# Jealous of everyone's travels



## Uscjusto (Dec 1, 2015)

I'm looking at everyone's past travels and future travel plans and I get so jealous.

Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?

I'm married, in my 30's, work full time, have a toddler and one on the way.  My future travel plans have definitely taken a back seat for now.  
We just got back from a weeklong vacation in NYC and that was so exhausting with a toddler.  

It's hard for us to even use 2200 HGVC points a year now.  *sigh*


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## Passepartout (Dec 1, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> I'm married, in my 30's, work full time, have a toddler and one on the way.
> 
> It's hard for us to even use 2200 HGVC points a year now.  *sigh*



You will. For now though, you have the more important things to do that life brings. When I was in my 30's I had job and family obligations too. But having a savings habit makes the travel and eventual retirement (and time) possible.

We're pushing 70 (OMG!) take 4-5 two-to-three week trips and a couple of cruises a year, and have done so for 20+ years. Now we have a 2nd home to throw into the mix.

Jim


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## presley (Dec 1, 2015)

Self employed and kids are adults now.
I would have loved a single timeshare when my kids were little, but didn't have the money for vacations and we could never afford to take a full week off since we don't get paid if we don't work.

It is easier now, but still difficult at times. We still don't have a lot of time, but points systems like HGVC are easy to take weekend trips. 

Do you have any drive to locations that would be easier to visit with a toddler? S/he may get used to going to the same place year after year and it could become a lot easier.


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## Jason245 (Dec 1, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> I'm looking at everyone's past travels and future travel plans and I get so jealous.
> 
> Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?
> 
> ...


Very similar circumstances to you. .the difference being that we refuse to put our travel on the back burner.  We just changed it to weekend trips.. partial weeks and vacations within driving distance. . Of course living in south florida helps..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk


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## DeniseM (Dec 1, 2015)

When our kids were little, we did kid type vacations - things like camping, beach vacations, and Disneyland.  We didn't do fly-to vacations, and more elaborate agendas until they were older.  

I think vacations are easier on everyone, when you choose a vacation that is manageable with a toddler.  NYC probably doesn't fit in that category.


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## Uscjusto (Dec 1, 2015)

presley said:


> Self employed and kids are adults now.
> I would have loved a single timeshare when my kids were little, but didn't have the money for vacations and we could never afford to take a full week off since we don't get paid if we don't work.
> 
> It is easier now, but still difficult at times. We still don't have a lot of time, but points systems like HGVC are easy to take weekend trips.
> ...



We still fit in weekend trips to SF and Tahoe because they are close.  Carlsbad is the closest HGVC within driving distance (10 hours) so that's not too bad.  The weeklong vacations I see others take to exotic and faraway places are probably out of reach for at least 10 years.

But vacationing is still a priority.  Our toddler has gone to Hawaii, Vegas, Carlsbad, NYC, Texas, and all throughout CA.  I just figure with a newborn on the way, it's going to be MUCH harder (and expensive) than just having one child.


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## Uscjusto (Dec 1, 2015)

DeniseM said:


> When our kids were little, we did kid type vacations - things like camping, beach vacations, and Disneyland.  We didn't do fly-to vacations, and more elaborate agendas until they were older.
> 
> I think vacations are easier on everyone, when you choose a vacation that is manageable with a toddler.  NYC probably doesn't fit in that category.



NYC wasn't a planned vacation.  My wife had to go there for work, so we all tagged along.  We made the best out of it and had a great time.  It was just very exhausting and I felt like I needed a vacation after this vacation!

BTW, Central Park was a great place for our 2 year old.  It's just the other parts of NYC that were so hectic, dangerous, and exhausting.


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## David M (Dec 1, 2015)

56 & 64
Dual income
No kids ... (I would normally say "just cats", but our last fur baby passed away mid-Nov)
We each gets 5 weeks paid vacation per year
5100 points just wasn't enough, so we bought another 4800


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## VegasBella (Dec 1, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?


