Vacation Planning

By | May 26, 2017

So, I’m sitting here on a train for the next 4 hours on my vacation and thought I’d write a post about vacation planning. This is more of a rant than anything, so I understand if don’t want to continue reading. But, clearly, I didn’t think this through thoroughly enough. I should have done a better job of planning my vacation. So, this is what I did, and what you probably shouldn’t do when planning your trip.

Well, I paid for most of the costs of the trip up front. My plane tickets, train tickets, and hotels were all booked and paid for a head of time. So, I thought I was good on the financial standing for this trip.  Well, it turns out that my vacation is more expensive than I thought. And part of the reason why has to do with the fact that I didn’t want to share a hotel room at the last minute and I failed to capture the full transportation costs of the trip. So, things like taxis, Uber rides, etc. Moreover, I didn’t bring enough money with me. So, I keep having to use my credit card. I’m afraid to do my budget because it’s just going to tell me that I don’t have enough money in my account to spend.  Grrrrrr.  So now, I am contemplating transferring funds from my Qapital account so I can stop the bleeding of using the credit cards.

The good news is that I should be back to break even in another paycheck or two. Also, I had about $200 in my Qapital account dedicated towards a trip to another location. Well, since I went to that destination already and didn’t use that money, I can freely attribute that $200 to this current vacation.

Finally, for reasons I don’t care to mention, there is a fair chance I may leave this vacation in the black instead of in the red. So, fingers crossed!!!

Conclusion

If you did stick around up to now, thank you for reading this rant. My main point to you is that if you’re going to take a vacation, try your best to plan for all the known expenses. Sure, things will come up that you didn’t expect. But there’s no reason for me to utterly ignore such readily anticipated costs like taxies and Uber rides. Engage in vacation planning carefully and you will avoid the pitfalls I fell into.

4 thoughts on “Vacation Planning

  1. Stockles

    Man, I can really see where this is coming from. I used to do the same. Heck, I travelled for one whole year. I also started out being crazy about the financial plan. Should I really get another beer? another pizza? can I go see this touristic thing, or should I just stay on the beach and save money?

    After a while I started understanding the consept of financial planning. It´s more a guideline than a strict budget. Of course, it isn´t favourable to use your credit card, but when you know that your going to pay that asap, it isn´t so much off a deal anyways.

    Think smart, buy what gives you happiness and use this vacation for what it is, namely relaxing, getting away from the daily stress and increases happiness. That´s why you have money!

    Take care and enjoy!

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Yea, it’s sometimes hard to enjoy life with money. Makes you almost feel guilty after hearing all the lessons about living frugally, etc. I can probably hear Dave Ramsey in the back of my mind saying you should live like no one else so that later on in life you can live like no one else. Oh well. I’ve definitely lost that battle with this vacation. And based on how my mind, feelings, and mood works, I’m going to spend my way through it. I’ve already transferred that $200 that I was talking about and more. I’m still trying to limit the damage, but this will be a costly vacation. Still having fun though!

      Reply
  2. Dividend Daze

    There are always unintended costs to vacations you don’t account for. One for me is food and drink. Usually people on vacation tend to go out every night for dinner instead of buying and making food themselves. That adds up fast. Or shopping and souvenirs could add up as well. You don’t know what you are going to buy if anything before you get there. But if something jumps out and catches your eye there goes more money. I don’t mind using credit cards, actually prefer it, for situations like this. I get cash back and it is easy to check my balance on the go so I can reallocate my spending throughout the trip. But its a vacation, enjoy yourself and have fun most of all. You will make the money back if you are smart about it.

    Reply
    1. Dividend Portfolio Post author

      Yea, I’ve given up trying to spend responsibly on this trip. I’ve probably spent more money having fun than the total costs of the airline tickets, train tickets, etc. Uber has gotten a lot of my business and so have been the bars. Still have a few more days to go!!! Thanks for the comment Div Daze

      Reply

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