What's Your Financial Breakpoint In a Balcony?

[RocketMan275]

2 hours ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

Agreed. Another way of saying this is that if I don't spend my money, it is just more first-class flights my children or grandchildren will be taking

Bumper sticker:  Fly first class or your grandchildren will.

[RocketMan275]

1 minute ago, schmoopie17 said:

When I was in the Army they were called C-Rations. No telling what the "C" stood for...

There were 

A rations: Fresh and refrigerated ingredients, served in mess halls

B rations: Canned and preserved meals, prepared in field kitchens

C rations: Canned meals, including a canned 12 ounce serving

[graphicguy]

7 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Preppers buy them for survival rations.

Hunters buy them for their hunting trips.

Well....if Armageddon doesn't get them, the MRE's will.  LOL!

Edited May 16 by graphicguy

[DCGuy64]

29 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Bumper sticker:  Fly first class or your grandchildren will.

I met a lovely couple from Scotland on our last NCL cruise, the lady said they were having a SKI vacation: SKI = Spending Kids' Inheritance. 🤣

[RocketMan275]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I met a lovely couple from Scotland on our last NCL cruise, the lady said they were having a SKI vacation: SKI = Spending Kids' Inheritance. 🤣

We are truly fortunate.  We have one son who will not need any inheritance from us.

[Asawi]

4 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I met a lovely couple from Scotland on our last NCL cruise, the lady said they were having a SKI vacation: SKI = Spending Kids' Inheritance. 🤣

That's brilliant!

My daughter frequently tells me she doesn't want any money when I die. I'm working on granting that wish. 😁 

[graphicguy]

Had this conversation with my son last weekend.  He is WAY ahead of where I was at the same age (mid 30s) regarding retirement savings, investments, etc. 

 

That said, I was saving for his college, sending him to private schools, dealing with his Mom’s (soon to be ex) private in-patient re-hab costs.  

 

Not complaining…just a big chunk of change flowing out at the time.  

 

Proud of him.  

[Travelling2Some]

There are many, many choices on what to do with money besides either spending it all on yourself or having your children spend it on luxuries.  There are favorite causes and charities.  Some families may have a child or grandchild that they want to provide for due to a disability unlikely to ever fly anywhere in either first class or basic economy. 

 

There are also people who are living large and foolishly going into debt for luxuries.  Lots of different choices when it comes to spending.

[Travelling2Some]

We book balconies sometimes but not usually.  As others have said, it depends on itinerary and relative cost.  It's a combination of factors so I can't put a "dollar per day" ceiling on it.  Not going to pay anywhere near twice as much for the exact same cruise for that little bit of extra real estate though.  Just not value for money for me.  Last time we had a balcony I was pretty much unable to use it because there was a row of 3 cabins of people traveling in the same (loud) group adjacent to us.  They had their balcony dividers removed and were pretty much holding one big continuous gathering out there.  Impossible for us to read or enjoy a quiet drink or conversation.

 

There are just so many reasons that you can end up not using a balcony much:  too hot, too cold, too windy, neighbors who smoke, neighbors with boom box.  To many variables usually.  On most ships the OVs seem to be located under a public deck or way up forward where there is too much motion for us or we would probably book those more often.

[slidemaster5]

2 hours ago, Asawi said:

I book cheap rooms and ride a bicycle. But I travel A LOT (not just cruising)! People ask me how I can afford it. Cheap rooms and a bicycle... 😄 (Although my "lowest acceptable standard" is considerably higher now that once upon a time.)

 

I failed to mention that our strategy as newly minted retirees is to take 2 cruises a year versus say 3 or 4 so we are going quality v quantity. We have one son so whatever is left goes to him and DIL. (Hopefully more than FCCs). 

 

We scrimped through our middle years and finally got a bit ahead. Here is my definition of middle class: If you are generally living paycheck to paycheck, you are middle class. If you don't realize you got paid until you look at your online banking, you are no longer middle class.

[Daruma]

2 hours ago, graphicguy said:

 They all kind of tasted more or less like....well....Cruise Critic would censor me if I described them.  LOL!

