Shane, Depends on how much you drink...maybe you could make two trips/year

I love this thread!

My inlaws always complain to us that they cannot afford a big vacation, yet they eat dinner out at least 5-6 nights a week. Helllloooooo???

My DH has always taken his lunch to work with him, but the last few months he was going out with coworkers. That ended promptly as soon as I showed him what it was costing. We also drive cars til they die, and lattes are only occassionally.

Besides saving for vacations, I like to teach the kids to sort of wait, and earn the things they want instead of just giving it to them. Guess it all just boils down to lifestyles.

I taught my kids this lesson.

Buy a new car. Drive it out of the showroom. Look at your hand.

You have just thrown away your $6000 to 7000 diamond ring out the automatic window.

They all have done better than I have and only 1 buys new cars, and he can afford to throw diamond rings away. I can't.

I guess it all comes down to what is important to you.

What is important to me may seem stupid to my family and friends and vice versa.

My sister in law buys these stupidly expensive dogs and can barely pay her mortgage but the little things make her happy.

Can you really put a price on happy?

Speaking of diamonds--the most worthless waste of money ever. What a racket--hugely inflated prices!(just try to ever get a retail price back on that stone you bought as an investment!)
And I stand by what I said about $1000+ handbag--there's not one on the planet that's worth that price. But I didn't critique the choice, I was simply bemused...

Shane, you don't have to stoop to Boone's farm, but you can certainly visit Trader Joe's every once in a while and pick up some Two Buck Chuck at a fifth of the price of a $10 bottle of wine (and many of my friends cringe at the idea of paying as little as $10 for any bottle of wine!). I suppose we must each obey our own palates, but the dollars add up (depending on how much you drink, of course). Also, the downside of less expensive wines is that they justify opening another bottle.

I agree with Gotravel...can you put a price on happy? 2 packs a day; a couple of Starbucks; a cute doggie; or a European vacation - each is SOMEONE's version of happy.

Maybe FainaAgain's neighbor's happy is staying at home & relaxing. Not everyone has a wanderlust.

Speaking of wine... I shop at "Bargain Bank". Great selection of French, Italian, Australian, and of course Californian wines. Who knew about imported Greek wines? And I don't think I ever had to pay over $6.99!

This is a liquidation store in San Francisco.

I believe that many people who say they "can't afford" to travel simply do not want to. No money is a good excuse when you'd just as soon stay home and vacation in your own back yard.

I know it may be hard for dedicated travelers to understand but many people would rather stay home (or close to it) and don't consider international travel the fun, or worth the expense, that most of us do.

Just look at the statistic about percentage of the American population even in possession of passports. I'll give you a hint... it's not very many!

My current favorite way to save money for a vacation is to go on vacation and let yourself get bumped from an overbooked flight. It just happened to me, and now I've got my next vacation's airfare paid for. And what a tragedy to have to spend an extra day in Alaska with our hotel and meals paid for by the airline! Since getting bumped, I have heard of several people who do this whenever possible and leverage one vacation into two, three, or four. (But keep a change of clothes in your carry-on.)

Along the same lines as what the brown baggers said above, the other way I save money for vacation is to save money on vacation. When my family travels we try to stay at B&Bs or in hotel rooms with kitchenettes or at least minifridges, so we can minimize restaurant expense as well as the overeating that comes with it. To me, nothing tastes better than dinner's leftovers for lunch the next day! And why spend more for a night in a hotel than I spent on my first car? Most of the time a clean, comfortable room is fine by me. I'm out exploring most of the day and sleeping most of the night anyway. I have a friend who has gotten so used to top hotels from her business travel that she feels she has to stay at them on vacation, too. But guess which of us has saved for retirement? So, more power to all you ants out there.

By the way, anyone got a suggestion of where my family should go with our $600 travel vouchers?

Lucky you. I too love to get "bumped" for a free trip. Where are you leaving from? With $600-that might affect where you go.

Agree with you suze, most just don't want to travel.

And if they are happy with their choices of purchase, why then do the "denigrade and compare" when I go on a trip.

Are you flying AGAIN? Wow, I wish I was rich! All in the same breathe.

And the shopping thing does NOT make them happy. It gives them a high for about 2 to 24 hours and then drops them into a valley. Two days later they need another "me" buy fix. You can chart it clinicly. The shoes and purses is a sickness.

Sorry for the poor spelling and typos, I had to leave the computer quickly.

Denigrate myself and clinically.

The bumping idea is great, but unfortunately it seems to get harder to get bumped. I almost always check in and ask if they are looking for volunteers, but have been hearing the word no lately

What's up w/that?! We only have $400 ($200ea.) in Delta dollars racked up right now. We need one more bump so we can combine credits and jet off to Europe! Here's to dreaming!

We're in New Jersey but can fly out of Newark, Philly, or a New York airport. I have a feeling that daydreaming about where to go with our vouchers will be nearly as fun as the trip.