BB_TX wrote:
Never tried to justify costs of one over the other for any given trip.
Learned our lesson years ago with a cheap weekend in Vegas that wound up costing 4 times what we expected when all was done and said because we didn't take the time to price out all the misc costs.
Now we do a quick calculation when comparing travel options including most of the misc stuff (gas, meals, entrance fees, parking, local transport, etc...). We don't always take the cheapest option but we have a good idea of what it's going to cost us ahead of time. We have a simple spreadsheet that helps us remember most of the costs to check.
Budgeting and planning allowed us to semi-retire at 37 (work part time while traveling 80-90% of the time) and fully retired last month at 52. Tracking the costs is well worth it for us.
Example: In April, we are flying back into Michigan from overseas for a few days to take care of some personal stuff. Then we need to get to Montana to pick up the RV before heading north to Alaska.
- Flights into Detroit were running $800. Chicago was running $600 but we would have to drive an hour further to get to our destination (mid-Michigan). For $400 savings, well worth it.
- Departing Michigan, tickets to Montana were running $450. On a whim checked Amtrak and for $600 we get a roomette. Costs more but saves us a hotel night cost and we have some heavy stuff that would be require an extra baggage fee with the airlines. Still probably a little more costly but also a bit of an experience since time is not pressing.
