How can you afford to travel?

[FinelyCruising]

That means he's either near the edge of the fringe of in over his head and yet still manages to cruise without having to declare bankruptcy.

[yellowbird23]

[quote name='dkjretired']I do look for bargains when available, there is an airline which sends me emails with bargain p,rices. I am flying my brother and his wife from Tampa to Atlantic City next week for $16.00 round trip each. We are going with the same airline to Florida in Sept for $.50 one way and $50.00 the other way. For four people with taxes, etc. it is a total of around $250.00.

There are bargains out there.[/quote]
I sure would like that e-mail for those bargains you are getting. That is unbelievable! Almost costs lest than your luggage costs!:p

[FinelyCruising]

Hopefully Spirit has full tanks of gas to get them where they are scheduled to go or a good credit card when they have to refuel in Delaware....;)

I wish it were all like then when flying between two locations, I really do....

[Davey Interweb]

[quote name='FinelyCruising']That means he's either near the edge of the fringe of in over his head and yet still manages to cruise without having to declare bankruptcy.[/quote]

Haha, I was just thinking the same thing.

[I]"Muffy, we need to take out an advance on the Platinum card if we're going to cover the lease payment on the Lexus this month. No, we can't use that one. How much credit to we have left on the other one?"




[/I]

[emptynest1]

[quote name='FinelyCruising']That means he's either near the edge of the fringe of in over his head and yet still manages to cruise without having to declare bankruptcy.[/quote]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=mediumturquoise]I fail to see the need for such a negative comment. I asked the question "How can you afford to travel". That was Bruin Steves response, why bash it? Let's play nice.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=mediumturquoise]There have been so many wonderful comments so far. Everyone is different and we come from all walks of life, some retired, some working, young and old, some well off and some who have to rub a couple pennies together to be able to cruise. [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#48d1cc]We have a common bond in our love (or should I say need) to travel, and specifically here our need to cruise.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#48d1cc]Keep the answers to the question coming.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#48d1cc][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[YOW]

US society is based on certain inalienable rights, as set out in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, among them the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If a person chooses to pursue this happiness in the form of travel, that is his or her right. These pursuits can also be seen in the form of driving an expensive car, buying a home in a booming real estate market, or eating at a fine dining establishment.

In this thread we've talked about choices and sacrifices. All fall under the umbrella above -- or, for those not from the States, in a similar charter or body of laws in various countries. We make a choice as to what we do vocationally, how we spend the income we make, and which priorities we focus on in life.

For those who choose a path in high-paying professions, the payoff can be more flexibility when it comes to pursuing this happiness. Likewise, others may not have as much flexibility in this pursuit. And in cruising, it turns out, we see these various strata of society coming together. The grand-royal-owner's suite passenger shares the ship with the inside cabin passenger.

Yes, there will be times where one's pursuit may come into conflict with that of someone else. If smoking, for example, were your pursuit of choice, it has been determined that you are free to enjoy this pursuit but not when your smoke impinges on the pursuits, rights, and well-being of others. On the other hand, while pursuing one’s happiness in the aforementioned purchases of travel, automobiles, real estate, or cuisine may in an economic sense be sustaining or even increasing the (perceived) high prices of these goods and services, this is simply the consequence of a capitalist society.

Without capitalism, these companies – including the cruise lines we enjoy – would not be in business, or certainly would not be what they are today. It’s not a perfect system, but if we are to enjoy the fruits of capitalism, we must accept its shortcomings. We were created equally but have chosen to live our lives differently, so let us celebrate those differences as we all go about our pursuits even in this time of economic uncertainty.

[Coastaljen]

I have to laugh because my friends ask me the same question. I choose to spend cash for traveling while they shop, go out to eat, have cable, etc. I bought my Honda last June without car payments, so that eliminated that expense. Being single helps me a little in the sense that I can control/know where all the money goes.

As far as boycotting, I won't do that. I want the airlines to be able to maintain their planes. I bought a ticket three weeks ago for a Christmas cruise at $l8l6. It has gone up a huge amount since then. That does make me rethink my July 09 cruise. I may go somewhere I can use frequent flyer miles (ie: Europe instead of Australia) if things stay the same.

Happy travels.