We are in our late 30s. We are very fortunate. My husband and I both have very flexible schedules and we can work from various locations. We earn plenty and we live modestly (very small home, cars are paid off etc.). Our son is in Kindergarten this year so we have felt fine taking him out of preschool as much as we wanted. Going forward we decided to take him out of school one week per year to take advantage of some off season vacation deals or special events. We don't pretend to be average or normal. 

That said, our total investment in timeshare ownership has only been about $6500. Our annual fees (MF and taxes) on our ownerships are about $2k and that gets us 2-3 weeks of California beach Summer vacations (one ownership is EOY). We chose to buy only weeks that were easy for us to use in case our situation changed. And we bought high demand timeshare weeks that we felt were fairly easy to rent or resell if our situation demanded it.

It's the same strategy we have for the rest of our lives. Our fixed financial obligations are very low; most of our spending is discretionary. For example, our mortgage is so tiny that we could easily go a year without income and still pay it just from savings. We could easily just cancel our housekeeper, landscaper, luxury gym membership, private school tuition, etc... our base costs are very low. Even our home is an easy seller - statistically, we'll have a lot less trouble finding a buyer should we ever need to than most of our friends who own large luxury homes. We live in Vegas and we gamble (all of life is a gamble) but we take smart risks that generally pay off.

Additionally, we are very modern. Sometimes my husband and I vacation separately. Since good pet sitting is a pretty big vacation expense, sometimes we divvy things up and one stays home while the other takes the kiddo on a trip. We've actually been doing that since before we had a child. It's just something we do that happens to make timesharing less risky.


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## MichaelColey (Dec 1, 2015)

We're in our mid-40s, but it takes quite a bit of sacrifice to vacation as much as we do.  We homeschool our kids, so we're not tied to a school schedule.  My wife and I are self-employeed, and we almost always bring work with us when we travel.  We funnel all of our expenses that we can through credit cards, to earn the miles and points that cover airfare for many of our trips.  We have no pets.  Our kids aren't involved in a lot of outside activities, and they actively help with our businesses.

Because of all of that, we are typically able to "vacation" (but taking work with us) 8-12 weeks a year, including some incredible trips to Hawaii, Europe, Disney, cruises, etc.


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## Tank (Dec 1, 2015)

One day at a time, don't wish the time away.
 Enjoy the moment, it will be over before you know it.
 Blink and you will be where I am asking myself, where the heck did all the time go!
54


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## bnoble (Dec 1, 2015)

We went through phases.  When our kids were the same age as yours, it was a big deal to spend a few nights in Toledo, an hour south of here, visiting the (quite nice) zoo and science museum.

Once we were firmly into pre-school, vacations were easier, and we averaged about three weeks/year without missing any school time.

Once they got into high school, it got harder again because of sports and other outside activities don't always line up. We're down to one "family" trip a year, and take two other trips that might be mom + one kid for a week, and dad + the other kid a different week.

In another 2.5 years, they will both be in college, and we will have more time, but less money.


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## Cyberc (Dec 1, 2015)

Late 30'es. 
7 weeks paid vacations per year. 
We are a family of yours, mine and our children. A total of 3 kids, aged 4,10,10 We normally travel 3-4 times pr year, have done so for the past 8'years. 

Normally 3 vacations with our kids and 1 vacation for my DW and I only. 

We don't do weekends stays we travel a minimum of 1 week gladly more. 

Traveling is a priority for us, we both have descents jobs and are able to put money aside for traveling. 

regards


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## cgingrich (Dec 1, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> I'm looking at everyone's past travels and future travel plans and I get so jealous.
> 
> Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?
> 
> ...



With a toddler you'll enjoy Hawaii and Orlando trips for now.


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## epcmart (Dec 1, 2015)

David M said:


> 56 & 64
> Dual income
> No kids ... (I would normally say "just cats", but our last fur baby passed away mid-Nov)
> We each gets 5 weeks paid vacation per year
> 5100 points just wasn't enough, so we bought another 4800



is 5wks vacation common in Canada?


