Planning For Travel In Retirement

Travel is number one on most retirees’ list of goals. But you have to plan for it both in terms of cost, and planning together with a spouse who might have a different approach.

I have clients in 13 different states, so I travel a lot. There is a lot of travel involved. I’m one of the lucky ones who has rarely had issues traveling. I’m one of those. I get to the airport at least two and a half hours early because I’d rather be early than stressed out. And I see people get mad if they have to wait for TSA and I’m watching them and thinking, look, they’re there for our protection. That’s the number one thing. But I watch and some of it frustrates me.

I mean, to every TSA employee out there, hats off. They deal with a lot, you know? Every single day. It’s like somebody working at the DMV, they get screamed at for nothing. But if you follow the rules and you have your belt off, your shoes off, depending if you have pre-check or not, you have your wallets out and then not wait till the last second and hold up the line, that delays the line even more.

It’s like that person that goes to buy something at the gas station, and they don’t have their cash out, or they pull off the wallet and they try to find it in their purse and stuff. But that’s what I see a lot during my journeys around the U.S. In my opinion, if you have respect for the people around you and you follow the system, things will work a lot faster.

When it comes to retirement, people plan for a lot of things. I mean, but they don’t really plan how often they’re going to travel. They all want to travel, but they don’t plan on how much travel is actually going to cost. And so that’s when you have to have almost a separate budget for retirement travel matters, because it’s not getting any cheaper.

Between getting to and from the airport, getting the flights; everything is getting more expensive. Travel is one of the most common dreams people have when they retire. When I have clients that are getting ready to retire, I ask them, “How have you prepared for traveling?” And their eyes will pop open and say what? And I let them know about other clients who have told me that one of their regrets is that they didn’t travel more in retirement.

The thing is, if you don’t plan for travel, you can’t do it. You plan for it. Plan for a cruise. You plan for a trip or you plan wherever you’re going to go. You’ve got to get the budget and plan ready.

Keep in mind travel demand can push up costs for flights, hotels, fields and experiences. It’s kind of funny seeing the price differences when I go out to Scottsdale. When I come in the peak season, like in fall or the wintertime or even earlier the year, prices for rooms at the same hotel I always stay at cost anywhere between $300 and $600 a night. But during the summertime, when it’s 100 degrees+, the same rooms are like $50 to 150 bucks.

It’s just supply versus demand. Even traveling on a Monday versus traveling on a Tuesday is a huge difference. Traveling on a Friday or Saturday is a huge difference. So, plan that in to stretch your budget further.

Retirees should not feel bad for wanting to enjoy this chapter of their life. You have to have a monthly income plan to support your travel needs because everybody wants to travel.

Some people, like my wife all my staff, they love spreadsheets. I don’t. But the end of the day, if you or your spouse create a spreadsheet, a travel spreadsheet, it’s not a bad idea.

Having a lifestyle bucket list is not a bad idea either. But hiding travel costs in general spending is a bad idea. If you put your money that you’re going to travel with in your day-to-day spending, your travel lifestyle is going to probably change a little bit, or you won’t go.

I recommend planning travel for the peak years at the beginning of your retirement, when you may be healthier, more active, and more eager to go. Like the golf trip to Ireland. If someone wants to go with a bunch of your friends, do some research. What time of Ireland is the best time to go? What’s the most cost-effective way? These are important things to understand, and having a separate account designed just for traveling can help make it a reality. You can add to it a little bit every month or however you want to do it.

Travel is one of the things we talk with clients about. Like I mentioned, Gregg and Leslie, they’re traveling like all over the place. They retired early and now they’ve got the funds in a separate account that says “traveling account.” The interest on that account accrues throughout the year. And boom. They’re going to take vacations with it.

A strong plan makes enjoyment achievable, not accidental.

If you have ever heard of the “go-go” phase, you know that that describes the beginning of your retirement. You’re putting on the engines. You’re putting on the jets. You’re going to try to do everything you want in the first year. And then the problem is, is that you lose your structure unless you haven’t planned for it, you can overspend early; or spend too much. Planning is key.

A few years pass, or maybe more than a few, and you enter the “slow-go” years. You may not feel like traveling as much. Think about that. Today’s memories balanced with tomorrow’s stability. I’m a big fan of that approach when I’m talking to clients. Are you looking for instant satisfaction or are you looking for long-term gratification? And whether it’s your budget, whether it’s your financial needs, whether it’s your home life, whether it’s your travel needs, we can plan for whatever your priorities are.

It’s not a race. It’s a marathon. Life is the same thing. Get to enjoy every day. It’s a marathon. It’s not just one day to day look for long term satisfaction.

Also, you have to work together as a couple. Things work better together and communication is huge, especially when it comes to travel. Issues come up, like he wants to go here or she wants to go there. But the first question is, how often do you want to travel? Who pays when family joins? How will you pay? Will trips come from income reserves or investment withdrawals.

Different spouses may have different comfort levels when it comes to spending for travel. Sometimes the women want to spend more, sometimes they are more frugal. That’s why planning is key, and can reduce resentment or guilt or last-minute decisions.

We work on building a comprehensive plan to help get you to and through retirement, including planning for travel. If you are looking for guarantees with part of your portfolio along with growth potential, Social Security and Medicare planning, tax planning, legacy planning… this is what we do. We put things together comprehensively into your personal retirement plan.