[Susan-M]

[quote name='emptynest1']Keep the answers to the question coming.[/QUOTE]

The key to being able to afford any luxury is to live below your means for everyday expenses such as housing, clothing, cars, etc. This will mean different things to different people ... for some it may mean no car, for others it will mean cutting back to 2 cars instead of 3.

At the end of the day, we have to be able to pay for what we buy (well, there is the option of bankruptcy;) ). Having that extra money in the bank that's left over from living below your means is what pays for luxuries such as travel.

[jeffreytg]

For us its a matter of priorities:

1 I don't pay to have my cars washed- I do it myself
2. I make my own coffee in the AM and drink the coffee at work- I don't pay $3-$4 for a cup
3. I don't eat expensively-I eat a $2.00 Lean Cuisine for lunch each work day
4. Don't have 400 TV channels- we have expanded basic cable
5. Don't hire illegal aliens to do my yard work- do it myself
6. Don't over-indulge my kids
7. Don't drive low MPG cars -Civic for commute and mini van for hauling the family around- not an Escalade.

"Labor it capital" I do things for myself and don't pay others to do that which I am perfectly capable of doing.

All of the above allow me to have disposable income that I elect to put towards travel. I don't consider any of these items to be sacrifices either-

We do a big family vacation on average every other year- example Disney World in 01, Yosemite and SF in 03, cruise in 06 and Hawaii (11 days on 2 islands) in a month. On land-based vacations we stay at condos or places with kitchens and eat in where we can. When we do eat out it is something special like a dinner show or Luau. Then the wife and I squeeze in something for just the two of us when we can (our March 09 Solstice cruise) - the kids spend the time while the two of us are gone with their grandparents- which they consider to be a great time. I think our next big family vacation with be a Med cruise maybe in 2010 - now that my kids are old enough to appreciate it. I look forward to the empty nest on 2012.

[Sky Sweet]

[quote name='Susan-M']The key to being able to afford any luxury is to live below your means for everyday expenses such as housing, clothing, cars, etc. This will mean different things to different people ... for some it may mean no car, for others it will mean cutting back to 2 cars instead of 3.

At the end of the day, we have to be able to pay for what we buy (well, there is the option of bankruptcy;) ). Having that extra money in the bank that's left over from living below your means is what pays for luxuries such as travel.[/quote]

Hi Susan M :)

My husband and I have also been able to save more and enjoy various luxuries in life by living below our means and never buying the nicest house we could afford.

That philosophy has also made it easier to deal with unexpected expenses, such as paying $4.35 a gallon this month to fill the oil tank in our basement that supplies heat for our house, without changing our lifestyle.

We currently own our house outright, without any mortgage, but when we had one it was a relatively small percentage of our income.

[Jeepers385]

[quote name='yellowbird23']I sure would like that e-mail for those bargains you are getting. That is unbelievable! Almost costs lest than your luggage costs!:p[/quote]

[B][COLOR=teal]I'm thinking it's Spirit since they leave out of AC.[/COLOR][/B]

[SusieV]

The short answer: We can't, but we do it anyway.

My father always talked about seeing the world. He loved to travel and constantly talked about going to tournaments in far off places. He died 3 years ago at the age of 57 and never got to see a thing.

I may only be 25, but you never know when your number will be called. Maybe things are a little tighter for us since we try to fit in pleasure travel with our business trips, but money is transient and memories are forever.

What will you remember twenty years from now, having a few extra dollars in the bank or the wonderful vacations you took?

We're trying to do as much as we can while we're young and not tied down yet.

[FinelyCruising]

[quote name='emptynest1'][SIZE=4][COLOR=mediumturquoise]I fail to see the need for such a negative comment. I asked the question "How can you afford to travel". That was Bruin Steves response, why bash it? Let's play nice.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=mediumturquoise]There have been so many wonderful comments so far. Everyone is different and we come from all walks of life, some retired, some working, young and old, some well off and some who have to rub a couple pennies together to be able to cruise. [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#48d1cc]We have a common bond in our love (or should I say need) to travel, and specifically here our need to cruise.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#48d1cc]Keep the answers to the question coming.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][COLOR=#48d1cc][/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Apologies if you perception was negative to my response. I thought my response was pretty funny, I SHOULD have put a winky or a big grin at the end of it. Frankly I prefer not to know so much personal biz about any individual...I think jovial banter and smacking ourselves in the head is a more convivial approach to an intimate issue that is really no ones concern.