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## Sugarcubesea (Dec 1, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> I'm looking at everyone's past travels and future travel plans and I get so jealous.
> 
> Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?
> 
> ...




We rarely traveled until this past year as all of the kids are now adults and as we are in our 50"s we have jobs that gives us 4 weeks of vacation a year…your time will come


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## LynnW (Dec 1, 2015)

epcmart said:


> is 5wks vacation common in Canada?



Once you have been with a company for sometime 5 or 6 weeks is common. Most places in Canada now give you 3 weeks when you start.

Lynn


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## dsmrp (Dec 1, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> I'm looking at everyone's past travels and future travel plans and I get so jealous.
> 
> Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?
> 
> ...



We're in our late 50's, kids grown, but still helping with some support   We didn't start owning timeshares until about 10 years ago, when FIL wanted to unload   Our parents lived 2500 miles in opposite directions, so we were usually flying to see either side. FIL helped by getting TS reservations for his extended family.   It helped a lot that both sets of parents lived in nice beach areas (Hawaii & Cape Cod).  We also took lots of driving trips: camping, long weekends to various areas around our state and neighboring Canada.

Your children are in their most time-consuming years now.  It will get easier to travel when they're school aged, but then you'll be tied to school schedule. Maybe you could invite one set of parents at a time to take short trips with you??

Even tho' it doesn't feel like it now, time will go by before you know it.
Enjoy your time with your children while they're young.  You'll have time in later years to take those faraway vacations, but you can't get back your children's early years for all the points in the world.


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## Tamaradarann (Dec 1, 2015)

*There is a season turn turn turn*



Uscjusto said:


> I'm looking at everyone's past travels and future travel plans and I get so jealous.
> 
> Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?
> 
> ...



There was a song about 50 years ago by the Birds that had the words "There is a season turn turn turn"  There is a season for partying and playing, there is a season for bring up children, and there is a season when you are retired and can vacation a lot.  You are in the season for bringing up children.  You will have other seasons in your life.


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## GregT (Dec 2, 2015)

There is alot of wisdom in this thread   As always, TUGgers impress me with their knowledge and perspective.

I am 48, wife is 42, three kids (15/13/10).  We travel as much as we can, and I am heavily influenced by my sweet mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimers at 62.   I learned many things from my Mom, the last thing she taught me was to not assume tomorrow.     And so we travel, both as a family and as a couple -- often and to beautiful places.

I also want to travel while my kids still want to join us -- that phase is passing too, but the new phase has its advantages.   I can't believe my kids are 15/13/10.  Just last yearponder, they were 6/4/1.  Where did the time go?

Best,

Greg


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## alexadeparis (Dec 2, 2015)

Tamaradarann said:


> There was a song about 50 years ago by the Birds that had the words "There is a season turn turn turn"  There is a season for partying and playing, there is a season for bring up children, and there is a season when you are retired and can vacation a lot.  You are in the season for bringing up children.  You will have other seasons in your life.



This is a bible verse: Ecclesiastes Chapter 3

Anyway, I am 40s, hubby 60's, daughter 21. He has about 5 weeks vacation and I am self employed. We try to have our daughter and her boyfriend, and our nephew and his girlfriend, come with us on vacation about half the time, the other half of our vacations  are "couple" trips. There are times when we do less vacations in a year or drive to locations because of money or time constraints, but we aim for three to four trips. If you don't make the plans and have them to look forward to, you will never make it a priority in your life. I know if I have a big trip looming, I am less likely to spend money on dumb stuff.


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## frank808 (Dec 2, 2015)

Wife and I are just shy of 45 and son that is 10 years old.  We try to travel to the mainland US 2 to 3 times a year.  Figured we have to do this now as they grow old to fast. It seems like it was just last year when we went to Disneyland for the first time when he was 4.  My goodness time flies so fast. 

Wife gets 6 weeks paid vacation a year plus is allowed to take another 6 weeks unpaid leave and I am self employed.  

