Minimize vacations to retire early?

[RunningBum]

To us, the Eiffel is such an iconic structure it would be like going to Egypt and not bothering with the Pyramids.

That's my opinion too. If I'm going to spend the time and money to travel someplace distant, I'm going to hit the highlights I want to see unless the cost or lines are prohibitive. I didn't find the Eiffel Tower to be either. Sure, there are alternatives, but this is a great 360 view. The second time I went, with my son, it was really cloudy so we passed on going to the top.

 

[brydanger]

I then asked her a question on which path she would take....

(1) Minimize vacations expenses to retire early or
(2) Take great vacations and retire later.

She prefer option 2 because she is in her 20's and she wants to enjoy life. She also claims that at age 40 or 50 she will be "too old" to enjoy these things in early retirement.

Any comments on which option you would take?

I would probably disagree with the test/question in general.

We actually made the choice to cut out expensive vacations for a few years (as well as cutting all other purchases, moving into smaller places to reduce our rent, paying off all debt etc)...

But that was with the "light at the end of the tunnel" of being able to take an extended 1-2year trip and/or buy our freedom at the end of those years of savings.
If I was told we had to cut out all those things for 10-20years or more... there's NO WAY we could have maintained focus that long and/or would have been miserable the entire time.

If the plan is to work for another 10-20years I'd keep taking vacations too (in order to simply stay sane)... but if the goal/plan is to ratchet all things down in order to make immediate life change fast and RE way way earlier (like in your 30s), then it's easier to get onboard with sacrifices.

We may see things more in black and white... but making small sacrifices to shave only a few years off retirement seemed hardly worth it to us, while we were happy to live insanely cheap/meagerly for a few years in order to retire by 35.

It's all about the size of the reward I guess.

 

[2177V]

I haven't heard that before. Is that a cultural thing?

I don't feel any duty as a father to plan for my childrens' retirements. My parents planned for their own. I planned for my own. I expect my children to do the same.

What I meant is that a parent should act as a free financial advisor.

Yes, it is a cultural thing. In my culture (Chinese American), the child is supposed to buy dinner for their parents with their very first paycheck. During this dinner, the parents would suggest goals for the adult child who has just become financially independent of the parents.

One of these goals is planning for retirement and this include allocating some of their money into a IRA at a young age and letting the money compound over the years. In mainland China, there were historical famines which people had starved to death. Today, mainland china has the highest saving rates mainly because there is no social security system. I do understand that in other cultures, the "lessons learned" from the great depression are more difficult to pass down...due to the lack of a cultural tradition.

 

[Nemo2]

The only thing I don't understand...is why anyone would want to go to Dubai.

But then we had a similar thread about Disney, and I didn't get that either.

 

[EmRach199]

I'm not really in to travelling. I'll choose option 1. I can save up and buy what I want or live how I want. That's actually what I'm doing now.

 

[HI Bill]

I'm not really in to travelling. I'll choose option 1. I can save up and buy what I want or live how I want. That's actually what I'm doing now.

To each his, or her own. People's needs, desires, and interests most often change throughout their lives. When you're 50, you may get the travel bug! Or not. Important thing is to plan for the future, and save for the future, not just living in the now, unless of course, you don't mind having a lower standard of living when you're older. Some folks don't mind, but others, like, me, are looking forward to a much improved standard of living!