Finding Time to Travel

Rather than go through a lengthy preamble, let's get straight to the point.

If you want to travel, book your next vacation within the next seven days.

Waiting for the perfect time will likely find you at home, yearning to be on that dream journey to Spain or Alaska that you've dreamed about, when you could be living that dream.

Often, we all say we don't have time, when in fact the real problem is that prices turned out to be higher than we expected.  That is not uncommon.

We were lured into thinking those fleeting days when pandemic travel bans were lifted and travel suppliers were trying to lure doubtful travelers onto flights and cruises with low prices would last forever.

Some of us recognized that opportunity and booked several trips we could, but others feared travel or even leaving their living room screens in those strange days.

Like everything else, that soon passed...thank God!

And inflation arrived on its heels, making everything we purchase more expensive...including travel.

It's time to re-set our expectations.

Yes, I still see occasional great deals, but more often I see people procrastinate too long, waiting for the perfect deal only to have their realistic perfect cruises sell out.

We are now in an era where the smartest move is to book early.

However, if you somehow find yourself with a couple of weeks of open vacation days on the calendar during the next month or two, don't hesitate to ask me what's available.

Maybe the time is perfect for you, because a great cruise happens to have some open slots that need to be filled.

Keep in mind, however, that a last-minute deal --- and a month or two out is what is definitely last minute these days --- requires not only flexibility but cognizance of what constitutes the new reality of rising costs and strong demand.

When I was in my twenties and thirties, my dad used to say that the only way he could make sense of pricing was to divide by five.

I laughed at the time, but as I have reached a similar time in my own life, his logic makes sense.

Buying a plastic piece for my Subaru for $60 because apparently somebody with a big truck door broke it, I used that rule just yesterday.  $12 ($60 / 5 = $12) didn't seem unreasonable, and because I wasn't hemming and hawing about the price, a nice guy from the body shop offered to install it for free.

Did I want to spend that extra money?  No.  But I am happy my Outback now looks as good as new once again.

It wasn't a necessity, just as a great vacation to exactly where we want to go isn't a necessity.

But it reinforces who we are.

And if you aren't you, then who are you?

Be the best person you can be.

Book that dream cruise or packages land vacation.  I doubt you'll have to divide by five to see the price is reasonable given todays economic climate.

Wes