Had my best friend of 30 years pass away 4 years ago suddenly and decided that life is to short.  So we make the most of our trips.  Since we have to fly at least 5 hours to the US, our trips are a minimum of 2 weeks.  Plus we tend to do a lot of staycations here.  

Timesharing started out as a way to stay in bigger rooms with kitchens and laundry facilities for less than a hotel room.  Now I have become a timeshare addict!  In all seriousness timesharing has allowed me to have beautiful memories of our travels.

To the op don't worry as we were in the same boat as you at that age.  With time you will be having wonderful memories of your awesome vacations.  No need to rush anything as it will come soon enough.


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## Tamaradarann (Dec 2, 2015)

*Vacations when Childrearing*

We also vacationed when the kids were growing up in that season of life.  However, it was driving trips for a week or less to Upstate NY, Canada, Amish County, Gettysburg, Williamsburg Va, Washington DC, Maine, Boston etc. since it was less expensive to drive.  Flying with 4 people and then renting a car is much more expensive than not flying and having your own car.

My husband and I can now can afford to vacation for about 120 days a year on flying vacations to Florida, Las Vegas, California, Hawaii.  We are able to fully take advantage of all of our timeshares and open season benefits in this season of our lives.


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## Joe33426 (Dec 2, 2015)

GregT said:


> We travel as much as we can, and I am heavily influenced by my sweet mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimers at 62.   I learned many things from my Mom, the last thing she taught me was to not assume tomorrow.     And so we travel, both as a family and as a couple -- often and to beautiful places.



I can't agree with this more.  We're in our mid 40s with no kids and our last pet died 4 years ago and we're not getting any new pets.  The pet issue really restricted our travel.  Now, we're constantly on the road or in the air.  About 10 weeks in timeshares.  You never know what the future may hold and if travel in later life is going to be feasible.  Travel *isn't* feasible for my folks....

The best thing about timeshares for us is that I'm much more focused on we're we are going next and planning vacations far in advance.


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## Helios (Dec 2, 2015)

40 and wife is 39.  Kids are 13 and 9 (and an afghan hound) with exhausting academic and competitive sports activities.  I own a consulting company w/o vacation (work follows me) and wife works for large company with 5 weeks vaca.

Kids started traveling outside the US as infants and loved it.  We manage 4 vacation weeks per year throughout North America, Caribean, and Hawaii.  In 2016 we will expand travel range to South America and probably Europe.  South Pacific and Asia to come 2017. It takes an extraordinary amount of planing but it can be done.

We rent our surplus VOIs an get a very large amount of hotel points/airline miles from business and personal cc expenses.  MF are not pleasant in January, but I guess that is self inflicted pain.


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## David M (Dec 2, 2015)

epcmart said:


> is 5wks vacation common in Canada?


It depends on the company.  In my case, I started with 2 weeks, then one more week was added after each five years of service.


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## epcmart (Dec 2, 2015)

David M said:


> It depends on the company.  In my case, I started with 2 weeks, then one more week was added after each five years of service.




Thanks, I work for a large corporation and have been for 10yrs. Ours caps out at 4wks max after 10yrs. of service. 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SMHarman (Dec 2, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> NYC wasn't a planned vacation.  My wife had to go there for work, so we all tagged along.  We made the best out of it and had a great time.  It was just very exhausting and I felt like I needed a vacation after this vacation!
> 
> BTW, Central Park was a great place for our 2 year old.  It's just the other parts of NYC that were so hectic, dangerous, and exhausting.


As a resident of the UWS I will disagree. There are so many parks and fun spaces for kids in nyc.

The challenge with travelling with a 2yo is the same anywhere. They like schedule and travel tends to mess with that.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Dec 2, 2015)

I am 53 and my wife is 50.. Our son is 23.

We bought our first timeshare while our son was in college.  We have done a few trips with my son and Fiance to HGVC resorts, but right not they prefer different vacation destinations from us..  I like the laid back feel of the Big Island, or someplace where i can just chill..  My son and Fiance prefer big cities, which is not a great match for HGVC..

As for  time off, my wife works in small medical office and most of her time off is unpaid..    I work for a major software company, they implemented "unlimited time off"  basically if you can get your work done, and manager approves it, you can take off as much time as you like... in reality, i think i take less time off now than when we had a specific bank of time to use up each year...  but i think that was the plan all along...


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## Jodi0415 (Dec 2, 2015)

Husband and I are 45 and 48 (I'm the older one haha). Kids are 6 and 11. We resumed traveling when our first child was 12-24 months. We waited until our son was 3 before we started traveling again via airplane. But took many trips by car! Travel has always been a priority! 

We each get about 7 weeks a year of paid vacation and we travel with and without the kids each year! We have 5 trips planned next year!! Making great use of our new timeshares and the Diamond sampler package (very glad we didn't buy the Diamond timeshare!!)

We took our oldest to New York at 3 and had a great time! Our son went to Europe at 4!!

We just started the practice of cashing out some our vacay time to pay for accommodations (now maintenance fees)  and use airline points for airfare.

Vacationing is my absolute favorite pastime! And now that we discovered Tug we do it in style and at a serious discount!!


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## slip (Dec 2, 2015)

My company gives vacation in days. I've been there 32 years and I get 28
Days vacation plus 6 holidays. My wife works at a daycare in a hospital and gets
A day or two less than me. She's been there 15 years. I'm 52 and DW is 56,
DD is 34 and DS is 26.

When our two kids were young we didn't have the money for traveling. We only 
Went away from home for vacation about 5 times when they were young and to
Only driving locations. 

They have been out of the house about 7 years now and we vacation with them
Much more as adults. They both have pretty good disposable incomes. We've 
Been to Hawaii, Vegas and Florida all as adults. This really makes the timeshares
Great. 

We'll all be in the Bahamas in May for my daughters wedding.


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## Finntastic (Dec 2, 2015)

We are 45/50 with three kids. 10,17,19. Very little travel time. In the marriott system. Doing one week in march. We love summer where we live so we do not travel much in summer.  Hope to make much more use of time share in about 10 yrs.


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## SMHarman (Dec 2, 2015)

1Kflyerguy said:


> I am 53 and my wife is 50.. Our son is 23.
> 
> We bought our first timeshare while our son was in college.  We have done a few trips with my son and Fiance to HGVC resorts, but right not they prefer different vacation destinations from us..  I like the laid back feel of the Big Island, or someplace where i can just chill..  My son and Fiance prefer big cities, which is not a great match for HGVC..
> 
> As for  time off, my wife works in small medical office and most of her time off is unpaid..    I work for a major software company, they implemented "unlimited time off"  basically if you can get your work done, and manager approves it, you can take off as much time as you like... in reality, i think i take less time off now than when we had a specific bank of time to use up each year...  but i think that was the plan all along...


That is the plan. And it removes the intakes vacation liability from the balance sheet and need to pay you out when you leave. 

Track that time off in a spreadsheet so your boss can see you take the same as before and lead by example.


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## Tamaradarann (Dec 2, 2015)

*This Thread is titled "Jealous of everyone's travel plans"*

I have read many of the comments and I agree with just about all of them.  I love to travel and I believe that traveling all over with kids is great if you have the time and the money to do it and can adapt to the needs of children in traveling.  However, many people don't get the vacation time or don't have money to travel or travel by air with their kids.  When one hears about others traveling extensively it may invoke ones jealousy.  However, I tried to pacify and ease that jealousy with the comment about the "The there is a season for bringing up children and a season for traveling extensively.  Young people with children sometimes can't afford or can't the time off to travel extensively.  They need to focus on the time to bring up children.  There will be a time when the children are grown and they have lots of time off to travel and hopefully the money to do so.


