Sometimes the money you save is burned

People will spend hours online to save $5 or $10 on a hotel room. Many
of them are educated professionals whose time is worth hundreds of
dollars an hour.

What about spending hours online just on this forum, with no pretense of trying to save any money? Isn't that even more expensive? I guess that's my way of saying that no matter how well-educated, people will still "waste" time on whatever they want instead of working every possible hour of the day because no one is paying for that free time (I think only lawyers can bill time in 5-minute increments just for thinking about something). People also won't outsource all of their chores to a lower paid worker even though it may make sense to an economist. Plus some people treat finding deals as a sport (see Flyertalk about the length people will go to with frequent flier miles and the like). There's a difference between that and not being able to do math on things like day passes (which may or may not pay for themselves) or other pro/con type decisions which require quantifying things accurately and without predisposed biases.

At the end of the day, the only person who should care about whether money is burned is the one who's burning his or her money (or their spouse or SO or dependent who depends on their finances). Sometimes it's part of life's learning process and sometimes it's intentional, but it's really not anyone else's concern. Everybody has different "weights" on what factors they value and which they don't - and hopefully they make tradeoffs aligned with those weights.

BigMike, this is just the travel version of "penny wise, pound foolish". Like Agnes says, its a sport for some people. I know a guy who'll drive 30 miles across town to save 0.10$ per gallon on fuel.

No, I pretty much recognized the time vs money thing from the beginning. Exchanging vacation time for more money is more of an indicator of people needing more money, not a value judgment.

Back in my younger days of corporate business, I decided I needed to have better time management. To work toward this goal, I bought a book by a guy that claimed to lead a highly efficient life, and was willing to pass on his knowledge. I wish now I recall the name of this book, but this was the type of guy that brushed his teeth and shaved in the shower, stuck to highly scheduled, limited bathroom breaks, combined at least two activities at a time, never took part in idle chit-chat, strictly limited lengths of meetings and only to the prearranged topics, and though he did not say, probably scheduled a few minutes each day to complement his children...if he had kids...he may have never been able to schedule in the conception activity. I was only half way through the book before I could bear to read no more about this poor mans life.

I guess I learned lang ago it is not Time vs Money, but the Value you get in the end. Value has many intangibles included. So stay another night to catch a cheaper flight, and pay a bit more total? Sure if I am going to have a great night. Flip it around, pay a bit more or save a bit and lose a day of vacation? no way. I gladly pay a premium for something that increases the value. Early flights don't bather me if I gain time on the other end. Multiple connections are fine, if the savings are there and not too many hours are spent. Spending hours looking for a cheaper hotel alternative? or researching to find that perfect place that will make the vacation, even if in the end it costs you more?

Overall, there is more to the decision than just time and money.

Another traveler decided to stay in town an extra day to save a few hundred dollars on a flight, but she still had to pay $300 for a hotel, which was more than she would have paid if she's left a day earlier.

It sounds like she might have come out pretty close if she saved a ”few hundred dollars” on the flight and put all of those ”savings” towards an extra hotel night. She got an extra vacation day. This sounds far more satisfying than overpaying for a flight.

Spend money to save time or energy is right behind pack light on my list of sacred travel rules.

Take a $30/10-hours bus ride OR a $100/3-hours flight to get from Izmir to Istanbul? For $70 you get 7 extra hours in Istanbul.

Walk 6-8 blocks in Rome's July heat to catch a $2 subway OR take a $20 air-conditioned taxi?

When we first met, my wife never met a dollar she didn't want to spend, while I'd never met a dollar I didn't want hoard. 30 years of marriage and many life lessons later we both understand the value we can get for our money. When we were younger we couldn't always afford to consider the value of a better flight or a hotel closer to the sites we wanted to visit; not that we could afford to travel very far. Now we have the experience and means to determine what value outweighs cost. We try to fly direct even if it means spending a couple hundred dollars more but have little interest in upgraded seats, we can afford luxury hotels but tend to stay in mid-range because we don't see the value in the higher end accommodations. However my definition of value may not be the same as the next reader of this post and so as one other poster already commented, "it depends...."

Oh, I understand it can be a game and even a hobby. I get that.

