How do we afford to take a family vacation every year—without being rich, bougie, or living the “vineyard mom” lifestyle?
We just got back from an 8-day Mexican Riviera cruise, and for the second year in a row, we came home actually feeling rested. Not exhausted. Not needing a vacation from our vacation. Rested. That alone felt like a miracle.
In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly how we budget, plan, and prioritize travel with kids—from Disney on a shoestring, to cheap Mexico trips, to why we now plan about $5k a year for bigger family vacations. I’m sharing the real-life, not-glamorous strategies: old cars, simple hotels, grocery store meals, souvenir budgets, and why rest days save both your sanity and your money.
We also talk about the idea from the book Die With Zero—that money isn’t just for saving, it’s for building a life full of memories while you’re healthy enough to enjoy them.
If you’ve ever thought, “Must be nice… but we could never afford that,” this episode is for you. You don’t need a luxury budget—you need a plan, priorities, and a little creativity.