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## PassionForTravel (Dec 3, 2015)

I'm 57 and spousal equivalent (SE) is 64. Travel has always been a priority for me and SE (but not for ex wife, I learned from my earlier mistake). Son is 30 and grand kids are 4, 2, 1. SE son is 26.

When we were your age and my son was younger our trips (2 weeks a year) were to visit family and when we wanted to get away my mother in law was thrilled to get a free ticket CA (especially in winter) to  take care our son while we went to Hawaii.  As a family we also did a lot of cruises because of their excellent kids programs.

Didn't start TS until met SE. Then discovered resale. I'm self employed and I take an average of 6 weeks a year (that's the reason I don't get a real job). SE is a teacher and we are tied to school schedule. But we are gone whenever she has long weekends, and Worldmark works great for those trips. We also love Hawaii so that's at least once and year. Then we have a bit of an addiction to the FF game so we go to Europe in Business class about every other year, in the off year it's a road trip.

We are just starting to travel with the grand kids so are learning about limitations all over again. We just had a great 4 generation trip to Palm desert for Thanksgiving. Two 2 bd units was wonderful.

Ian


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## pedro47 (Dec 3, 2015)

Uscjusto said:


> I'm looking at everyone's past travels and future travel plans and I get so jealous.
> 
> Just curious, how old is everyone and how do they get to take so much vacation time to travel?
> 
> ...



Just wait and one day you will be in your fifty's and you will have no kids to travel with. You will be taken back to back weeks vacation. Enjoy your time with your little ones now before they leave the home nest.


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## brp (Dec 4, 2015)

We're 

Both 55
Still working
No kids
23-25 days of vacation per year

We take a bunch of short trips. Weekends, long weekends. As an example, going to Europe, from California, is typically a Thursday->Monday thing.

We have timeshares at W. 57th, Vegas (Flamingo) that we also use at Bay Club and Disney. This provides lodging for many of our trips.

We shoot for American Airlines top status (Executive Platinum) each year, and that requires about 100K miles of flying.

Cheers.


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## DaveNV (Dec 4, 2015)

When my kids were small, it was family camping trips here and there, now and then.  Driving trips to visit family for holidays and such. I didn't buy my first timeshare till my kids were adults, and long out of the house.  I found I liked taking better vacations as I got to be a bit more mature.  And I only bought when I realized how much easier it was to stay in a timeshare than a hotel or a tent. It's mainly the two of us who travel now, occasionally sharing a timeshare with my brother and his wife, probably because we have similar economic options.  Most often, we're traveling alone.

And I really like it that way.  My vacation time is very precious to me, and is jealously guarded. I save my vacation time so I can use it to go someplace nice and enjoyable. Coworkers who complain that I'm "always traveling someplace" are the ones who take their vacation time a day or two at a time, and then complain they can't afford to go anywhere.

We generally take two, two-week trips a year. I like late Spring and early Fall for travel. That gives us our amazing Pacific Northwest Summers at home, and we're here all Winter due to my spouse's holiday work schedule.  it's not a perfect life, but it works well for us.

If I may offer a tidbit of advice:  Don't worry so much about where you go with your kids.  They'll have better memories that you were present as parents, who were invested in their lives, than they will because you took them on a trip someplace.  You only have 18 years or so before they'll be off on their own life adventures.  Value the time, value your children, and make your own memories with them as people. The rest will take care of itself.  You only get one chance to raise them right. Enjoy the ride.

Dave


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## Tamaradarann (Dec 5, 2015)

*Time for Bringing up Kids and Time for Partying*

I appreciate the comments made by BMWguynw and Pedro47.  They both are on the same theme that I am in addressing this thread entitled "Jealous of everyone's travels"


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## slip (Dec 5, 2015)

That is the title of the thread but the second line of the OP asked the questions 
That many people have been answering here. I did like both Pedro47 and
Daves posts though.