I sometimes wonder if after doing a lot of research and maybe saving a few $$, that in the end one generally gets what they pay for. And there's the time vs money debate.

To me it was most interesting that about half of Americans would trade their vacation time for money.

Some of the travel “research” time and energy might be entertainment for people, and they even “win” at this pastime by reaching some level of “better” decision, whether it’s money, comfort, location, efficiency, whatever.

But you can be accumulating a stockpile of money, and suddenly a texting driver hops a curb and kills you — and you can’t take it with you. So if you’re working for your heirs, skip any vacations, so you can work yourself to death, and they can inherit your fortune sooner.

I guess, if you’re not hurting others with questionable trip decisions, then do what satisfies you, even if other people would shake their heads at the choice. But you’re right, BigMike, for some people, a penny saved is a penny earned, and for others, it’s a penny burned. Oh, but what’s the melting point of copper?

Laura, Elliott was referring to a 14-hour layover that was certainly (or hopefully) not part of the vacation plan as far as seeing anything beyond the airport hotel was concerned.

We see this fairly often when people try to rationalise staying out of the city centre to ‘save money’ it’s almost always a fool’s errand as you spend so much time commuting to what you came to see that I can’t see how it works out. I understand big city hotels often come with sticker shock, I see this often when people plan trips to Chicago.

Or trying to fit an Air BNB square peg into a round hole. Sometimes it can be worth it, longer stays and fussy eating eating children. But twisting yourself into a pretzel to make an Air BNB work in a far flung neighborhood for a 3 night stay and then having to deal with luggage drop off and storage after check out is kinda foolish.

...concluded that about half of working Americans would accept a job
with no vacation time in exchange for more money.

I am curious about the demographics of this. I'm not American but in my younger days I would work weekends, overtime, trade in vacation days, whatever it took to make extra money. I now have 5 weeks of vacation time a year, but it's only in the past 3 years that I've taken all of it. So, yes I'm one of those who would have in the past without thinking too hard about it, but I'm not sure if I would now even though I find it a chore to find enough things to do with 5 empty weeks. If my company didn't have a use it or lose it policy I might consider giving 1 or 2 of those weeks back.

Or the folks who book AirBnB out in the bush so that they can cook their own meals and save money by not consuming foreign meals.

What people do with their own money that they themselves earn is their own business.

Why the need to be elitist by judging others and how they spend their own money?

Not only is it none of anyone’s business but it is blatantly patronizing.

I agree, Continental. It's no one else's business how we spend our money. We can all make our own judgments about what's worth it to US.

I'm very frugal when I travel, but I also weigh the benefits of any cost savings I can get. I would never take a terrible flight just to save $50. But I might to save $500. All depends. Is it an extra connection or an extra night? I'm smart enough to know that spending $100 on a hotel because I need to stay over a night somewhere for a connection isn't worth it to save $120 - but again, to save $500, might be.

A few years ago, I got a great deal on a round trip flight to London. My destination was Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary. I saved several hundred dollars by flying easyJet to Prague and back to London, where I had to spend the final two nights. My hotels in London (actually pretty cheap) clearly offset some of my savings...but on the other hand, I got TWO EXTRA DAYS IN LONDON out of it. It sure seemed worth it at the time and still does.

We get the "why are you so frugal?" argument here a lot when people mention buying SIM cards for travel. I'm not sure why some folks feel the need to jump into threads like that if they have nothing to offer about the topic, except to preach "Not worth the hassle to save the money." Right, not TO YOU. Clearly, someone who posted about a SIM card in the first place is interested in saving money, so they've already made their preference for that clear - and just wants some helpful information, not a lecture on how they should value their money vs. hassle.

"The Allianz Vacation Confidence index concluded that about half of working Americans would accept a job with no vacation time in exchange for more money. Wow."

Seriously? That sure wouldn't work for me. At the time I retired, I had six weeks of paid holiday time, and I treasured every day of that!

Regarding the penny-pinching approach to travel, that also doesn't work for me. I book hotels and transportation according to what's most convenient and sensible under the circumstances, and could care less about adjusting my plans just to save a few dollars on hotels or flights. When booking flights I normally try to minimize "agony" (as one website calls it). I try to get the fewest flights to get to my destination with the fewest number of layovers, even if that does cost slightly more. I'm certainly not rich, but I like travel to be an enjoyable experience, so I plan with that in mind.