 

You can actually buy them on Amazon.  Not exactly sure why someone would want to.  Apparently someone who has never tasted them.  But, they're there.

 

 

 

 

We buy them as Hurricane Rations here in FL. 

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Had this conversation with my son last weekend.  He is WAY ahead of where I was at the same age (mid 30s) regarding retirement savings, investments, etc. 

 

That said, I was saving for his college, sending him to private schools, dealing with his Mom’s (soon to be ex) private in-patient re-hab costs.  

 

Not complaining…just a big chunk of change flowing out at the time.  

 

Proud of him.  

As well you should be! I hope my dad is proud of me, too. I know he has provided for me and my sisters, but my operating principle surrounding retirement savings has always been that it's my responsibility, not his. I have been good about this, and (knock on wood) things will be fine. I met with a retirement planner recently and cruises were part of my "must have" retirement plans!

[kirtihk]

On 5/14/2024 at 4:07 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

My income and expenses are totally irrelevant to my choice of cabin.  So yes, I was able to actually answer the OPs question.  That places me clearly in a very small minority.

 

I don't live by the equation: "Income - expenses = money to throw away on things I don't need"

 

That said, it sounds like you and many others might.😎

I easily might go in the inside cabin on Seabourn, Regent, Ponant, and Silversea; the matter is they don't provide it.  So... No choice for me: I'm stuck with and forced enjoying the balcony cabin (and a "darn" butler on Silversea).  On a positive note, I like a lack of choices - less headache! 

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

There are just so many reasons that you can end up not using a balcony much:  too hot, too cold, too windy, neighbors who smoke, neighbors with boom box. 

You left out the worst of all, often discussed here in the past.  A balcony near people who have the nerve to blow bubbles off their balcony.  According to many experts here, if one of those bubbles pops on your balcony, it will create a tremendous mess that will take hours to clean up and, even worse, an immediate safety hazard for anybody who foolishly enters that hazard zone.  The horrors.😱

[Daruma]

28 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You left out the worst of all, often discussed here in the past.  A balcony near people who have the nerve to blow bubbles off their balcony.  According to many experts here, if one of those bubbles pops on your balcony, it will create a tremendous mess that will take hours to clean up and, even worse, an immediate safety hazard for anybody who foolishly enters that hazard zone.  The horrors.😱

 

Bubble blowing wouldn't bother me, but I've heard/read that many people smoke on their balconies... THAT would turn me homicidal 🤬🤬😁

 

Such a filthy, disgusting, stinky habit IMHO and I detest it when I smell cigarette/cigar smoke nearby. 

[Travelling2Some]

35 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You left out the worst of all, often discussed here in the past.  A balcony near people who have the nerve to blow bubbles off their balcony.  According to many experts here, if one of those bubbles pops on your balcony, it will create a tremendous mess that will take hours to clean up and, even worse, an immediate safety hazard for anybody who foolishly enters that hazard zone.  The horrors.😱

Oh my goodness, how could I ever forget that one?  And how about those people who devastate the environment by hiding innocent rubber duckies?

[ChiefMateJRK]

8 minutes ago, Daruma said:

Such a filthy, disgusting, stinky habit IMHO and I detest it when I smell cigarette/cigar smoke nearby. 

Like many, I have never smoked but grew up in a house with a parent who smoked.  The smell has never really bothered me.  In fact, on my last cruise I spent some time in the enclosed "smokers" casino room, to play a slot machine that was only there.  Most of the time, nobody was smoking in there.  There was one guy who came in occasionally to smoke but not gamble (yes, that's against the rules, but since I was gambling without smoking we had an offset 🤣).  I'm not a believer in the hazards of occasional secondhand smoke.  I'm sure it is more dangerous than bubbles on my balcony, but we're splitting hairs.

[slidemaster5]

2 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

As well you should be! I hope my dad is proud of me, too. I know he has provided for me and my sisters, but my operating principle surrounding retirement savings has always been that it's my responsibility, not his. I have been good about this, and (knock on wood) things will be fine. I met with a retirement planner recently and cruises were part of my "must have" retirement plans!

