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Posted on 8/23/25 at 10:22 am to makersmark1
I have worked over 40 years for experiences. My family taught me to be frugal. You can be frugal but have experiences that are impactful. It’s gives me memories of my rich life. Could be giving someone a helping hand. These experiences are priceless.
This post was edited on 8/23/25 at 10:25 am
Posted on 8/23/25 at 10:27 am to TheOcean
quote:
Lot of countries will offer financing to Americans. Really isnt that difficult. You just need someone you can trust in that country to guide you through the transaction
Is anything available in Tuscany?
Posted on 8/23/25 at 11:16 am to makersmark1
100%
My wife and I are “rich” but prices are outrageous, and I do not want to spend that money in hotels or flights. It is insane.
We started playing the credit card came for points. So we open like 5 cards per year, including business cards whenever we have a big spend. Pro tip: you dont need an LLC to open a business card. It isn’t illegal either, just there are fewer consumer protections on these cards. So do not do this if you cant easily pay them off
I am willing to bank points instead of cash back as my little travel bank. Experts can get business class tix to Europe for like 50k points each way. I am not an expert but it isnt hard to get regular tickets for that amount of points.
If you have Chase points you can transfer to airlines and hotels, but Hyatt in particular gives you some great options (I frequently find $600/night hotels for 15-20k points per night. They have better redemptions internationally than domestically). Amex recently is loosest with giving out points
My wife and I are “rich” but prices are outrageous, and I do not want to spend that money in hotels or flights. It is insane.
We started playing the credit card came for points. So we open like 5 cards per year, including business cards whenever we have a big spend. Pro tip: you dont need an LLC to open a business card. It isn’t illegal either, just there are fewer consumer protections on these cards. So do not do this if you cant easily pay them off
I am willing to bank points instead of cash back as my little travel bank. Experts can get business class tix to Europe for like 50k points each way. I am not an expert but it isnt hard to get regular tickets for that amount of points.
If you have Chase points you can transfer to airlines and hotels, but Hyatt in particular gives you some great options (I frequently find $600/night hotels for 15-20k points per night. They have better redemptions internationally than domestically). Amex recently is loosest with giving out points
This post was edited on 8/23/25 at 11:24 am
Posted on 8/24/25 at 6:45 am to Bestbank Tiger
Ask Mr. Ciccio.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 8:27 am to makersmark1
If you look at average and median net worth stats it would tell you that most people are consumers rather than savers.
Don’t worry about what others do.
Just because a person drives a G wagon doesn’t mean they have a large net worth.
Don’t worry about what others do.
Just because a person drives a G wagon doesn’t mean they have a large net worth.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 9:49 am to kaaj24
quote:
Just because a person drives a G wagon doesn’t mean they have a large net worth.
There are tons of people on this site that don't understand the difference between income and wealth.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 5:10 pm to StreamsOfWhiskey
quote:
I’m with you. We are high net worth individuals - at least top 2% for my young 52 years of life - but we don’t travel much at all due to the cost. We went to Patagonia last year with another couple we’re friends with and that trip ran me $20,000.
I know travel can be expensive and some folks have different tastes....but 20K is a high-end expensive trip everywhere. This is a partial list of 2024 travel me and my wife went on together that we spent less than $20,000 total including airfare and housing - 7 days in Mexico including Cancun, Tulum, Merida, 8 days on pacific coast of Costa Rica between 2 places, 4 days in Vegas for LSU-USC game, and 5 days in Bay Area including 2 days/nights in Napa.
We didn't travel cheap by the way, just smart.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 6:36 pm to NOLALGD
We haven’t spent $20k on a trip ever and have spent as much as three weeks abroad. The flights on points and miles certainly helps keep costs down.
Posted on 8/25/25 at 12:53 pm to makersmark1
Is it a small percentage of people traveling multiple times a month or is it that theres a larger percentage of people traveling in general? I think it’s probably a mixture of both.
Travel, particularly air travel, has become more accessible across economic class lines in recent decades. There are also more people than ever before who live in multiple states. A wide range of factors make these two things a reality.
Posted on 8/25/25 at 2:37 pm to VABuckeye
quote:
We haven’t spent $20k on a trip ever and have spent as much as three weeks abroad. The flights on points and miles certainly helps keep costs down.
