Lately I’ve been thinking about my travels. Sometimes I wonder if the fact that we are adults with adult jobs means we have a break the bank going on vacation. Personally, I don’t think a vacation domestically should cost more than $500 dollars in total. Meaning flights, lodging, activities, and food should all be under $500 usd. This thought came from my recent trips to DC and Houston.
The DC trip was a last-minute trip for a friend’s birthday. It was very a last-minute invite. I think I got the heads up under 3 weeks from the actual trip. My life motto is: “Enjoy the little detours to the fullest” so I made the decision to go. Immediately I realized maybe I made a mistake. My problem came from the timing of the trip as I already planned my Houston trip, and both trips were scheduled back-to-back weekends.
Back-to-back weekend was tough and the DC trip wasn’t in the monthly budget. I get paid monthly meaning 12 paychecks a year. I hate this format because my account looks good for the first 3 weeks then Week 4 comes and my checking looks like it’s on life support. Although I’m not a fan of this pay schedule it has made me learn the skill of budgeting. I think I’m rather good at financially planning my month. I’m not living paycheck to paycheck and I’m saving a decent amount. With that said, sometimes I mess up and this time was one of them. Throwing on an extra trip was bad adulting on my part. Lacking foresight, I forgot who I agreed to go on a trip with.
My friends are high rollers or at least to me they are. Sections, bottle service, and mansions are a very common occurrence vacationing with them. Honestly, it is kind of fun, but I am admittedly cheap. I will nickel and dime a trip when I plan. Maybe it’s because I find it fun seeing the different ways to save money. My line brother JT once said: “Don’t let Carl plan it he is cheap”. When I jokingly told him he hurt my feelings he retorted: “I don’t give a damn its true”.
Sometimes I feel like Joey, Rachel and Pheobe from Friends in the episode where the group haggled over income differences “The One with Five Steaks and an Eggplant”. Except it’s not even an income difference or really a money problem. I spend money on camera equipment, Gym fees, and funding whatever project I’m pursuing. I had a fight that got canceled one time and when you factor in the gym fees, medical tests, gas for traveling and the hotel I spent at least $500. I just don’t see value in the things they see value in when travelling.
The DC trip was expensive. Looking back at my statement, I spent $244 on my portion of the Airbnb, $100 for dinner (It was $100 minimum), and $60 ticket for brunch. The only thing that saved me from completely breaking the bank is that my friend and his friends I didn’t know well paid for the 2 other sections. I’ve never seen money thrown about so unrestrained. My favorite moment is when going to a roof top bar one of the guys I didn’t know well in the group was seeing how much a section would be and before the waitress said a price, he interrupted and without hesitation said “we’ll get one section no wait actually two” I was flabbergasted. The day had more surprises. When ordering bottle service in the club my friend asked the lady for the prices. They only drink Don Julio so when they waitress said $450 a bottle, I thought he would change his mind or at least change up the liquor of choice. The look on my face when he said “Bring two of them” was one of total astonishment. My internal thoughts I think were “I can’t play in this league.” I’m Bacardi Carl for a reason. I pay $20 max for a bottle, and I typically don’t ever drink.
How I like to travel:
When I plan a trip, I’m a type A personality. Meaning I like to stay in control and have a detailed budget and plan. I know exactly how much money I should be spending and what I am doing for the day. I even budget extra money to cover the random side things like extra activities. I wake up early, typically 7:30am, and I leave the hotel no later than 9:30am. Anything after 10am and I’m usually annoyed. I prioritize activities and seeing the city. When I visited New York, I stayed an extra day just to go explore and see museums.
I’m 3 out of 3 on vacations that I have planned and executed involving friends. Atlanta, Puerto Rico, and New York. Each trip featured more than 5 people. I prioritize getting everyone there regardless of income differences. Getting everyone there requires scarifies. Sometimes one of them is lodging.
Sharing hotel rooms is a very contentious topic among my friends. I’ll make my stance clear. I love sharing hotel rooms and I don’t see the point of spending exuberates amount of money on lodging. Maybe I’m sentimental in nature but I enjoy spending time with everyone and sharing rooms. It invokes a sense of nostalgia in me. When I was kid me and brother would go to Florida and sleep on my Aunt Margeret’s floor in Orlando with our cousin. To me it was fun then and even now as an adult I enjoy staying with family and friends. It’s not even about money but I just feel better having everyone I care about together.
Puerto Rico is prime example that trips like this work and are more memorable. We shared 2 hotel rooms. One room housed 3 and the other housed 2 people. I was in the room with 3 people. In the room with 3 people, I found it funny because someone slept on the Credenza. Small, funny things like that made the trip memorable. So many great stories and moments came just by the fact we were in close proximity. There is a legendary unreleased vlog I’ll release after 50 years but if you have seen it, you know that it was a great trip.
Traveling isn’t about being super comfortable. For me I would rather have everyone together. One day we won’t go on anymore adventures, so I cherish the small moments now. Looking ahead my friends want to go to Dallas, Spain and Martha Vineyard in 2027. Nate the friend who is planning the Martha Trip, is already talking about $1,000 per person just for lodging. So, I guess maybe this is adulting now. I’m blessed to have this as a semi feasible trip, so I won’t complain. Plus, I could always flake. I really want a Nikon Zr and that $1000 could definitely go to it. (I’ll probably go to Martha). I just hope in Dallas, I can convince them to go a cheaper route. It’s more interesting that way.