Interesting topic. I was raised in a family where I would say “quality over quantity” was the general motto. Sometimes it probably meant taking shorter vacations but it balanced in terms of accommodations, flights, and excellence of experience. That was how we “saved” rather than scrimping to find that extra 20 dollars off somewhere.

Thankfully, as I’ve grown older and developed my own career, the quantity has had to be sacrificed less over quality. I think of this especially when it comes to booking flights. We are almost always booking for convenience of arrival time over cheapness. I want to get to Disney so I get a half day in a park on arrival? Well we book at 6 am flight. We want to get extra time in Toulouse? Well we moved the flight to the day before our initial arrival so rather than a half day, we get 1.5 days.

I make no judgements on how people spend or don’t spend their money but I think the people who would take a job with no vacation to make more money are in sands. You need breaks. And time to spend (some of) what you make! Otherwise where is the joy in life? And plus-minus 10 dollars really makes no difference to me.

When I'm traveling, the most important commodity I have to "spend" (or conserve) is my time. I'll make some decisions that are more expensive, and others that are less expensive, both in the interest of maximizing my vacation time.

So I won't ever cook on vacation. (Not my favorite thing to do at home, either.) Even if I could save money by cooking, it costs me time. And as a (generally) solo traveler, I'd much rather enjoy local cuisine in a restaurant, or a picnic with a view, than eating by myself in an apartment.

But, and to the point about buying a SIM card for travel, if I can "spend" my time at home rather than my vacation time and get a less expensive option that is a "best-fit" against my criteria, well then that's a double win as I weigh things.

I've done it both ways - I spent almost three hours the other night trying to find an airbnb or hotel in London that was around $100, because $125 is just too much - lol. But I love doing that kind of thing. (Also, almost impossible to do - lol)

On the flip side, hubs and I were just commenting to my mom yesterday about the meal we had in London that cost us about $95 Cdn, which we would never spend here! But we said - well, we did eat at McD's about 5 times on that trip out of sheer hunger and needing something fast, so we figured we deserved a great meal.

I had to pony about about $150 per night for two nights in Portree on our upcoming Scotland trip - but I'm hoping to offset that with some couchsurfing in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

I've been known to pinch a penny here so I can splurge a little there.

But after our first few trips, I def know my vacation time is worth something, so in most cases I'm going to stay right in the city center instead of on the outskirts or in another town nearby, even if it costs a little more (I'm always perplexed by Rick Steves who usually tells people to stay in city proper (Venice vs Mestre), yet I've seen him recommend staying in Haarlem over Amsterdam. I know it isn't that far by train - unless you've just missed the train and need to wait another 15 min for the next one, then 15-20 min to get to Ams, plus the time getting to the train station. In that 30+ min, I can already be wandering around Ams before the crowds emerge!)

We rarely stay in city centers- we'd just rather sleep in a location that's less crowded and quieter and near shops and restaurants that aren't the same old tourist stuff. (See- 'get a look at local life' too) You're also likely to get more green space- I'd rather open the blinds of the hotel room and get a soccer field or school playground than a view of the near-identical hotel tower next door. And hey, we live in car-centered suburbia so regard mass transit into the city center as an interesting part of the trip experience. That it's cheaper to be a little bit further out is a nice bonus but not the driving factor in how we book hotels.

For us the cutoff is 30 or so minutes from the city center. It's not that much time and the savings can be substantial. We just grab some coffee and snacks and eat breakfast on the way in, so no time is really lost.

I think the reply up above by "Continental" is right on target.

A separate comment re: the surprise that half of Americans would forego vacation for money: Think about it. The incomes of half (or greater) of the people in America require that they maximize opportunities for income. Living on minimum wage or even slightly above, for the most part, is VERY hard. I do not think "half of Americans" are on logging into this Forum, much less even dreaming they may someday fly to Europe. They are trying to pay the rent, save for a home, pay off student loans, or just to hope to make a little extra over-time money to have a nice little modest dinner out.

I know........my household was there 46 years ago. We often recall those days, thankful that our hard work paid off with some travel splurges decades later. For some, they recall those hard work days, with just pride that they were able to always keep food on the table. There are many tradespeople in our community who work side gigs on the weekend (outside their normal work week) for similar reasons. They are hardworking people, trying to get ahead. Some people work three jobs.