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## missyrcrews (Dec 5, 2015)

We are 45 and 46, with 4 children...18 (college freshman), twins who are 12, and a 10 year old.  We bought our first timeshare week (now we have 4 weeks!) when the oldest was 4 years old.  (So...I've BTDT with traveling with infants, that's for sure!)  We bought at a place we enjoy, that has enough space for us all, and that we don't mind going to every year.  We usually travel 5 or 6 weeks a year.  Only one of those is out of New England...we have to go to Missouri to see my folks, so we stay at a resort close by when we visit them.  Our vacations are more about the "together time" than the places we go.   My husband gets 5 paid weeks/year.  I can take as much time as I want as long as I'm willing to not be paid, so I often take the kids, and then he joins us on the weekends or for just part of the week.  We are making memories.  Someday the kids will be grown and we won't be tied to the school schedule or to places close by...but I'm not wishing away the "now" to get to that point.


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## purson (Dec 5, 2015)

*Planning makes a difference*

When we were in our 20's my wife and I (now 60/62) pretty well planned out our next 40 years. Then we both finished great educations, chose good paying jobs with defined retirement benefits rather than 401's, chose no kids, vacationed 5 weeks per year to see where we liked, and now are retired for 2/8 years.  We found we really liked Tucson, Hawaii, and the NW coast and so bought several resales at WorldMark to enjoy them all.  We now take 7-9 trips per year (most several weeks long), enjoy part-time "dream jobs", have above average income and no debt. The plan has worked to perfection for us and are looking forward to more decades of no-worries fun.  Bottom line is to plan hard, work hard, then play hard.  

If you don't know where you are going, you are likely to get there.


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## lizap (Dec 6, 2015)

Ditto, we did the same as Denise. There will be plenty of time for different types (and longer) vacations.




DeniseM said:


> When our kids were little, we did kid type vacations - things like camping, beach vacations, and Disneyland.  We didn't do fly-to vacations, and more elaborate agendas until they were older.
> 
> I think vacations are easier on everyone, when you choose a vacation that is manageable with a toddler.  NYC probably doesn't fit in that category.


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## Duanerice (Dec 6, 2015)

Heck when we were younger with little kids the only vacations were to relatives or something within a 3 hours drive.  There were no flights to take, resorts to go to, cruises, etc. Of course there was also no internet where we could compare vacation travels so we didn't know how bad off we were compared to others 

We didn't start traveling more until the kids were grown as money was spent on other things.  But once they were grown we've traveled all over the world.  US is still our favorite place to travel.  

I was working for a large Corporation and have had 5/6 weeks vacation for the past 15 years or more.  Wife is self employed which is good but also bad as she is never "off". I am now retired, earlier than I planned but enjoying it.  

Don't compare your life to others, especially on the internet.  Some will just brag how well they are doing while others give great advice and insight. Not necessarily on here but overall.  
enjoy


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## camserv (Dec 6, 2015)

We have been extremely lucky and are now able to be on the road or out of the country more than half the year.  I'm 70 and my wife is 65 and have recently moved to Florida.  We had some pretty lucrative investments, we have 2 pensions and 2 social securities.

At your age we were living hand to mouth with no money in the bank.  I don't think we had a vacation for about 8 years.  However, we both got good jobs, stayed with them and invested a little every month.  Boring but worth it to be able to live our dreams.

Just hang in there and hopefully you will be able to live your dreams.  Don't expect gratification (unless you have a rich uncle).  Just keep plugging along.


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## JSparling (Dec 6, 2015)

The wife and I are both 38. We have 2 little girls and another on the way (due in July). She's a teacher and I have 6 weeks paid vacation a year. So we both have plenty of time to travel with the kids. 

The best thing I did as far as timeshares that helped promote and enable travel was buying into HGVC 15+ years ago. That got me started and since then I've just kept adding points (via resale and direct from HGVC). Once you own you are in the "sunk cost" position and it really helps create the mindset of "we've already paid for the vacation, I'll be damned if I'm going to throw it away." 

We see all our HGVC points as an investment in our family. The trips to Breckenridge and Hawaii with our little ones are designed to capture this time in their lives (and our lives) that we'll never have again. We want them to grow up traveling not only for the family memories that they'll hopefully pass on to their kids one day, but also for the worldly education piece of it and maturity/growth that comes with seeing the world. 

