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Vacations

January 16th, 2007 at 04:51 pm

Okay so I'm getting ready to go to Colorado on Thursday for the weekend to visit a friend. I got my plane ticket for $198 to fly from Orange County, CA to Denver, CO. I got it so cheap because I have to change planes in Phoenix. I am staying with a friend so I don't have to worry about paying for a hotel room or a rental car. I plan on bringing about $100 for the weekend.

The thing is that I love to travel and since I only have a certain amount of PTO I'm always taking little trips for the weekend. My dilema is that I usually charge my plane ticket on my cc when I already carrying a balance. I had all my cc's paid off last July and then I found my old roommate was getting married in Seattle so I wanted to go up there for that. Plane ticket and hotel was $400 and then I had to get a rental car and that was $150 and then I had to eat of course. All in all it wasn't a cheap 2 day trip but I'm glad I still went.

Well my next trip 2 weeks after Seattle was Boston for my b-day. And that definitely wasn't cheap! I had a friend go with me but I still spent about $1600. I had a grand time but again I charged that on my credit card.

I have alot of places I'd like to go this year and I'd love to be able to NOT charge everything on my credit card. My goal is go get out of the small amount of debt I have not add to it. I know I know, I've got to stop using my cc. I want to go to Vegas next month but hotels are just so expensive so I think I'm going to nix that idea.

I just found out my cousin is getting married in North Carolina in May and I have to go to that as I haven't seen my dad's side of the family for over 10 years. I also want to go to New Mexico sometime in the spring or summer to visit another cousin. I'm planning on going on a cruise to Mexico in July and I want to go back to Boston in September for my b-day. In between all this I would like to be able to hit Vegas and maybe San Francisco and of course Colorado again.

I know I need to set money aside for my "travel" habit but it's hard to do so when I'm saving for retirement and my "Denver Dash" fund, and pay towards my cc's, and pay all my other expenses. While it's not impossible to start setting aside for my "travel" habit, it's hard. One area I can definitely see cutting way back is going out to eat and going out to the bars. I bring my lunch my days to work but it's the weekends that get me cause I like to go out. I don't have any problem dropping $50 a weekend on that. Such a waste of money for eating out and drinks...

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “Vacations”

  1. living_in_oz Says:
    January 16th, 2007 at 05:20 pm 1168968045
    1168968045

    Well, it's hard when you want to do things and you just don't have the money. I can't help you out. We haven't been anywhere for almost 7 years. Why? Because we don't have the extra money and I will NOT charge a vacation on my credit cards. Sometimes you just have to realize you can't do everything you want to doFrown
    But, you know, there's probably a lot of great "day trips" close to home that you could do! We don't get to go on big vacations but we usually make a few day trips every year.

  2. janH Says:
    January 16th, 2007 at 05:38 pm 1168969121
    1168969121

    Maybe you can eat before you go out and you won't be as hungry and can have something small or share with someone. That's what Hubby and I do now. And then maybe stretch one drink for a long while. Then you can visit with your friends without it costing you as much. Make a goal of $10 less a weekend and you have some going into a fund. It won't be enough for your trips, but it's a start! That's the way we are having to do things, one tiny goal at a time....We haven't cut out the things we enjoy, just cut them back a little at a time.

  3. Frayed Buckeye Card Says:
    January 16th, 2007 at 05:39 pm 1168969146
    1168969146

    This has to be a put on!

  4. gruntina Says:
    January 16th, 2007 at 07:14 pm 1168974843
    1168974843

    Be careful! Seems using credit card as an alternative for money you do not have yet is a habit first need to overcome than the traveling but they do go hand in hand in your case. A trip that you pay with your hard earn money is much more rewarding than to have a conscience thought in the back of your head and knowing you will continue to pay for things you done in your past rather than pay as you go. It can be exhausting if it gets out of hand and rob you of complete enjoyment with each trip you take.

    I only say this because I have been in your position and it took me a long time to "get it" and I paid sorely for it and it still haunts my mind. My hope is that it does not get as bad for you.

  5. kalikala1980 Says:
    January 17th, 2007 at 12:10 am 1168992621
    1168992621

    Thank you all for your replies. I know I'm so wrong to be charging my trips, well at the least a plane ticket or hotel, on my credit card. Luckily tax season is right around the corner and I plan on putting all of my tax return towards my cc.

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