Let's not judge, for "by the grace of God, there go I." In my case, "there went I."

Comment re: the time vs. money FOR THOSE WHO CAN OTHERWISE AFFORD, we are in the camp that time is (sometimes)money, and even further, we pretty much practice the rule of "will this make our trip more comfortable, more memorable, etc." We take fewer vacations than many on this forum, but when we do take trips, we will spend extra for nice hotels (usually locally-owned boutique type places), great guides, special access at sites, nice airline seats, comfortable/safe transport to/fro airport in overseas cities, higher-end/reliable tour companies, and reasonable departure/arrival flight times (and reduced connections where possible. But, I also spend some time watching specials, early-booking discounts, tours that might include business class special airline fare, etc.

But, that said, we are still big DIY for home projects, yard work, painting/prepping rental properties, etc.....even giving the dog a haircut. Everyone sets their own priorities in life. I have NEVER had a housekeeper...never...even when I worked 80-90 hours a week at the height of my career. Life is a matter of trade offs. We all make them.

I like to save money on travel and use all the ways to do that. I always check for the lowest prices on kayak.com and matrix air, but then book directly with the airline that is the lowest.
I have my limits, since I am a frequent flyer with credit card with Delta and American, I go with one of them, preferably Delta, if the price is close, like $1100 vs $1150.

As for saving money by taking inconvenient flights, I have my limits. If the bargain is big enough, I will take it.

For example, we normally fly out of Jacksonville, Florida, but occasionally (in fact twice) we have driven an extra 2+ miles to fly out of Orlando. Both times, we saved $500 per person. Yes, we had to stay in a motel for one night, but at $130 for the motel, and a bit more for gas, we saved several hundred dollars.

Another example, we needed to fly to Sydney, Australia for our travel plans in Australia and NZ and were taking a transpacific cruise back to the USA. We needed a one way ticket.
I checked Kayak and matrix and found a ticket one way that involved flying fist to LAX, then a several hours layover, then flying to China, then flying to Australia. It was a brutal travel plan, but it only cost $700, about half of what Delta, etc. wanted. However, I had lots of Delta sky miles, and found a great one way per person there for 50,000 miles. Only, we had a 7 hour layover in LAX. I did the research and found that the Delta facility at LAX was just renovated, including the Skylounge, which would allow us to stay in comfortable seats with free beverages and food for about $30 each. So I booked it. The Skylounge was pretty nice and we were able to pick the best seats that were so comfortable, I was able to nap for a couple of hours, Also, we had a few glasses of wine and lunch (free).

Walk 6-8 blocks in Rome's July heat to catch a $2 subway OR take a $20 air-conditioned taxi?

The walk, of course. Who knows what you might see in a 6-8 block walk in Rome.

the folks who book AirBnB out in the bush so that they can cook their own meals and save money by not consuming foreign meals.

How about AirBnB (or its equivalent) in the center of a town or village? And we cook our own meals, not to save money (although it does), because we like to, and we can buy and try all kinds of regional specialties at a relaxing pace, often with a nice view.

I was thinking about the time vs. money issue earlier when I was commenting on a post about the American cemetery in Normandy. We met a family on our Overlord tour who had taken a cab from their Bayeux hotel to the cemetery on the day before the tour. They wanted more time there than the tour allowed, and didn't want to rent a car. The dad's comment was "We have more money than time". Their trip, their money, their choice.

Walk 6-8 blocks in Rome's July heat to catch a $2 subway OR take a $20 air-conditioned taxi?

I live in Florida and am generally unimpressed by what others consider to be hot summer weather so bring on the 'heat'.
So bring on the mass transit which is part of the experience and all, snd save the cab option for the occasional ride to the airport on the way home.

Some cities are huge...ie...London. I have seen people asking about staying on the outskirts and a lot of the time it is recommended to stay a little closer, as commuting in 45 min just isn’t money saving. I mean, we’ve stayed out by Acton Town and Turnham Green, which is still London but is still 25 min in by tube.