We love the program and fortunately have enough vacation time to enjoy it. A big key for us is living so close to a HGVC resort (Breckenridge) which lets us use the HGVC flexible point system for 3-night stays quite frequently.


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## Magic1962 (Dec 7, 2015)

I'm 53 wife 54... When we were younger we would go for a week trip once a year because that is all we could afford..... I remember going to Niagara Falls one year when our youngest daughter now mid 20s slept in a drawer with blankets in it.... That was before pack and plays..... Now my wife gets 6 weeks vacation and i get 4 so now we do one week at a really nice Timeshare... 3 bedroom with both our daughters and their families.... Have been to Bonnet Creek , Hilton Head, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach  etc.... This year my wife and I are going with another couple to Oahu and Kauai for 10 days.... We have lots of points but use them only for one BIG vacation a year, we use our points for both the Timeshare  and our airfare or car rental...rest of our vacation time we either go see our kids or they come see us.... Dave:whoopie:


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## rpw (Dec 7, 2015)

*Kids have been traveling since they were born*

And in the second ones case, before! :rofl:

It was much easier to travel with them when we didn't have the school schedule.  Travel off season is easier and cheaper.  We used to travel every 9 months.  Two weeks Hawaii, nine months later one or two in Orlando.

Now they are both in grade school.  We get to play with the schedule a bit, but now it's much harder and more expensive.  Now that we go places during high season we are basically just going to Hawaii for two weeks every year (maybe toss a few days in California for good measure) usually around spring break.

Kids now have their own frequent flyer accounts and I think the oldest had enough to pay for her own ticket to HI this year!

We rarely pay for flights, mostly use points to get airfare.

I'd suggest travel while the kids are still small, it only gets harder!


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## geekette (Dec 8, 2015)

Don't be jealous, your time is coming.  Timeshare makes more trips possible so relax and enjoy the planning.


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## Uscjusto (Dec 8, 2015)

OP here, just checking in.
I'm still keeping up with this thread and I'm glad to see so many responses.  It has definitely made me feel better.

I am going to enjoy the current time when the kids are young.  Plenty to look forward to in the future.  Keep my vacations small and go bigger when the time is right.

My wife and I are on the same page though.  Travel is a priority, and we are looking forward to all the future vacations we will have!


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## jlm77 (Dec 11, 2015)

My wife (40) and I (42) bought out first HGVC 10 years ago.  We were expecting our first child, I was on a work trip to FL and my wife flew down during a long weekend.  We bought the first one (3400 points) from the developer, with the plans that we would be taking our kids to Disney someday.  We have been there two or three times already..  Our kids are now 10 and 8.  And having the timeshare ensures that we take a quality vacation every year.  We've traded through RCI a few times.  Unfortunately nothing is close to us, but we make it work.  She is a school teacher and I have 4 weeks vacation every year.  We have traveled over the summer or Christmas Break to Disney. (yes it is a crazy time to go, but we make it work).

We just purchased our second HGVC re-sale a few months ago, so we are looking forward to two weeks of vacations.


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## hgvcowner9 (Dec 23, 2015)

*Dear OP*

lol, I was feeling exactly the same with you. Many people on this forum has few vacations scheduled throughout the year and I was so jealous. 

My case, I have been owner since 2009 and bought it from developer, paying full price; 5,000 points were 20k at that time. Well, they gave me 15,000 bonus points and I made good use of it. It is somewhat painful to get to know I could have paid much less money but oh well, I was able to use it every year and loved it so have stopped thinking about it. 

Now I am married with two kids and we usually travel with my parents and invite family - with careful advanced planning, surprisingly 5,000 points gave us an opportunity to do so once a year for a group of more than 6. 

Of course we are hoping to do more frequent vacations in the future as kids grow up - and we would need more points. I think planning is the key with timeshare.


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