We spent right at that for a nearly 3 week African Safari trip. Of course, this was a complete luxury style Safari and topped my bucket list. And out of all the trips in my life so far, this ranks at the top. I also used an AMEX 30% transfer to Avios and we flew RT in Qatar QSuites
For the nearly 5 weeks Antarctica Cruise plus Patagonia, we are spending closer to $30k
but again, this is bucket list stuff and you really will struggle to find a reasonable price on cruises there, especially with doing 18 days hitting the Falklands and S. Georgia plus the Peninsula. I don't see us spending that type of money again as these were the 2 most expensive ones and hard to do with miles/points, other than airfare.
This post was edited on 8/25/25 at 2:39 pm
Posted on 8/25/25 at 3:14 pm to TheOcean
quote:
I've probably spent $400 so far ten days in.
Well, you did buy a house there too. Isn't that part of the overall expense?
This post was edited on 8/25/25 at 3:15 pm
Posted on 8/25/25 at 4:34 pm to Sho Nuff
Last year I spent 32 days in Europe in March/April. Madrid, Seville, Granada, Normandy, Brussels, Berlin, and Prague. I spent about under $5500.
Stay in small hotels, don't eat at fancy restaurants, most food from grocery stores and small delis, drink little alcohol, and see lots of sites.
I spent hours and hours researching the best deals for rooms, travel (flights, trains), tourist attraction deals (I spend a lot of time in the history museums), itineraries, and I just walk and explore a lot.
Also, I did it solo, so I'm easy to please.
Stay in small hotels, don't eat at fancy restaurants, most food from grocery stores and small delis, drink little alcohol, and see lots of sites.
I spent hours and hours researching the best deals for rooms, travel (flights, trains), tourist attraction deals (I spend a lot of time in the history museums), itineraries, and I just walk and explore a lot.
Also, I did it solo, so I'm easy to please.
Posted on 8/25/25 at 5:10 pm to NOLALGD
Honestly, some of our most "exotic" trips have been the cheapest. When I see people spending a week on 30A, a week in Disney and a week on a ski trip regularly - I know they are rich or broke, because those are examples of expensive trips.
Here is a quick rundown of some trips over the past 4 years and the costs we spent on them:
17 Days between Budapest, Greece(Naxos/Crete) and Egypt for 2 adults and 2 children: 7K - Points used for some of the flights. Went all out with a house on the beach and private catamaran in Greece, but chose modest airbnbs in Budapest and Cairo.
5 Day ski trip in Beaver Creek for 2 adults and 2 children: 6K - No points used. (This was an expensive trip)
7 days between Tokyo and Kyoto for adults: $600 - Points used for all hotels and flights (Hyatts/Japan Airlines first class). Bullet train was the most expensive thing about this trip. Ate nice meals for lunch when the prices were less and market food or Ramen for dinners. Walked our asses off, to mainly free sites. Easily one of our favorite trips and can't wait to get back to Japan.
10 days between Tahoe and Yosemite for 2 adults, 2 children: Points for flights. Camped in Yosemite, rented an airbnb in Tahoe about 1/2 mile from the lake. Hiking was the main activity. 2.5K total.
6 days on Smith Lake for 4 adults and 4 children. 3.1K (Split the cost with other family, so our share was $1550) Drove, cooked all of our meals, rented a boat and airbnb. No points used. I prefer this to an expensive beach trip in the summer.
4 days in Isla Mujeres for 2 adults: 1.5K. No points used. Flew spirit, stayed at a small hotel, ate our hearts out at affordable restaurants.
This thanksgiving, we will be spending time in Florence and Chianti with our extended family. I don't have the overall total yet, but we booked our 4 flights w points (through Virgin, 30k points RT PP in economy). We have 2 airbnbs in the heart of Florence that cost 5K total for 22 persons and a Villa in Chianti that cost 4K total for 22 persons (which includes a 4 course dinner and 1 breakfast cooked by the chef) All look amazing and the total lodging per person for 8 nights comes to $51 pp per day.
Here is a quick rundown of some trips over the past 4 years and the costs we spent on them:
17 Days between Budapest, Greece(Naxos/Crete) and Egypt for 2 adults and 2 children: 7K - Points used for some of the flights. Went all out with a house on the beach and private catamaran in Greece, but chose modest airbnbs in Budapest and Cairo.
5 Day ski trip in Beaver Creek for 2 adults and 2 children: 6K - No points used. (This was an expensive trip)
7 days between Tokyo and Kyoto for adults: $600 - Points used for all hotels and flights (Hyatts/Japan Airlines first class). Bullet train was the most expensive thing about this trip. Ate nice meals for lunch when the prices were less and market food or Ramen for dinners. Walked our asses off, to mainly free sites. Easily one of our favorite trips and can't wait to get back to Japan.