I don’t generally stay right downtown in a boring hotel, I meant more staying Mestre vs Venice, or Amsterdam vs Haarlem. It didn’t quite come out right. We had a nice place in Ams in the de Pijp area, which was 3 stops to Museumplein but by some would be considered the ‘outskirts’. In Vienna we stayed in what might be considered the outskirts but we could be in the city center in about 7 tram stops. In Prague we didn’t stay right in the old town, but could still get there in 15 min walking.

I learned my lesson when we stayed in Florence in a B&B on the outskirts of town. The price was amazing...about $40. But we had to take a bus and then walk about 10min. By the time we made our way there on our first day, it was after supper...too late to go back into the city proper and hardly anywhere to eat in the area. I won’t make that mistake again. I’d rather pay more and be closer to the center.

I've made the mistake of booking myself into a hotel with no nearby restaurants three times; that is not a good situation. On one of those occasions I was more or less forced to eat at my hotel (Ibis chain), and I got sick from the miserable food (fried bar snacks) and missed a prepaid tour of the Cotswolds the next day. You'd think I'd have learned after being served a reheated frozen pizza at my hotel in Zaragoza the previous year, but no, some of us are slow learners.

I'm always perplexed by Rick Steves who usually tells people to stay in city proper (Venice vs Mestre), yet I've seen him recommend staying in Haarlem over Amsterdam.

It's the same reason he tells people to start their UK vacation in Bath. It's where his tours start.

I just started a thread about least helpful R.S. advice and the start off in Bath was my contribution

I love reading all the comments and philosophies.

Time spent researching is a different beast, IMO, to wasting time in a long layover because you saved $50 on the flight. My hours in pre-trip research are to ensure we are somewhat efficient and make good use of our time doing what we want to do. Like many of you, my time on the Forum is educational for me as well as those I try to help. Trip research and reading guidebooks are an avocation for me.

When it comes to saving money, I no longer sacrifice convenience (non-stop flights, open-jaw tickets). All too often we see travelers rationalize flying in-and-out of the same city because they "got a great deal" into a city they don't even plan to visit as they are planning to spend all of there time in locations a half or even full day travel away from the port of arrival. That, to me, is a waste of time in saving money. But to each his own.

We will spend considerable dollars on airfare on occasion then for the next trip figure out how to use our miles to amortize the ridiculous amount of money we spent on airfare last time. Maybe a little frugalism seeps in now-and-then. And I have an amount of money in mind for lodging, but if I can come in within plus-or-minus 20% I will probably book it if it suits our needs for location and amenities. I will no longer stay anywhere not convenient to supposedly save money on lodging. I just know in London we are going to spend a lot.

Those of us who cook may not always do it to save money but in part due to restaurant fatigue and desire to eat more healthily. I think we actually save time, too, because we aren't spending 2 hours at the table every single night in Italy, instead we are relaxing "at home" in our lodging or taking in an evening tour or site.

Great discussion Big Mike!

Although there are a few cases where people knowingly spend money to save time or for convenience, my observation, based on nearly 20 years of reading posts on this forum, is that far too often people waste money on transportation or accommodations because they just don't know all of their options.

Case in point for wasting money on accommodations, in a small town in the Spessart, I stayed for 9 days two years ago in a Ferien Wohnung (vacation apartment) that I found using the town's website. Apartmentson the town website ranged from €32 to €52 per night for two people with a mean per night cost of €37, and a median per night of €35. For those who looked at Airbmb's website instead of the town's, there was on property with a double occupancy cost of €80 per night, including Air's 12½% booking fee. As near as I could tell, the Airbnb properties amenities were about average and it's location (convenience to transportation, restaurants, and downtown) was better than some, worse than some. In other words, middle of the pack for twice as much rent.

As far as hotel, gasthof types of accommodations, there were 5 properties shown on a booking website; they averaged €112 per night, double occupancy, on the booking website. If you found them on the town website and book directly, the average was about €95 per night. However, there were 9 other properties in town, several that I am sure were just as nice, that averaged at about €67 per night. The best 4 or the 9 shown only on the town website averaged €82 per night.

