Planning the Travel for 2025

Jon and I have a running list we share in the cloud of places we want to visit. Why do we prioritize travel? It allows use to get out of our comfort zone, it allows us a reset, it allows us to explore more of God’s creation, and helps us keep a fresh perspective. There are so many pro’s and very few cons as long as you plan and budget right.

As part of the service field on several trips between the two of us we’ve had the opportunity to visit the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Uganda, and Romania. For leisure we’ve had the opportunity to go to so many places across the U.S. as well as: the United Kingdom, Canada, and St Lucia. Our favorite spot of all time : Hawaii.

This year we’ve been to Chattanooga, TN, Palm Beach, FL, Orlando, FL, Detroit, MI, Ontario, CAN, and Destin, FL. With a few more trips to sneak in there before the year closes. It’s not always cheap, but it is always worth it.

So as we look to 2025, how are we planning and how do we budget?

1. We start by opening up that list we keep and deciding if we want to tackle one of them this year.
2. Ask ourselves what expenses look like in the coming year – do we have anything known that is upcoming? Is there anything we are saving towards currently?
3. What might come down our pipeline via requests that will require us to travel?
   • Weddings, Family Trips, Reunions
4. As a runner I usually like to travel for at least two races a year so I right down some options for these, usually places we haven’t been before with the exception of my one RunDisney race a year.
5. What do our rewards points look like at the moment? What kind of points have we saved up, what travel benefits do we have, are there any discounts we can capitalize on through rewards program or work perks?

We already have a family trip planned for January, I have a mom’s trip scheduled for February, and a volunteer opportunity that will take me to Florida in September. We also have an International wedding on the docket in late spring/early summer. SO, how do we get it all done? We saved for a year for our trip in January and were able to pay it in full – check!

For my mom’s trip in February – I’ll be using rewards points to pay for this one for the most part – check!

My volunteer opportunity in September – this will be partly a saving and partly a fundraising opportunity!

Our International wedding – this one will be the challenge; we are already creating a game plan for this trip one that will involve a lot of budgeting and any extra income via bonuses to be thrown back in savings for it!

AND

We realize life is full of surprises, emergencies and unexpected events happen and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it! Sometimes it is worth it to buy the trip insurance.

Plan enough, but not too much that there is too much room for error. You also need to make sure you take time to rest and refuel. And whatever you do!

HAVE FUN!