10 days between Tahoe and Yosemite for 2 adults, 2 children: Points for flights. Camped in Yosemite, rented an airbnb in Tahoe about 1/2 mile from the lake. Hiking was the main activity. 2.5K total.
6 days on Smith Lake for 4 adults and 4 children. 3.1K (Split the cost with other family, so our share was $1550) Drove, cooked all of our meals, rented a boat and airbnb. No points used. I prefer this to an expensive beach trip in the summer.
4 days in Isla Mujeres for 2 adults: 1.5K. No points used. Flew spirit, stayed at a small hotel, ate our hearts out at affordable restaurants.
This thanksgiving, we will be spending time in Florence and Chianti with our extended family. I don't have the overall total yet, but we booked our 4 flights w points (through Virgin, 30k points RT PP in economy). We have 2 airbnbs in the heart of Florence that cost 5K total for 22 persons and a Villa in Chianti that cost 4K total for 22 persons (which includes a 4 course dinner and 1 breakfast cooked by the chef) All look amazing and the total lodging per person for 8 nights comes to $51 pp per day.
Posted on 8/25/25 at 7:17 pm to Volt
quote:
Last year I spent 32 days in Europe in March/April. Madrid, Seville, Granada, Normandy, Brussels, Berlin, and Prague. I spent about under $5500.
Stay in small hotels, don't eat at fancy restaurants, most food from grocery stores and small delis, drink little alcohol, and see lots of sites.
I spent hours and hours researching the best deals for rooms, travel (flights, trains), tourist attraction deals (I spend a lot of time in the history museums), itineraries, and I just walk and explore a lot.
Also, I did it solo, so I'm easy to please.
In 2019 the wife and I went to Rome for a week (the week before Thanksgiving). The B&B we stayed in was about a half-dozen blocks from the Vatican but cost us only ~$250 for the entire week.
Our favorite tour was the one that went beneath the Vatican (scheduled through the Ufficio Scavi). They groups are small but the price was only $30/person and ends by taking you up into the Basilica through the tunnels (coming in the "back way" sort of, and avoiding have to wait in the line to get in).
There are some really great finds out there, people just have to take the time to look.
Posted on 8/25/25 at 11:53 pm to Volt
quote:to each his own, but one of the things I look forward to on vacations is eating having great meals and drinks at fantastic restaurants.
Stay in small hotels, don't eat at fancy restaurants, most food from grocery stores and small delis, drink little alcohol
I’d rather 5 days of splurging than 15 days of penny pinching.
Posted on 8/26/25 at 7:19 am to NOLALGD
Getting to Patagonia is not cheap. We travelled economy to Punta Arenas and had a layover in Santiago. We did stay in an eco-camp in Patagonia which was really nice. We had our own personal hut with a shower and woodburning stove which added significantly to the cost, but it was worth it. I'll open up the wallet to spend, but I do it very infrequently. I'd love to go to New Zealand next, but that won't be for several more years.
Posted on 8/26/25 at 8:58 am to VABuckeye
I'm not trying to be a prick, but your experience is not relevant at all. You receive CC points on over $1mm/year through your business. Of course your travel costs are lower than most.
Given your activity on the travel board, I bet you spend more than almost anyone here on vacation in a year.
Given your activity on the travel board, I bet you spend more than almost anyone here on vacation in a year.
Posted on 8/26/25 at 9:43 am to makersmark1
Get off Facebook.
This post was edited on 8/26/25 at 9:44 am
Posted on 8/26/25 at 10:31 am to CheesyF
quote:
CheesyF
I participate on the travel board for a couple of reasons. There are certain countries and regions where I have traveled a fair amount. I like to offer input and assistance to those looking to travel to those areas. I also participate because the travel board is generally a friendlier crowd that some of the boards on this site.
As to spending, you are dead wrong. I always set budgets for accommodations and food when we travel. Then I choose hotels and restaurants that fit within that budget. My wife and I are empty nesters so yeah, we probably eat at better places than a family of four would. We also tend to only do one big trip a year.
Flights? We are very fortunate that we can use miles for flights. I will offer a correction to you. I sold the business two years ago so we no longer run huge amounts through Amex. I was just able to accumulate a bank of points that aren't infinite but I am still able to tap into,
This post was edited on 8/26/25 at 10:32 am
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