We spend decades learning how to save for retirement — yet few of us plan how to spend wisely once we get there. Among all the categories of retirement spending, travel is the one that always puts a smile on my face.
It promises joy, discovery, and a sense of vitality — and the latter is a very important consideration. In this post, I want to explore how to create a Travel Spending Plan — the Travel Pot — that fits naturally within my broader retirement plan. Stick around — I think you’ll find this idea liberating.
1. The Core Spending Plan – Knowing My Consistent Spend
Before carving out my travel budget, I first needed to understand my core spending plan.
And that starts with recognising what my spending pattern looks like — my “credit-card biorhythm.” You know that feeling: those heart palpitations when the monthly statement arrives… he-he.
I started by tracking my expenses for a few months using my bank’s spending-tracker app (many banks now categorise transactions automatically)¹.
Alternatively, I could have exported the last year’s statements to Excel and tagged recurring versus exceptional items.
My recurring expenses typically include groceries, insurance, utilities, and healthcare. The one-offs are things like home improvements, special gifts, or emergencies. Once I isolated my consistent expense baseline, I knew what was safely available for discretionary items like travel.
2. The Travel Bucket (or Travel Pot)
As I’ve aged, my relationship with travel has changed. On long-haul flights, I notice fewer octogenarians — I suspect it’s not because they lack interest, but because stamina, comfort, and confidence often decline with age.
That’s where the Travel Bucket idea comes in.
Instead of budgeting a flat annual amount forever, I’ve set aside a total pool to cover the years I expect to travel most — my “travel-fit” phase.
For example, assuming a decade of active travel, I have earmarked a gross amount of Rands as my Travel Pot. Some years I’ll spend more, others less, but I’m drawing from a defined pool.
This creates both freedom and realism: I know my total travel spend and can enjoy it without guilt. It also means I have a more realistic travel spending plan than if I were spreading this budget across my entire remaining lifetime.
3. Why This Matters
Creating a travel spending plan in retirement isn’t about setting boundaries — it’s even more about creating the freedom to spend. Knowing what’s viable gives me permission to enjoy my money — not fear that it will run out.
With the Travel Pot concept, my plan also becomes more realistic, because that major discretionary expense is consciously covered within a time frame that matches my most active years. It also means my travel expenses can be reviewed independently of my overall spending plan — helping to reduce the anxiety I might otherwise feel each time I plan a trip.
For me, the goal is to live fully while energy, health, curiosity (and body) remain strong — yet stay realistic about what later years may bring.
A well-designed travel spending plan turns retirement travel into something I can anticipate with excitement rather than anxiety.
References
[¹] Moneyweb: Why tracking your spending is the key to financial freedom
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