I posted an article in the "Budget Savvy World Report" this week titled Save Big Bucks on Your Summer Travel by Laura T. Coffey. The subtitle of the article is: 10 Tips: Don’t let your vacation leave you drowning in debt.
That got me thinking about the purpose of vacations. Have you ever gone on vacation knowing that you really couldn't afford it? Did it hamper your enjoyment? Did you spend more time worrying about every little penny or carried the burden of your impending credit card bill throughout the trip?
Taking a break from work is a necessity of life. I love my job, but work is a means for me to play. However, lavish vacations are not a right. A true vacation should be within your means.
I have been guilty of this in the past. Although the worst experience in this regard wasn't my fault. When Paul and I planned our trip to China in 2001, we paid for it in advance. It was with a tour and was all inclusive. I was actually looking forward to not worrying about our finances while we were there.
The day before we left, my boss informed me that while I was gone, they were going to lay off the person who reported to me. This was in the spring of 2001 and the beginning of the dot com bust. The writing was on the wall that tech was ready to fail. I spent our entire trip with a knot in the pit of my stomach worried that I would come back to a pink slip. It was miserable.
The pink slip arrived 10 months later.
The circumstances of my trip to China are a little extreme, but the worry of my financial affairs clouding what was supposed to be a getaway are the same. A vacation is not a vacation if it is not affordable.
Flash forward seven years. Paul and I have successfully planned and enjoyed many vacations including a wonderful week in Scotland and our now famous $199 Canadian cruise.
If you have a vacation experience where you have either successfully or unsuccessfully planned your trip, I'd love to hear about it. Please email me at melissa@budgetsavvymag.com.
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