December 2007 Weddings
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what should we do

So dh and I have had our Jamaica 'babymoon' trip booked for a year and a half now. It's scheduled for december. I even made a countdown chain that we've been faithfully pulling links off of for weeks now. In the next few weeks I'll have the full amt of the trip saved from my extra jobs.

Now that it's so close, our silly practical minds are coming out.  At this point, we could cancel the trip and only lose out on $250 travel insurance and we'd have around $3750 saved. My practical side thinks we could use $750 of that for a much smaller long weekend trip to the mountains and the rest could be used to do all those little upgrades in the house we've been putting off since we moved in b/c we didn't have the money. The most major project, taking down our pool and rebuilding our deck and putting in a patio. This is something that absolutely has to be done before we sell the house down the road.

We're going to ttc starting in december and once we have kids will drop to one income and things will be extremely tight. Everything extra we make from now until then will be going into a large emergency fund that we won't touch (so it can't be used to spend on unnecessary house fix up things).

We're both so torn. This trip was supposed to be our 'we're out of debt! and making a baby' vacation. So we of course both really want to go...but we really want to do our house projects too and not worry about how we're going to pay for these things when baby comes and we put our house on the market. 

Meh. so torn! What would you do?

Re: what should we do

  • That is a tough decision.

    I guess if it was me I would take some money and go somewhere in the mountains or you could possibly find a cheap cruise and still might be able to visit Jamica or something. I would use the rest to fix things around the house because you are right once you do become PG and have a child money will be tight and you may not have extra money to fix what needs to be fixed.

    I know me I would have a wonderful time on the trip but then when I got back I would worry about how are we going to pay for the projects and think that if we would have taken a cheaper trip then we could have paid for projects and not worry.

    Just thinking about it, it is a tough decision and I'm not having to make it.

    Good luck with whatever you decide.

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  • I agree with Heather. I would take a smaller trip to the mountains like you said and then put the rest towards your house. I know that is not ideally what you want to do but it sounds like the smart decision especially if you and Mark are wanting to sell the house soon.

     I am glad I do not have to make the decision.

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  • Go! I speak from experience. DH and I never took a big trip before the boys came, and now we rarely (maybe twice a year) can even find an overnight babysitter, much less take a big trip.  And the money to fix the house comes around every once in a while, but we sure never have money or time for a couples vacation.
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  • imageEmily_Ann:
    Go! I speak from experience. DH and I never took a big trip before the boys came, and now we rarely (maybe twice a year) can even find an overnight babysitter, much less take a big trip.  And the money to fix the house comes around every once in a while, but we sure never have money or time for a couples vacation.

    This. GO and don't look back. We will not be taking a vacation for a LONG time. My MIL took Emmy twice overnight, and I know that no one will want to take two little ones more than one night, if that. The vacations we are now planning include Disney and cruises that have daycare so we can at least get a little bit of alone time.

    I know there are things to be done with the house, but there will always be things that you think you could spend the money on. You need to ENJOY life and being able to take a vacation like this will not be an option for a long long time. If you never take the time to do things that you enjoy and reward yourself for working so hard, IMO there really is no reason to work that hard in the first place. You work hard to pay things off so you can enjoy life, so do it!

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  • I think you have worked so hard to pay off your debt that you deserve to go and have a great vacation! And like Mel said, you don't know when you might get another chance and there will always be things that you could spend the money on.

     

    "If you never take the time to do things that you enjoy and reward yourself for working so hard, IMO there really is no reason to work that hard in the first place. You work hard to pay things off so you can enjoy life, so do it!" 

    Well said, Mel!!!

  • I'm really on the fence about this one.  I do think that what some of the other ladies said is true...it will be a long time before you get to go away like that again once you have kiddos and a part of me does wish that DH and I took a nice trip before we had kids...but even if we had gone away, it still wouldn't change the fact that I want/need a vacation now.  Knowing what I know now, and because this is just the way I am personally, I would rather have my house the way I want it and be more happy with where I live, which is where I am every day.  Plus, if I didn't do those certain things to my house, I know they would be on my mind.  I think the suggestion to take a smaller scale vacation and use the rest of the money on the house is a great idea and what I would probably do.  But whichever decision you make in this case isn't wrong and you will have a great time either way. 
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  • imageEmily_Ann:
    Go! I speak from experience. DH and I never took a big trip before the boys came, and now we rarely (maybe twice a year) can even find an overnight babysitter, much less take a big trip.  And the money to fix the house comes around every once in a while, but we sure never have money or time for a couples vacation.

    THIS!

  • i keep going back and forth with this.......  what  a fun time you will have!!! and what a great reward for yourself! however, to be able to put THAT much towards things you'd like to get done that are more LASTING......... geez, i'd be torn too. but you've been looking forward to and planning/saving SPECIFICALLY for this adventure, so i'd probably go for it. esp like the other mommas are talking about - you wont get a get-away like this when you have a baby!! (or...you might, but you probably wont rest as easy/enjoy as much - thinking about the kid(dos)!!!)
  • Lauren you and Mark should GO! Run Quick! You guys have talked about going back for so long this is your chance.  Once you have kids it'll be extremely hard to do a vacation nevermind one w/o the kids.  I'm dying to go on vacation but now that's postponed until 10-11-12 which is my BFF's and BIL's destination wedding my mom will watch both of the kids but it's going to be so hard to leave my babies for a week.
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