 

Hopefully you have a sound planner. As a CPA I cringe when I see YouTube or online articles from "financial experts". Heck, even articles from Fidelity are often garbage. Since I can do my own planning at least I don't take a leap of faith there. My leap of faith comes into play when I see the auto mechanic ......

[dbrown84]

On 5/13/2024 at 3:02 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Twenty-five bucks per day. I've upgraded from inside to balcony twice for less than that.  Otherwise, I sleep and shower just fine in an inside.  If I need more light, I flip on another switch.

I'm also $25 per day, which generally translates to a minimum bid upgrade.  I won a bid from inside to balcony one for a minimum bid ($150 total).  After winning the bid, I began to have concerns that the cabin wouldn't be dark enough for me when I sleep.  that actually was not much of an issue as they curtains blocked out the sun pretty good.  But I think I stepped out on the balcony maybe three times the whole cruise.  

[Bubbeh]

Wouldn't even consider anything other than a balcony cabin.  Once did a cruise on a small ship with no balcony's, somehow kneeling on the bed while struggling to see our to a port hole just doesn't compare to walking out onto a balcony.   If I couldn't afford one, I simply would not book.   

[Sailing12Away]

14 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You left out the worst of all, often discussed here in the past.  A balcony near people who have the nerve to blow bubbles off their balcony.  According to many experts here, if one of those bubbles pops on your balcony, it will create a tremendous mess that will take hours to clean up and, even worse, an immediate safety hazard for anybody who foolishly enters that hazard zone.  The horrors.😱

I haven't killed any of my neighbors yet with the slip and fall hazards I've created. Still trying though...

[DCGuy64]

14 hours ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

Hopefully you have a sound planner. As a CPA I cringe when I see YouTube or online articles from "financial experts". Heck, even articles from Fidelity are often garbage. Since I can do my own planning at least I don't take a leap of faith there. My leap of faith comes into play when I see the auto mechanic ......

Oh no, I just took the advice of someone who spammed me via email. What could go wrong? LOL. Seriously, though, my financial planner is very good. He has been advising me for decades, and I have full trust in him. He's NOT some rando off YouTube.

[slidemaster5]

27 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Oh no, I just took the advice of someone who spammed me via email. What could go wrong? LOL. Seriously, though, my financial planner is very good. He has been advising me for decades, and I have full trust in him. He's NOT some rando off YouTube.

 

That's good. Actually, the key thing you said is that you have been using him for decades. By now you would have enough history to understand his investment strategy and he would understand your retirement goals and your risk profile.  

 

My biggest beef is that many planners solely stress maximizing the financial aspects and not the entire retirement experience. In a down market it is easy to tell the client "you get the better answer by delaying social security until 70" while the client gets stressed by watching their portfolio shrink because they need to drain it until 70. The client then doesn't spend and loses experiences over the prime years of their retirement. 

 

When people retire, they may not be looking for the best mathematical plan but something they can live with so there needs to be a balancing act with a retirement plan.  As the great sage Mike Tyson stated, "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". 

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Seriously, though, my financial planner is very good. 

Our finance guy is also very good. He advised me to only get a balcony if Mrs. Schmoopie will actually use it. 

[RocketMan275]

14 minutes ago, slidemaster5 said:

 

That's good. Actually, the key thing you said is that you have been using him for decades. By now you would have enough history to understand his investment strategy and he would understand your retirement goals and your risk profile.  

 

My biggest beef is that many planners solely stress maximizing the financial aspects and not the entire retirement experience. In a down market it is easy to tell the client "you get the better answer by delaying social security until 70" while the client gets stressed by watching their portfolio shrink because they need to drain it until 70. The client then doesn't spend and loses experiences over the prime years of their retirement. 

 

When people retire, they may not be looking for the best mathematical plan but something they can live with so there needs to be a balancing act with a retirement plan.  As the great sage Mike Tyson stated, "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". 

So much of the financial retirement advice is written around the persons who must rely upon social security for their retirement.  

BTW, I read one financial advisor who talked about the balancing act.  He said all too often, advice ignores a persons need to enjoy retirement.  He said he would regret facing a retiree who admitted they had a wonderful portfolio but wanted to know why he never got to have any fun.