I'd never ask anyone how they can afford to cruise, no matter how close I was to them, it's really none of my business. But to poke fun and joke and find camaraderie in an otherwise currently unstable world, then it's common to all of us just doing what we do to enjoy cruising how ever we get there.

Again apologies to you since it is apparent to me that you took it quite personally.

[cruise kitty]

How do I afford to travel? It is surprisingly simple: I don't own a car even though I can afford to have a nice car.

 

I live in an urban area. My office is 12 blocks from my home. I walk to and from work every day. I have not paid for a full tank of gasoline, an oil change or car insurance in 14 years.

 

I still have a driver's license and when I absolutely need a car I rent one (just like my friends in London do). If I rent a car one weekend a month or two single days at $150 it costs me $1,800 a year. This is less than I was paying just for insurance. (A few years ago I figured out that getting rid of my car was saving me around $6,000 a year. It's probably more today.)

 

I use public transportation when I can (how European) and car services and taxis when I can't. And, when there is no other way, I rent.

 

Not everyone can live this life. My parents would not have been able to do this. The love affair with the car is not universal. I am mystified by people who complain they don't have enough money to travel like they once did yet have their "everyday car and their weekend car."

 

Of course, I wonder when the cruise lines will be paying so much for oil that they will make us man the oars and row to our next port of call.

 

Love your answer, but location makes a big difference. We live in OC in very hilly semi country area with ocean on one side and canyon on the other. It takes 20 minutes to drive down the hill and thru the canyon just to get to the grocery store. I don't see how you could live in S. CA without a car, but I do see how it could be done in SF or NY. I do envy you a bit.

[Lois R]

quote by cruise kitty:
"location makes a big difference"
"I don't see how you could live in S. CA without a car, but I do see how it could be done in SF or NY".

I agree with you 100%. There are many areas where
public transportation is the normal mode for lots of people.
Then there are other parts of the country where a car
is definitely necessary.
You mentioned having to drive 20 minutes to go grocery
shopping.
I don't drive that far but its definitely too spread out
where I live to be without a vehicle.
But I do have some extra $$ now, as I recently paid off my car:):)

[cruise kitty]

it's interesting how many people hit the nail on the head with the "it's all about priorities" statement. So many people live outside their means or off of credit cards for thing they really don't need. Last week we gave our dd a new car for graduation. It is a very nice vw Jetta, gets great gas mileage and is very safe with air bags, etc. She expects to keep this car at least 10 years thru college & grad school. She bought her first car on her own with money she saved from the time she was 3, every bit of cash she got she put into savings, so we sprung for a new one. She was very grateful and is a great kid. Now you would not believe how many of her friends drive bmw's, mercedes, lexus suv's, hummers.. it's crazy. My husband drives an 8 year old tahoe and I drive an audi ( great gas mileage) we could afford fancier (re: more expensive, prestigious) but why? we try and set an example of living below your means to our kids so there is something there for emergencies. This year and next we cancelled our cruises. The car, for us was a priority and we took substantial pay-cuts at our businesses so we would not have to lay off employees. We also took a stock hit so discretionary income is very low right now. But there will hopefully be opportunities in 2 years or so for things to get back to normal. In the end, if you have not been hit substantially by this recession, you are pretty lucky. If you are still cruising you are very lucky. Our priority is to never be in debt. So far, it's worked for us.

[Sky Sweet]

[quote name='Polydonald']How do I afford to travel? It is surprisingly simple: I don't own a car even though I can afford to have a nice car.

I live in an urban area. My office is 12 blocks from my home. I walk to and from work every day. I have not paid for a full tank of gasoline, an oil change or car insurance in 14 years.

I still have a driver's license and when I absolutely need a car I rent one (just like my friends in London do). If I rent a car one weekend a month or two single days at $150 it costs me $1,800 a year. This is less than I was paying just for insurance. (A few years ago I figured out that getting rid of my car was saving me around $6,000 a year. It's probably more today.)