As far as transportation, I made a recent trip alone using public transportation alone. Taking ViaMichelins estimate of gas prices from town to town plus the car quote I got from a source often recommended on this site and comparing it to what I actually spent on tickets for public transportation, I saved more than $200. I spent 3½ hours more traveling by train than I would have by car. Since my daily expenses on the ground (room, meals, transportation, misc) normally totals less than $100 a day, what I saved on transportation would have paid for an additional 2 days in Europe.

Just throwing money at a trip and assuming it's worth it in time and convenience is not a good assumption. Sometimes all you are doing is paying more.

Then there is my least favorite budget category, “stupid fees.” We coined this term to describe times when we have made a mistake in judgement or planning and ended up Paying extra just because of those choices. Everyone has them at some point. My travel goal is to keep the stupid fees limited and spend money when it increases the value of the experience instead.

Example of a stupid fee. I bought my Heathrow Express ticket for my return to the airport far in advance and saved 50%. Only problem was I didn’t double check the direction on the ticket and bought for Heathrow-Paddington. I didn’t notice until I couldn’t go through the gate at the train station. I ended up having to buy a full fare ticket due to time constraints. That was one expensive discount ticket..... the fault, mine.

Oh my gosh, Carol, I love your "stupid fees" category. And oh the stupid fees I've paid: like knowing I needed to validate a train ticket but forgetting anyway, and getting a fine.

At least now I can chuckle and chalk it up to the stupid fees category!

I have always loved to travel. I lived for 8 years in the SF Bay Area and had a great job (interesting work, good people, ample salary). I worked lots of overtime in busy season and got 1 to 1 comp time which allowed me to drive all over western North America for 1, 2 or even 3 weeks at a time, which meant 6-10 weeks time off a year. One day they told me they were cancelling comp time. The very next morning I put my condo up for sale.

I grew up with a penny-pinching father (product of the Great Depression). My first instinct is to base my decision on whether the asking price is fair/reasonable. Ages ago, I went to the market with a coworker for our weekly shopping. I passed on some mangoes, because the price was too high. He said - so what? your'e not buying for a family of 5 (he was), just for yourself and you can afford it. That remark changed my thinking, from is it intrinsically worth the money to is it worth it to me.

No longer will I share a bathroom. I don't spend time calculating the savings on a multi-sight pass. If it's the only way to skip lines or if it covers most of what I want to see in the time I have, great. If not, forget it. I shop in supermarkets for snacks and sometimes food for suppers in my room but I eat dinners in restaurants much more than I did even 4-5 years ago. I relax more. Instead of exhausting myself by trying to fit in one more sight, I'll spend an hour at midday or in the late afternoon having a drink. It's led to many interesting conversations and even a dinner companion more than once.

As some of you have already said, when you're spending big bucks for each day, you should make the most of them. But do it sensibly. On an auto trip, it's pretty easy to do a string of 1- or 2-nighters. Using trains, it can waste a lot of time and money too. I get much more enjoyment and satisfaction when I spend more time in fewer places.

Had a shared bathroom a couple of times. Once, they forgot to unlock my door and I couldn't use the bathroom.

Another time my bathroom mates had very questionable, pungent hygiene.

So instead of rolling the dice on that one again, just no.

I'm retired so I have spare time. I play the credit card bonus offer mileage game. It is a game in the sense that I spend time and effort to build up airline miles through obtaining new credit cards for my wife and I but I get some satisfaction out of using the miles for business class trips to Europe. I call it a hobby. Usually we each have to open 4 new credit cards to do it (two credit card bonuses for a one way business class ticket).

There are three variables that i weigh in obtaining flights - cost, time and comfort. I can only get two out of three.

1 - The traditional route would be to pay full price for a business class ticket and travel non-stop to my destination, this sacrifices cost.

2 - Or we could use our frequent flier miles to travel non-stop to Europe but travel in economy class, this sacrifices comfort

3 - We choose to use miles for business class tickets to Europe, stopping once or twice along the way before we make it to our destination (sometimes staying overnight in London at an airport hotel), this sacrifices time but I enjoy the comfort and small price (sometimes paying high fees/taxes on British Air flights, plus hotel cost at Premier Inn).

