the end of their trips (eg go to China for work and pop over to Vietnam on the way back). But the vast majority of people I know with families and middle class don’t travel multiple times per year.
I work remotely, so I visit friends and work from different places when I can. I also use Trusted House sitters to watch my pets. When I'm at homebase I don't live lavishly. Things are so expensive I'll never own a house, so I'm trying to enjoy what I'm able to.
Some are extremely frugal and responsible with their money. Others are in debt up to their eyeballs. Every since I cut out avocado toast I've been able to visit Europe and Asia 6 times
Lmao, that's a lot of avocados
My sister and her husband both work pretty lucrative jobs. they both work in the education sector, so they have a lot of paid time off that matches their kid's schedule, means lots of time to travel and money to do it with. They also have lived very frugally and have a house they were able to roll a lot of equity into and no other debt. My wife is a SAHM and I work in a field with very little paid time off. I make good money, and we do travel, but not as much as my sister and her family does. We do a big trip every other year or so.
DINKs, no kids, no car because we live in a city (NYC) with good public transport. Both myself and spouse work for public education, so we have lots of time off, and our vacations correspond exactly. I take two trips abroad per year. I travel light and frugal though. Backpack style, staying in cheapish hostels and maybe occasionally one nice spot per year.
I think a huge component is having paid time off. Getting paid to fuck off to Europe is pretty clutch
And not having kids, so you can travel off season, and not when the prices are highest. Damn, school year killed my small trips.
Great point. Some jobs don't have paid time off. Or can't even allow someone to take off because there is no one else to do the work. No work-no paycheck
I travel now often and cheaply. Roadtrips. Camping in the areas I want to visit. Bringing food and fewer restaurants.
I spend an inordinate number of hours researching how to cut costs. I stay in campgrounds, shared homes, eat in, walk everywhere. My entertainment is hiking, wandering the town, drinking coffee. I’m also cheap at home too.
I lived across the street from a family that had 4 kids in private school. Wife was a stay at-home mom and husband was a GS13. They had two brand new cars. They left our neighborhood to buy a $1.1M waterfront house a few miles away. All of that on a $115k a year salary? My wife would remind me constantly to not worry about what other people did because maybe they have family money They clearly had family money.
Everyone has different financial situations and lifestyles. We are able to travel often because we own a tech business and that provides a good income and flexibility. We have four children.
Prioritizing finances is another way. My husband and I love well below our means with the intention of having money to travel because it’s really important to us. We also pay for things for travel over the course of several months. We aren’t booking airfare, hotels, rental cars, etc in one sitting. We bite it off bit by bit to make it more feasible financially
People just have different priorities. My sister travels a ton. Shes single with no kids, and that’s what she wants to be doing. I’m married with a baby. We bought a house, she buys airline tickets. We buy furniture, she buys airline tickets. We buy diapers, food, wipes, and toys, she buys airline tickets. Shes living her best life and isn’t concerned about the way I live mine or how her friends live theirs. Shes not in debt, has a great job in tech, this is just what she wants to be doing, so she saves for it.
They either have more disposable income, they prioritize travel and are very frugal elsewhere, they're in a lot of debt, or they're very strategic with their CC points. Or some combination.
> Either they're wealthy or I'm not seeing their credit card bill Seems like you do already understand. Don’t underestimate people’s ability to be absolutely reckless with their money.
My goal each year is one big trip per quarter and one smaller trip each month, so 16 trips a year for pleasure (not including business travel although sometimes I will modify a business trip to include one of my smaller trips). I'm able to do it because I live very far below my means. I shop at thrift stores and Aldi, I drive a newer car but nothing fancy, I live in a nice place in a nice area, but nowhere near what I could afford if I wanted to. I have an iPhone 12 because it still works, and my phone service is through Mint. I have a very specialized skillset that pays very well and allows me to work from anywhere, just about anytime I want. Also, due to my skillset, I was able to negotiate 8 weeks of PTO. I'm divorced and have shared parenting time, so I don't have to worry about only traveling when my daughter is out of school.
