Scrappy or spendy: What kind of traveler are you?

Here at Lonely Planet, we believe that any and all travel is meaningful. If you’re a person who thrives off throwing three t-shirts and a pair of flip flops in a backpack, booking $10-a-night hostels on arrival and spending your days walking the beach between plates of rice and beans from a street stall…we love that for you. We also love five-star hotels and expert-led classes, followed by cutting-edge multicourse meals with wine pairings.

The bottom line: We adore everything about travel – its full depth and breadth and richness. We also know that while it’s never easy deciding how and when to use our money, spending on the next trip will always be a priority, so we always have a portion of our budget set aside for travel. Just how big should that portion be?

Here are two takes from two experienced travelers on two approaches to travel budgeting – and, perhaps, to life.

The scrappy family explorer

I’ve always been a scrappy traveler. The street-food-eating, hostel-sleeping backpacker I used to be doesn’t feel all that far away from who I’ve become. The tricky part now is that I have to pay for three other people to enjoy it all with me. (Oh, and I’ve outgrown hostels.) While I make more money than I did as a migrating twenty-something, my household expenses are higher, so I don’t feel much richer. While we economize in many ways, my husband and I each work full-time jobs and take care of two children. Our time is extremely limited, and when we’re home we do pay for conveniences that help us focus that time with our kids. 

When we travel, it’s another story. When planning a trip, I use the same kind of thought process as I did when, in my 20s, I spent 6 months in Central America on $2000 (total!). How can I have the most interesting, novel experiences while staying within a limited budget?

It’s not easy – especially when feelings bubble up that I’m missing out, or not doing the next big thing. Yet I spend a lot of time thinking about why I travel – and then align my trips with that.

I travel because I want to experience awe and wonder as often as I can. I travel because I love that it brings out in me an endlessly curious, totally open and deep love of the world and its inhabitants, not to mention an ability to navigate tricky situations because you’ve been tested on the road. I travel because I am my absolute best self when I’m exploring, having new experiences and finding adventures.

I want to share that self with my kids. And hopefully pass part of it on to them.

So I’ve tried to find a balance between the constraints of my budget and my deep desire to travel as much as I can. My family does this by prioritizing outdoor adventures, and by going on long-weekend trips to towns and cities we’ve never been to, but where we might have a friend or a relative we can stay with. We do this by not being picky. By seeing every opportunity as a moment of discovery and every destination as worthy of our time.

I don’t need another reason to be stressed in my life. If we have extra money in a particular year, we can budget a bigger, longer trip, one that works for all of us. If we don’t, we’ll stick to long weekends and family visits. Either way, I’m fulfilling my needs. I don’t need to “treat myself”; my life is a gift, and I’m incredibly blessed. I want to experience all of it. 

And awe and wonder don’t cost anything. 

— Sarah Stocking , Editor

Spending is saving (your life and your time)

I’m the annoying person who quotes lines from random movies as life lessons. And when it comes to my philosophy around travel spending, this is my refrain: “no amount of money ever bought a second of time,” spoken by Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

My time, by that account, is priceless.

Life moves fast, and it’s all too full of turmoil and tumult. Travel is the ultimate escape. It is also a privilege – and I don’t apologize for exercising that privilege. I remain both conscious of my good fortune and proud of the years and years of hard work that have allowed me to do what I want, when I want. Sure, I am “blessed” – and I know it. But I’ve also been working since I was 15 years old. I’ve never had more than a few weeks off at once.

Long story short: I prioritize spending on travel. My expenses are otherwise minimal – my rent is affordable, I’ve never owned a home or a car, I cook at home and shop my closet. If I do go out, it’s for a special occasion. I rarely use DoorDash or Uber or any of those services. When I’m planning a long-shot dream trip or a last-minute weekend away, I throw all my money at it. And when I’m traveling, I take a break from carrying the emotional weight of the inherent limits of finances. I set that boulder down.

Back to Tony Stark: I’ve spent years and years making peace with fear. I don’t want it to rule my decisions. All evidence points to the fact that I’m not wasteful, capricious or (worst of all) stupid: I’m saving for my future and I’m spending on my present. You can’t take it with you; nothing lasts forever – and if you get the chance to make yourself happy, you should take it. There are no points for denying yourself pleasure. (Unless that’s your kink – which I totally respect!)

Travel priority #1 is spending time with my family, which requires several plane tickets each year. That isn’t a splurge to me. That’s saving my life.

Travel priority #2 is spontaneity. For example, I decided to take a last-minute trip for an impending birthday (which was causing me much misery and anxiety). So with 5 days’ notice, I flew to Turks and Caicos for a few days, and even wrangled my best friend along in the bargain.

Travel priority #3 is tackling all the dream trips I want to take (don’t say “bucket list,” don’t say “bucket list”...). I just returned from a Goodworld Journeys writer's retreat in Greece. How often do you dance while holding hands with Barbara Kingsolver at a hilltop taverna in Patmos? Probably just the once.

I’m gonna do it all...or die trying. I’ll keep an eye on my 401(k) and my bank account. I'll keep working as long as they'll let me. And I’ll never stop thanking my lucky stars I work for Lonely Planet, where travel is a way of life. 

— Brekke Fletcher , Senior Director of Content