I use public transportation when I can (how European) and car services and taxis when I can't. And, when there is no other way, I rent.

Not everyone can live this life. My parents would not have been able to do this. The love affair with the car is not universal. I am mystified by people who complain they don't have enough money to travel like they once did yet have their "everyday car and their weekend car."

Of course, I wonder when the cruise lines will be paying so much for oil that they will make us man the oars and row to our next port of call.[/quote]

Hi Polydonald :)

When my husband and I lived in Manhattan, during the seventies and eighties, we didn't own a car either because it would have been more of a hassle than a convenience.

However, at the time, we lived a block away from his lab, ten blocks away from my office, and within walking distance of our daughter's private school. There were also numerous restaurants within a few blocks of where we lived.

If we needed to go outside of the city we walked four blocks to Avis and rented a car for the day.

Now that we live in Connecticut, we need two cars, but I never missed not owning one during the fifteen years we lived in Manhattan.

[Captain Jake]

I can afford to cruise but I can't afford all the movie channels on cable

[cruise kitty]

just realized my last post made NO sense, unless I included the info that one of the cruises we cancelled was DD's graduation cruise, in favor of buying the car. sorry bout that.

[bobbyleduck]

Read the following story and you'll know what I do:

[URL]http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/BIZ0102/611210333/1011&nav_category[/URL]

Happy cruising to all who can still afford to cruise!

Bob

[emptynest1]

[quote name='bobbyleduck']Read the following story and you'll know what I do:

[URL]http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/BIZ0102/611210333/1011&nav_category[/URL]

Happy cruising to all who can still afford to cruise!

Bob[/quote]
That was a great story.

Cruise Kitty said it well also, "our priority is to never be in debt." My folks taught me to save and I in turn taught my kids to save. It is a valuable lesson. Sorry you had to cancel a cruise.

[emcee207]

I love that one, Grumphy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[beachdogboarder]

Gramps helps to pay.Of course I help him with the chores

[Faith77]

I work and save towards doing a big trip (land or sea) every other year. Last year was a land trip to Italy for 3 weeks so this year will be 'local' trips in the states--a week in Colorado in June and 12 days over the holidays in Santa Fe/Taos.

When coworkers ask how I can do these big trips I tell them honestly--I live a really simple life--no house, no car, no cell phone, no kids, no pets and I'm pretty frugal about 'retail therapy' shopping overall.

Also, I've started to have some mobility problems in recent years--I figure I could not do the same river rafting trip I did in 1999 today. Thankfully I'm still a pretty good walker--I just move slower.

So my last cruise (Mexico) was over Christmas/New Years solo out of SF in 2006. I'm really itching to do another one next year--maybe to the Panama Canal or SA. So this next cruise will probably be my next big trip.

Faith

[Bruton Branch]

Yes, "it is about priorities" and what you do or don't do with those priorities. As many have said before it is what you don't spend that makes of us happier. Having cruised in the past with Bobbyleduck and many of the "Millie Marauders" (searching for a good deal) there is no need to go into debt over a cruise. Someone mentioned earlier about hearing a "thud" when suggestted that you don't have to buy the spa treatment or the special resturant but if that is what you want - and have saved for it.. then enjoy it. There are many free or discounted cruise ideas. Like LeAnn who suggested shopping for the best OBC..Why not.

We have become very cost concerned because we don't have to be. Here is the catch that now instead of wasting fuel (gas) as it is $3.65 today with our grocery store card...We are contibuting more to our local food bank program, clothing and youth sports equipment. We make it a point to check yard sales or tag sales for youth baseball gloves,etc as kids need to play and develop there group social skills.

So if you have the time and a little energy volunteer it to help someone who will probably never be able to go on a cruise.

Yes we are stong believers in compounding interest. In 1956 bought one share of stock and put in a "drip" program and forty five years latter went from the mid-south to Amsterdam to Singapore to Sidney and spent 21 days in Australia and returned the same route in business class seats based on compounding interest. Sold the stock at the right time before the collapse of part of the tele-communication field. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Everybody have a great Memorial Day weekend...if you know a veteran or an armed service individual thank him or her for serving our country. Without them we might not be .......

Bruton Branch
Paula and Bobby:)