« Announcing the Winner of “Poor Charlie’s Almanack” | Main | Dateline NBC Investigates Equity-Indexed Annuities »
Question(s) of the Day – Summer Vacation Plans
By JLP | April 15, 2008
Summer is just around the corner and lots of families will be taking a family vacation.
So, today’s quesitons of the day are:
Are you planning a family vacation?
Where are you planning to go?
Has the price of gas affected your plans?
We were planning a pretty nice family vacation but have put it on the back burner due to our recent plumbing problems that are expected to cost several thousand dollars to fix. So, we will probably take a trip to visit family and take a side trip to a theme park or something like that. But, it won’t be nearly as long or as expensive as spending a week in Branson, which would have set us back several thousand dollars. Although I don’t like paying higher gas prices, I can’t say that they would affect our plans (at least not yet).
Topics: Budgeting, Question of the Day | 19 Comments »
April 15th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Nothing affecting our plans here. We’re headed to NYC this summer. Of course, a good portion of that trip is going to be offset as a business expense
Plus we are going to be getting rooms at the Times Square Hilton for around 250 a night. The good rates and tax deductions will offset any increase in gas prices or airfare.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I’d really like to get some camping done this year and have more of a good backyard BBQ year than a traveling around the continent year.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:46 am
1. Yes, we are planning a vacation
2. We were thinking of a week in Chicago
3. No, it’s only 5 hours and we would probably take the train or a bus there anyway.
On another note… as a Missourian… how can you find a week worth of stuff to do in Branson!?
April 15th, 2008 at 11:41 am
We had planned to go to NYC in December, then decided the weather would be nicer this May. However we started to feel rushed about going that quickly — not being able to find affordable accommodations being the most pressing issue. We ended up delaying it a year.
We’re also just going to take a small trip with some friends. We didn’t cut back due to gas prices or anything, just that we had been saving up for the NYC trip and don’t have any funds earmarked for other trips.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:58 am
1. Yes.
2. Every year the extended family takes a week long camping trip.
3. Nope. The price of gas will certainly make it a bit more costly than past years, but camping is about the cheapest family vacation anyway. It’s also a great family bonding experience. I highly recommend it.
April 15th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
1. Yes we’re planning a vacation.
2. Hawaii and we’re leaving tomorrow
3. It won’t. We have a relative living there and she’s letting us borrow her car. Since we’re staying at her place (for free) we’ll have plenty of extra for gas for trips around the oahu, as well as filling up her tank before we leave.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Are you planning a family vacation? YES
Where are you planning to go? JAPAN
Has the price of gas affected your plans? YES, because the fuel charge has gone up significantly.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Yes.. planning a vacation to South Dakota (Mount Rushmore, Badlands, etc) with our children. We are driving (from Minnesota), so rising gas prices will be a cost issue.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I’m planning about the worst possible vacation, from a financial planning perspective.
I’ll be spending 2+ weeks in Europe (a few days in Paris, a few in Brussels, a week long cruise through Germany and Austria, then a few days in Lucerne, Switzerland).
My grandmother planned the trip; she wants to bring (and pay for) all her daughers and grandaughters to go with her on one potentially final vacation. However I’m going a week early to meet my college-aged sister who will already be out there studying abroad. I’ll have to finance a week in Europe (Paris and Brussels) on my own.
$10 cups of coffee, here I come.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
1. Yes, more like visiting family instead of vacation
2. Indonesia and Malaysia for a total of 3 weeks
3. No. It is out of my control and I am not too worried about it. It just means adjusting other expenses.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
1. Yes, we are going on a family vacation
2. Driving to Colorado for two weeks with our two young kids
3. No
April 15th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
1. Yes
2. Renting a house or condo on the beach somewhere
3. No, but the recent airline mess has convinced us that driving will be much less stress (and who needs stress just getting to a vacation?) so we’re looking within a reasonable day’s drive of home.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
1, Yes, rain, sleet, or snow we will go.
2,We will def. be renting a vacation home in Virgina Beach or AZ.
3, We usually rent gas frienly cars but we plan our trip budget to the penny. The vacation home allows us to eat in a few days so that savings can be allocated to the high cost of gas.
April 16th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Yes, we always take one with the kids and one without (kids are 16, 19 and 22). Kids week in FL staying at the beach and visiting family, an annual tradition. Alone is a week in a timeshare we “own” (so room is already paid), this year we will visit St. Maarten. Always wanted to go there, island is half Dutch/half French, and only 36 miles square! So gas might not be too much an issue as driving will not be very far. Florida driving will be more, as I am tacking on a week with just the 16 year old to visit colleges. Has to be done, so I’ll pay whatever needed for gas. Do hope to borrow a family car, but if not I’ll rent one.
Gotta have something to look forward to!
April 16th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
We are going on a cruise from Vancouver, BC, to Alaska, followed by a land tour including Fairbanks, Denali National Park, and Anchorage. We watched for a while, and then snapped up airline tickets the day a good price appeared. The price of gasoline wasn’t a factor in our plans.
April 16th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Yes, Hawaii for my daughter’s wedding. The cost of gas will be a very minor part of the total cost.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
We’re going to Hawaii in the fall, using our Delta frequent flyer miles that we’ve been saving for five years. It’s still going to be very expensive, but it’s almost fully funded by tax refunds and the gov’t $$ giveaway check we’re getting next month.
This is our long-planned ten-year anniversary, so we’re splurging this time!
April 17th, 2008 at 11:24 am
We have a wedding to attend this August. Otherwise we would absolutely be skipping a vacation this year, since we are trying hard to cut back on spending.
Actually, the cost of flying is the biggest issue for us this year. The flight is running about $400 per person ($1200 total, plus parking at home airport, possibly a rental car there). We are trying to figure out if the cost of driving (TX to PA) would be less. But then driving is not just about the cost of gas, but also the overnight stays, food, wear on the car, and the additional days required to make the drive.
So far we are undecided.
April 17th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
We are going to Disney World in May. It’s a large family trip – my family (2 adults, 2 kids), my two parents, and my sister’s family (2 adults, 1 infant). It’s a trip that was booked almost two years ago. We are driving (it’s 8 hours to get there) and it is cheaper than airfare for all of us. The high price of gas made us decide to drive two cars down instead of three (we’ll be packed tight, but hey – it’s family!).
Other than the park tickets we bought (at a discount through my father’s company), all six adults are combining expenses equally. We have two 2-bedroom timeshares that we are using and will be taking advantage of the full-size kitchens to eat MOST meals in the timeshare.
As for my immediate family, we are planning on using ONLY CASH during the trip – no credit cards. I’ve been saving up the money for a while and my family of four will have about $1900 in spending money for a 7-day vacation. I’m hoping to bring half of that back home with me.