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Jul 14, 2025    |      0 comments

Hawaii Aftermath – Budget and Travel Options

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We’re officially back from Hawaii!

And what an amazing trip it was!

Please excuse the picture of the girls’ backs to the camera. They’re teenagers now (13!) and are getting picker about what they do and don’t want shared on the internet! I’m also feeling more protective as they are growing, thus the back-of-the-head image. 🙂

It was a doozy of a trip! Even more expensive than I had imagined (and I’d expected expensive but – yikes!) We ended up about $1,000 over budget, which puts us into the “red” for our travel spending this year. We had enough in our travel savings to cover it, but we’ll need to increase savings to cover the over-spending. Or, alternatively, I had about $1,000 earmarked for some type of fun experience over Labor Day and/or Fall Break and I could cancel that to cover the overage.

Budgeting

To back up for those who may be newer readers, in my monthly budget, I have a line item specifically for travel savings. I save monthly toward travel. Then when we go on vacation, we spend from our savings. It’s great to have trips essentially “paid for” before they happen and not have to worry about going into credit card debt, which is something that definitely would have happened to the me of 10 years ago!

At the beginning of a year (or, sometimes even further out than that), I create a  draft travel itinerary for the following year. I fill it in with things I know we will definitely do, like an annual trip to Austin to see family, along with estimated costs (usually about $1500 for an Austin trip). I also leave room for little mini weekend trips or staycations. Think $500 or less. And then for just the past couple of years, we’ve had one bigger vacation. This year was Hawaii. Last year was Italy.

I’m a planner, so I plan this all out in advance so I have an estimated annual travel budget ahead of time, and I break that down into monthly savings. Over time, I’ve gotten pretty good at estimating costs. I know exactly how much a weekend in Sedona costs, and how much cheaper it is to go camping in the mountains than it is to do a staycation at a resort in Scottsdale. All this to say, I’m usually pretty spot-on with planning out prices for our travels.

Hawaii Costs

Hawaii threw a wrench in things. And to be fair, I did pretty good with estimating most of our costs. I knew how much to expect for lodging, transportation, and activities/excursions. The thing that really got me…..the food!

Food was much, much higher than I’d anticipated. I am sure it can be done cheaper if staying in an Air B&B and cooking at home. We stayed at resorts, however. And while I loved the experience of walking outside and being on the beach and having all the amenities at our fingertips, I did not love the price of food! Our resort charged a flat rate of $50/person for breakfast. I’m not a big breakfast eater, so that $50 for my plate was essentially for a cup of fruit and some yogurt. We got smarter – skipping breakfast or grabbing a box of bars from a store or eating off-site – but any way you slice it, the food was outrageously priced.

It’s okay. Lesson learned. And like I said, we had the money available in savings so although this puts us over our annual travel budget, it’s not like we went into debt for the experience. It’s more about deciding what to do from here.

Budget

While I had originally earmarked about $1,000 between Labor Day Weekend and Fall Break 2025 for some sort of fun excursion (these are like the little $500 weekend quick trips I mentioned above), I had nothing specific picked out. I was thinking maybe going to Prescott to kayak and hike. Or maybe we’d try to see the Hoover Dam and hit the Arizona Hot Springs. Then again, maybe we’d jaunt over to Albuquerque where my brother-in-law lives, or go back to El Paso for a third time this year – craving all the family time we can get!

The point is, I had some money earmarked, but no specific plans had taken root. I could just decide to stick close to home and save that $1,000 so we aren’t over-budget anymore. Or I could slightly increase our savings for the remainder of the year to make budget and still plan a quick trip or two with the kids over their school break(s).

Shared Custody

One last consideration isn’t about the money aspect….it’s about time. Time that I have to share with another person. I’m not lucky enough to get my girls for every school holiday. I have to share custody with their Dad. Meaning I only have them every-other-year for Fall Break, Spring Break, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Break, etc. etc. etc.

This year I get the girls for Labor Day and Fall Break. Next year, I won’t.

That makes me want to do something fun all-the-more. Just knowing I only get 50% of those school holidays. The girls are 13 now. The next time I have them for Fall Break they’ll be 15. Then 17. Then they’re gone!

Maybe that seems dramatic. But life is so short and the kids are just growing at such warp speed lately! I don’t want to waste a break just sitting around doing nothing. What if, by the time they’re 15, they don’t even want to do a family trip? How could I not go this year? I want to make the most memories possible!

Balance

But then I temper myself and – come on – in my most recent post I gave myself a C+ because I’ve been traveling too much. I mentioned wanting to stay closer to home for the remainder of the year. I want stillness and grounding. It’s no surprise to those who’ve been reading awhile that I’ve really been craving peace and balance. This has been a little hidden theme in my writing for the past year-ish.

And at the same time I want to cultivate memories and collect new experiences. The two desires seem at odds and I’m not quite sure what to do. Feels like maybe a topic for therapy, but why not invite in your opinions as well?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and input of whether you would do less (one of my 2025 goals, to be fair) OR if you’d make the memories (and increase savings to cover the costs)?

So, what do you think ?