‘Know that the window is getting smaller’: Singaporeans urge man to travel with parents while he can
SINGAPORE: Travelling can be expensive, but how much is too much to spend on travel? One Singaporean earning S$105,000 a year, who plans to take his parents, both in their 60s, on some longer trips, wondered the same, turning to an online forum to ask netizens whether it would be “financially wise” for him to spend about a quarter of his pay, or S$24,000 to S$27,000 a year, on these trips.
On r/singaporefi, he wrote: “I know it depends on income and other commitments, but I graduated this year, and my job is chill enough for me to go for 1 long (2-week), 1-2 medium (1-week) and a few long weekend trips a year. The only problem is whether it is financially wise to do so.”
“I aim to bring my parents for the longer trips, as they are below median earners and have not had the chance to travel that much. Assuming they don't chip in, I estimate total spend to be 24-27k per year. My annual income is ~105k. My other expenses are not much at ~1k per month,” he explains further, asking others if it would be “reasonable to travel so much?”
Commenters, however, reminded him that some things may be worth spending on while one still can. Some argued it was indeed “too much” to spend a quarter of one’s salary on trips. Still, as one commenter put it: “Money can [be earned] back. Time can't.”
The commenter added: “You will never justify spending through numbers, but you can justify it with priorities - know that the window to travel with your parents while they’re still able to is getting smaller.”
When another commenter suggested starting with a one-week trip with his parents before committing to longer ones, the post author revealed that he had recently taken them on trips to Europe and Asia, although at that time they all chipped in for those trips.
He added that the itinerary was “fully planned” by him and shared how his parents were quite happy with the experience, including eating local cuisine for 90% of their meals. “Of course they are still not used to the long flights, but I think they truly enjoy these vacations to see the world,” he said.
Several other commenters, meanwhile, shared how they also set aside a travel budget each year, with some setting aside between S$16,000 and S$20,000, although they noted that this was mostly for themselves.
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“I am totally supportive of allocating a large budget to travel because I love it so much and we have limited time. Just need to make sure you don’t shortchange other important contributions like investment,” one commenter said.
Financially wise or not, travelling remains on the cards for many Singaporeans, as Klook's Travel Pulse 2026 survey found that eight in 10 Singaporeans still plan to travel overseas this year despite financial concerns. To manage costs, some were found to be cutting travel costs through deals and discounts (47%), booking earlier (46%) and choosing cheaper hotels. /TISG