I think the observation about value, as opposed to cost (whether time or money or both) is spot-on.
I too was raised in a very frugal household and that mentality is evidently hard to shake. I aim to pay based on value to me. Thus, while traveling is certainly way up at the top of my list of values (our cars are old and our house is falling apart, and much of what we own is used - don't get me started on the dining room chairs), saving for our 3 teen's college tuitions and our retirements and the emergency fund, etc. are more important. So while we could afford to travel in more comfort, we find pleasure in being able to travel at all, and for as long as we can (which is up to 6 weeks) by sacrificing some creature comfort to save. Like others, travel-planning on a frugal budget has become a game for me. This also matters because there are 5 of us. So, we drive a long way to an airport that has much cheaper tickets. Comparing tickets on the same day from our local airport to one of those we have driven to, we save thousands. The price of a hotel room and the deals IO have found to park our car for a month or more don't even touch the savings). We rent apartments most often because the price is better, but I look for B&b's of comparable price because I love having a breakfast prepared. We do stay in the city or town, but so far Ive managed to keep to the price-per-night I have in mind (or near it) when averaged. We do shop at grocery stores and eat all breakfasts in the apartment, not so much to save but because its nice to have food available when you wake up. We aren't expensive eaters, mostly because we don't like to sit down that long for a meal, and because of restaurant fatigue (yes!). So we like places that are quick to order and quick to eat. Of course, we eat at nice restaurants if the mood strikes. And we mostly rent a car, because as much as we prefer public transport, the cost is almost always on the side of the rental car for 5 ppl. That said, once Ive paid the big expenses of flights, lodging, and transport, and entrance to major sites, we don't fret over spending while there. It's like, once Ive saved thousands, I feel free to thoroughly enjoy myself and not worry about what we spend there. I do keep receipts and add it at the end to see how we do.
I can imagine someday taking an RS tour. The idea of just showing up and not having to do all the work - and wow its months of work - is very appealing. But for now, there is no way we would spend that much for the 5 of us.
All that said, two years ago my best friend, also with 3 teens, was traveling in Europe for 6 weeks. We were there for 5. At the end of it all, she and I talked about how things went. She said exhilarated "I learned so much!", and I said "Me too! Like what? What's one thing you learned?" And she says: "Well, I learned there's a difference between 4 and 5 star hotels!" LOL
Value is where we find it

Jessica--and I love that name---thank you for sharing your thoughts. Great read.

Well, I learned there's a difference between 4 and 5 star hotels!

In Germany, at least, unless you are someone that has to have a 24 hour front desk and 24 hour room service, the biggest difference between 4 and 5 star hotels is the price.

Hi gang,

There have been some fun topics these last few days!

I think my biggest lesson lately has been the time versus money insight others mentioned. On a couple of recent trips to Europe, I got some great airfare deals but at the cost of nearly two full days of travel. For example, I got a good biz class airfare to Munich on Turkish Air, but it was via Instanbul (starting in Los Angeles) so obviously overshooting the destination and backtracking. I sort of viewed it as an adventure -- first time on the airline (great) and experienced Instanbul airport (impressive). However, by the time I finally got to Munich, it was nearly 11 PM the day after leaving LAX. So yes, I saved money on the airfare but next time will just fly direct and pay more for business class -- it gets me there around 1PM and I have the late afternoon and evening free to go to a performance or explore the city.
I make up for some of the indulgence of business class fare by staying in simple hotels as I'm not a demanding traveler.

For me it's always been a value thing. Would I go 50 miles to a different airport to save $300? Probably. Would I increase my flight from 10 hour to 24 hour duration to save $300? No way, but I might go from 7 to 10 hours to save $300 (fly through Iceland). Especially if it saves me hours in an immigration line. I look at the all options and weigh the relative value of each before booking.

I do spend inordinate amounts of time reviewing lodging choices, not to save $10 but to weed out potentially soul-crushing bad stays. I generally have a price range I think is reasonable and work within that to find something decent.

The time vs money thing comes up for us when we travel with friends or family. Since we retired we tend to do what works for us based on convenience, not price. Traveling with people who are budget conscious is a challenge at times. We generally look for a mid-priced hotel to make everyone happy, but then we upgrade to a room with a view. We get what we like and everyone else is pleased with the price. Expensive meals are a rarity for us, so that works well when we are with a group. We plan maybe one splurge dinner and go local the other meals. It all works out in the end! It is a personal choice as to how people want to spend their travel dollars and their available time.