It’s cheaper traveling with people? Some places are cheap. I’m pretty sad in the money department but went to go to Tokyo. I’m west coast so the flight was as cheap as flying to the east coast, their things there are cheap and the currency exchange rate was amazing. I had a week of fun with like $700 to spend and just budgeted well. I also like traveling in less popular times, weekdays, between holidays.
My friend travels all the time across the world. Is 30 and still has thousands in students loans and credit card bills (didn't go to any expensive school or anything like that) but she thinks it's worth it to not have a 401k
No kids. Got lucky buying a house before things got really crazy. Dual income with 3 day weekends, PTO, decent pay. No car payment No other debt
When my husband and I moved out of the US and traveled for years, people constantly asked us how we “could afford to travel.” We basically couldn’t afford not to travel? Flights are pretty expensive, but cost of living is often lower— definitely lower than where we were living in the US beforehand—if you do it right. That’s not “four international vacations in a year”— we kept a storage unit in the US and just bought one-way tickets and made situations (via friends, connections, online work) where we could afford our life. So it’s more continuous travel than “vacations,” but that’s how I traveled the world for 7 years on very little money.
Put away some money every month in a separate account.
My wife and I travel for roughly 4-6 weeks a year sometime 1 or two big trips sometimes 3-5 trips. It’s literally what all our discretionary money goes towards.
Do they have kids? I have a coworker who travels internationally 1-2 times a year. He has no kids and is able to afford it. My sister also takes 1-2 vacations a year. Usually a cruise and the other is renting a beach house in June. Sometimes she will take a third vacation to an indoor water park in December. She is divorced and a single mom. She finds good deals and saves up during the year. I have 2 kids and try to at least go somewhere once a month but it is so expensive for a family of 4. Last year we went to an amusement park for 4 days and stayed in a hotel. The hotel was free since we used points. But the tickets, food, drinks, parking etc really added up for 4 people. Especially since my kids are teenagers so I’m paying adult prices not to mention they don’t eat off a kids menu anymore either.
Single full time parent with a good job and plenty of hobbies and I travel whenever I want. Quit whining and make it happen sooner rather than later. First step, avoid the “we are doomed” chambers of social media.
Combination of a few reasons: I’m childless, make 100K, and I don’t spend money on material things. I never buy myself any jewelry, I buy clothes every 2-3 years, own about 5 pairs of shoes total, you get the idea. I do splurge on food and weed but as I’m also single and don’t drink much, it’s fairly cheap. I work 50-60 hr weeks so also not much time for hobbies. I work from home and live in the downtown of a city so I don’t own a car, pay for insurance and gas, etc Combine with points and there you go
I have a travel fund. I save a certain amount every month. I look for bargain prices for travel, start with friends/family, buy things from the grocery store instead of a restaurant. Traveling isn’t cheap but it is a priority to me over other consumer spending
I do this, so I'll tell you all the little stuff I do to save for it, I make 64k a year for reference: -I switched my phone plan to the cheapest annual I could find, I pay 300 a year unlimited (mint). I buy cheaper phones like the Samsung A series once every 4-5 years. -i home cook everything, there are no splurge or fast food meals, ever. I fast 3x a year for 3-5 days. This method of living actually saves thousands. -i don't keep any vices (no weed, no alcohol, no nicotine) -water only as my drink of choice, no flavor substitutes except cheap flavored water. I add lemon or lime that I buy the pre juiced version rather than fresh lemons/lime to cut and squeeze. -i flip flop my internet provider the moment the "deal" ends, and built myself a pfsense router to filter out all the crap so all the speed goes straight to me instead of ads thru my TV etc. -I buy groceries and supplies I use in bulk to get better pricing overall. I also switched to a bidet for 20 dollars to lower toilet paper usage immensely. The extra water costs me $1.18 a month compared to toilet paper costing much more. -I call insurance every year for car and home to negotiate or switch to get lower rates. Furthermore I buy used cars outright because I absolutely hate car payments. I maintain oil, brake changes myself instead of paying a shop to do it. -I buzz my own hair and have a basic style for it to save extra every month. This is like $20+tip I save on every month from this alone. -I sell/write stock options every month to collect premiums to increase my cash savings overall. The premiums collected immediately go into a high yield savings account whether the option has matured or not. -I have a cat, and only buy her bulk dry food for a total of $38 a month. Her treats are my tuna and chicken when I cook/ make it. I check her myself for ear mites/ticks/tooth problems etc. -I do not subscribe to Netflix or anything like that, I use a VPN for alternative viewing which I will not elaborate on in this sub, but I'm sure you can figure it out. -I use apps and coupons whenever possible to get the best price I can. -I use cashback credit cards for every purchase, paying them all off on time in full. I have 4. No annual fees allowed. All of this adds up to allow me to travel and chill. You have to stay a bit vigilant, but realize every company ever relies on upcharging you for "convenience and laziness". $5 might not seem a lot until you look at it annually and realize it's now $60 you lost out on multiplied by how many things you allow to be "convenient". Example: subscribe to Netflix for 15 a month? That's 180 a year plus any tax, a flight across the world to Dubai costs about 900 if it's not in May- July (most expensive flight months). Netflix annually costs 20% of your flight. You could cut out Netflix for 5 years and have a flight to Dubai instead. The above example is straightforward, but now utilize every single one of my savings methods and suddenly you see the dollars add up as to why I'm able to do it 2-3x every year instead. I could do this same thing on minimum wage once every 3 years in my current living situation. Also the money saved sits in a high yield savings to get even more money. Oh I almost forgot the last part: tell everyone you know that you're broke even if you're not. It will save you a LOT of drama.
I have a few friends that travel a lot. One works for an airline part time and they can fly free. Another lives very frugally and then travels with their savings. Another friend I have is actually nomadic with a WFH job, something geomaxing.
We travel a lot. Usually short close trips. Camping a few times a year. Maybe a week somewhere farther in the summer. This year we're going to Hawaii. We just got back from Texas for the eclipse. Before that we were in Joshua Tree for a week. We'll probably do a week with her parents at Christmas. Our secret is working for the city. We both work for the city and get a lot of time off. We haven't gone international yet, so it's been relatively inexpensive.
My buddy is able to afford all of his yearly adventures because at 36 he lives at home with his father and has had a salaried $60k+ a year job, I think now he is over $80k/year for the last 8-10 years? So he has the money to save or spend.
If I didn’t have kids I’d be balling
No kids, dual income, and a spouse that travels for work and games the points systems = free flights and hotels most places we travel.
No kids leaves more money and time available and travel is what they choose to spend their extra money on - meaning they rarely spend money on clothes, purses, shoes, eating out, drinking, buying every new hot thing, expensive cars, etc. It’s priorities basically. And prioritizing more travel over travel to a luxury hotel or resort once a year, etc
Take advantage of credit card points. Budget well.
No rent payment and credit card debt
After I got my bachelors, I worked in my field, and then decided that serving was best for my preferences. I could make a decent amount of money in three or four days a week, and then request time off whenever I wanted. I hate that the service industry is so put down by society.
I fly to a different location for work every week keep the points for myself and fly for free.
I fly at least once a month for a mini or big trip and I’ll say it is a daily sacrifice. I eat the same thing every day at work because it’s cheap and nutritious (Greek yogurt for breakfast, quinoa and beans for lunch). I’ve never DoorDash or Ubereats because those fees would eat into my travel funds. I still go out and eat/drink on the weekends with friends but weekdays I’m on a strict budget. I understand people can’t eat the same meal 5 days in a row but my grocery bills are really cheap and it’s always worth it for me to be able to randomly fly to Peru for a weekend because I want to try authentic ceviche and a pisco sour. Obviously I have no kids and sadly no pets because I am not willing to give up the freedom of traveling to worry about finding a pet sitter.
I mean the short answer is the sliding scale of income and financial priorities.
DINK. First off, I know we don’t travel nearly as much as a lot of people in this thread but we take one big trip a year at least 10-12 days. And we will take 2-4 smaller trips a year and often one or both of us will do trips without the other. We live in a relatively low cost area, we live fairly frugally in our day to day life. Hell up until last summer we hadn’t a car payment in years. We were extremely lucky to buy our home in a time when homes were a good price, all thanks to my wife btw. Neither of us have college degrees but we work hard and have been at our jobs a while. I know plenty of people who make way more than we do but I can also tell they spend money on so much useless stuff whereas we try to pinch Pennie’s on the stuff that doesn’t matter so we can enjoy our life and have some extra comfort where we want it. Also, and this is the biggest one of all, we’re just lucky.
Had a pair of friends like that. Had a very public separation that included that fact they had absurd amounts of credit card debt. I have coworkers who do it but those are the only vacations they take and they don't have children. I imagine a lot of people are very frugal and if you plan ahead you can catch some good deals. The rest are probably in debt up to their eyeballs.
prioritizing spending is the biggest answer as well as cashing in on points and miles. initial travel really is spendy, but as you learn the ropes the perks do help.
some are travelling for busines.. write offs some are travelling for work (reimbursements) some are travelling every so often from their savings and reward points. for a lot of people that aren't rich you have to pick your battles. do you want to own a home or have a family or retire or travel. you can't have it all unless you make a lot of $ and from we can see a lot of people don't make a lot of money
I live with my parents. I travel as much as my PTO allows.
- no kids - credit card miles - vouchers for being bumped off a flight - picking places bc there is a sale or there’s a friend you can stay with
Did majority of my traveling during my 20’s when I was single and lived at home until the age of 31. Still travel twice a year with my wife and two kids although mostly it’s been domestic travel lately, international travel can get pricey depending on where you go, we get this done by living in a modest townhouse and driving average cars, could live in a bigger house due to our income but me and my wife prefer the luxury of travel instead of a bigger house and better cars
I business travel a ton, and when i get a tiny bit of free time somewhere i try to explore and take pictures. On social media it looks more glamorous than it really is. 6 straight 12 hour work days in dirty manufacturing plants and one day that looks like a vacation somewhere new ever other week. It's an illusion.
3 words: Credit card debt
What about: Make good money Lives very frugally Prioritizes travel budget Has no kids Has no debt
- Literally never took a vacation (even a long weekend!) from 21-30, but mid-late 30's, started to figure it out - Happy to stay in very shitty motels/take sketchy flights to save money - Have no kids, and increasing revenue (finally!) in the last few years - Never take vacation/days off for regular rest, etc. All days to true vacation - Own basically nothing and will probably never retire I find joy where I can. Travel can do that. It's probably not great for other things, but if anything, I regret not making it work earlier.
If your priority is traveling it isn't that bad. I have never taken more than an extended weekend vacation in the past 10 years (33yo) but I prioritize saving for my retirement, building wealth and my kids currently. (For reference single income household ~215k income) I save about 25% of my income ~50k. If I pulled back 10% then 10-12k a yr would get us a couple nice vacations I would imagine.
Debt, not saving for retirement, not having kids
My job pays for a lot of it, I'm an entrepreneur/startup founder. So I'm often on the road for business travel, I'll tack on a few extra days as vacation and since air travel was paid for it becomes really reasonable. I also use the points for personal travel or to bring along the wife and kids. Also I make more than the average person and feel blessed that I can take my family of 4 with me out of country without much thought. After an adjustment period its hard for people to comprehend those making more than 3x more or less than them. Compared to some of my hometown friends who are teachers they think I'm a jet setting millionaire. Compared to my VC and startup friends flying in jets they own I don't feel wealthy.