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Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness and a Vacation?
A 3-step Plan for Breaking the Vacation Entitlement Mindset
Our income barely covers our monthly bills, we just financed a new SUV, the kids need braces and we have $5,000 in consumer debt – but darn it, we work hard and we deserve a vacation! Can you relate to this 
sentiment? Your friends and coworkers rhapsodize about their upcoming cruises and road trips, and it's easy to start thinking you have a "right" to a vacation of your own. And that, says financial planner Diane McCurdy, is when the temptation to whip out the credit card starts to seem reasonable.
"In our instant gratification culture, people really do feel entitled to a big summer vacation," says McCurdy, author of How Much Is Enough? Balancing Today's Needs with Tomorrow's Retirement Goals (Wiley, 2005). "They rationalize, 'Well, I work really hard and I need a break for my own mental health, so I'll just put this trip on the card or on my line of credit and pay it back later.'"
"But what if your grandmother who lives across the country dies and you have to put that trip on the card, too?" she says. "What if your heat pump breaks down and you have to replace it? What if you do finance the vacation and spend the whole two weeks stressed out about the money you're spending? It is rarely a good idea to go into debt unnecessarily – and vacation is NOT a necessity."
So does McCurdy suggest forgoing your summer fun entirely? Not at all. She merely believes that vacations should never be "charged." If you can't pay cash for your dream vacation this summer then figure out an inexpensive alternative and postpone that lavish trip until next summer – and start saving for it right now.
Here is her 3-step plan for breaking the vacation entitlement mindset: