ER Travel Budget

[Major Tom]

Thanks Sarah - I feel better already. As a bit of a reclusive personality myself, I can empathize with my kitties' desire to not be bothered by others

And now - back to the main topic of discussion......

[Lagniappe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I have a question about travel budgets. When you are away from home, do you count groceries as travel expenses, or do you account for them in your grocery budget? If you were to rent a house or condo on the beach, you could make all your own meals and save a bundle by avoiding eating out. If you were staying for a month or three, the difference would be substantial.

I count groceries, dining out, entertainment and gasoline while traveling as a travel expense. I do a lot of long term stays and shop locally, but like to track how much the total trip costs me, not just the incremental amount.

[Jackson D]

Our budget for travel in 1st year of retirement was $25,000. I try to include my 3 children in my plans but it is getting harder since they are all out of school and have jobs/girlfriends/wives to consider. I think that over the next few years my travel expenses will vary hugely as the opportunities to travel with family could include anywhere from 2 to 8 people. Thankfully, my kids are now able to pay some of their own travel expenses since they are employed. In order to entice them to travel with us, I do tend to pick up most of the tab. Our travel budget is totally discretionary and would be the first thing to cut back if necessary, but my wife and I figure time is short and our list of places to go is long. Next up- hiking on the Kenai Peninsula and Denali in Alaska.

[Golden sunsets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I have a question about travel budgets. When you are away from home, do you count groceries as travel expenses, or do you account for them in your grocery budget? If you were to rent a house or condo on the beach, you could make all your own meals and save a bundle by avoiding eating out. If you were staying for a month or three, the difference would be substantial.

We include groceries in our travel expenses. We spend a couple of winter months in a condo.

[1st Tee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hiredgun Will RE this year and wondering how much everyone sets aside for an annual travel budget? I expect I will travel more than usual the next 5 years (son just starting high school) as this will be the prime time for the family to travel together. In other words, I expect a larger travel budget for the first 5 year of RE. Want to go to Europe and travel a ton around the U.S. I think $20K-25K a year for the first 4 or 5 years would be reasonable. Keep in mind, I expect the amount to DRAMATICALLY (i.e. maybe 1/5 of that) drop off after that time, but want to enjoy the next few years when the family will be together and my son won't think we are cramping his style (i.e. I get that it may happen sooner than I have planned for, but I know he wants to travel with us in high school). Thoughts?

Congratulations on being able to ER.

The first 3 years of ER the two (out of college now) went with us.
It was ~ $27k for a little over two weeks in Europe.
Going to Alaska, Hawaii, etc was a lot less.

Kids are now in their mid 20's (single) and still want to go with mom and dad on vacation.
We don't do that anymore and mom and dad really enjoy spending time together.
This last year we went on a vacation with another couple and that was a lot of fun!

So our travel budget is down from when we would take the whole family.

[martyp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I have a question about travel budgets. When you are away from home, do you count groceries as travel expenses, or do you account for them in your grocery budget? If you were to rent a house or condo on the beach, you could make all your own meals and save a bundle by avoiding eating out. If you were staying for a month or three, the difference would be substantial.

In the past, when we took "big" trips, say to Europe, we would only be gone for 2 1/2 weeks. We ate out nearly all of our meals and didn't count food or fuel again what we normally spent at home. If I was going to stay someplace for a month or two then I would budget differently.

[sn2792]

We budget $10,000 a year for the two of us. We take 2 cruises a year and sometimes a long weekend trip somewhere. We include gas and food as vacation costs and reduce our grocery and fuel budget during vacation months.

[BellBarbara]

We include ALL expenses related to travel: pet sitter, gas, airport parking, meals for the most part. The only time we will not include meals is when we are "set" somewhere for 1 week or more with a kitchen, and the amount of spending on groceries is the about the same as we would have spent at home. then we exclude that.

The pet sitting thing is killing us. We have an anxious dog who cannot be kenneled so we have a girl come stay at our house but it's expensive $50 a day. We want to be snow birds this winter and are trying to figure out what to do. I want to take the dog, my husband does not really like the dog (unrealistic about pet behaviors). He is trying to force me to get my son to watch him in his condo - which is unrealistic as he works long hours. The dog will be totally anxious in some other house and alone so long.

[Golden sunsets]

I feel for you Bellbarbara. Our pets are precious to us and we hate to leave them for 7 weeks straight, but taking your pet with you to the warm climate may not be a great idea even if you were able to convince your DH. I would imagine you would be out of the condo a lot and worry that the pet was having anxiety. That would diminish your own enjoyment. We took one of out pets with us to the beach for a week when a friend lent us his cottage and it was a huge mistake. We knew he was miserable (and barking) while we were on the beach and I was worried what he might do in the way of damage to the unit. Do you know for a fact that the pet doesn't do well at the kennel for the entire time? Is it possible that the pet becomes used to the new surroundings after a few hours or days at the most? Most pets do.

[Huston55]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom Thanks Sarah - was just wondering, as I have 3 cats in a 280 sq foot studio who get along most of the time, with the occasional bit of discord from time to time, though nothing too serious. I carry the dream in my head of a pet family with complete harmony between all members, but realize this is an ideal that is not always achieved - just as with human families With the number of pets you have, a house sitter you can trust is a definite advantage (and probably a fun time for them too).

280SF or 2800SF?

If it's the former, you have my ultimate respect. I thought the ~900SF condo that DW and I occupied in SF was small. I used to joke that the real estate agent called it a "condo" and, I called it "a closet attached to a view." I will say though, that we loved living there and realized that we really didn't need all the stuff from larger homes we'd lived in.

[mpeirce]

> The pet sitting thing is killing us.

This is a big part of why we didn't replace our happy little pug when she died. Our two cats tolerate our absences pretty well - and friends/family seem OK with performing basic cat maintenance when when we are gone. The cats also provide a little companionship for each other as well.

We're never gone for more than 2 weeks. If we are gone longer in the future, we'll have to handle that somehow.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BellBarbara We include ALL expenses related to travel: pet sitter, gas, airport parking, meals for the most part. The only time we will not include meals is when we are "set" somewhere for 1 week or more with a kitchen, and the amount of spending on groceries is the about the same as we would have spent at home. then we exclude that. The pet sitting thing is killing us. We have an anxious dog who cannot be kenneled so we have a girl come stay at our house but it's expensive $50 a day. We want to be snow birds this winter and are trying to figure out what to do. I want to take the dog, my husband does not really like the dog (unrealistic about pet behaviors). He is trying to force me to get my son to watch him in his condo - which is unrealistic as he works long hours. The dog will be totally anxious in some other house and alone so long.

This is a major reason why I do not have a pet. It would be like having a child. Never wanted one of those either!

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huston55 280SF or 2800SF?

The former - 280 sq ft.

I went from a 1300 sq ft house, to a 700 sq ft apt, to a 500 sq ft apt, to a 400 sq ft apt, to the current 280 sq ft studio. It's good training for if I ever decide to live in an RV

[Major Tom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh This is a major reason why I do not have a pet. It would be like having a child. Never wanted one of those either!

But at least you don't have to have a college fund for a pet

[utrecht]

We are still 18 months from retirement, but we have budgeted $36,000 per year for travel. Obviously we want to travel a lot. I'm sure that number will shrink down the road at some point but we will only be 50 and 46 so we expect it to be a long way down the road.

[Alan]

We don't have a fixed budget for travel and in the 4 years of retirement we have averaged about 6 months/year travel. This year it is Europe, next year will be Australasia, following year US again.

So far the cost is ~$20 - $35k and that does include groceries while traveling. I don't attempt to determine the difference in grocery costs had we been at home instead of traveling.

While we are still fit and enthusuastic we will continue to do so provided there is no major reversal in our finances.

[bhoferp]

BellBarbara-We snowbird with our somewhat anxious boxer. While I have heard mixed reviews on both, we have found a Thunder Shirt and Rescue Remedy work well. We also use both at home-like we are having our house painted now, so if our dog gets anxious out comes the Thunder Shirt and the Rescue Remedy. The biggest differences to me while snowbirding is that I have to walk the dog all the time on a leash to do her business, but we have a fenced backyard at home. Also, our snowbird destination has a great dog park where we go to run off some energy. (A tired dog is a good dog!)

[dmdunca44]

We don't have a fixed amount for travel. It is determined each year by how well the nest egg has done. Last year we spent $12,000 which included about $1000 to kennel the pooches (considered a travel expense). This year it will be closer to $15,000 when all is said and done.

Everything on a trip is considered a 'travel expense' including groceries/eating out...

[PatrickA5]

I play the "rewards" credit card game as kind of a hobby. If you're into that sort of thing, it can payoff big time. I rarely pay for hotels or flights. This year, we're doing 7 days in the Washington DC area. Three round trip flights ($30). Seven nights at Marriotts, Hiltons and Comfort Inns (free). Car rental for a week (free). I figure I save several thousand a year in travel costs doing this. Now, if I could only figure out how to get free major league baseball tickets and free food, we'd be all set.

[Sarah in SC]

BellBarbara, that is great advice from bpoferp about the thunder shirt and rescue remedy. I foster border collies and use the thunder shirt extensible with anxious dogs.

I think if you find the right spot for snowbirding, that having the dog with you will provide a lot of joy and companionship. And you won't be worries about him being stressed out at home.

If we only had one, ah, how much easier our lives would be! Not likely to happen any time soon!