Saving up for family travel

M & I are working on saving up for some big family trips. 

Turkey with M's mom:

If things ever settle down in Iran (the airports are currently all closed), we would like to meet his mom in Turkey & bring both boys. It's unlikely Sam will be able to go, as he is on the wait list for a year long internship, but we would likely go in May, so Nick could attend. While we aren't able to pay for flights due to sanctions, we would cover all other travel expenses for M's mom + whomever else comes along. This trip is currently just a bookmark for May, as there's no way to know what will be feasible until it gets closer.

My dad's trip to Japan with my nephew:

My nephew would like to take my dad to Japan before the trip becomes untenable due to my dad's health. I've offered to sponsor most of the trip. I don't think my dad's back can hold up in an economy seat for an international flight, so I'm tentatively earmarking flights to be a very big expense. 

An international trip with my mom & sister:

My parents don't have a ton of disposable income, and I know they would both love to do an international trip before they are no longer able to. My dad's big dream is Japan (above), but that's not on my mom's wish list. My sister & I are working on short list of options to share with her, as she's asked us to select something. A lot of things are being discussed, but she's not a big city person, wants something reasonably active, safe & easy logistics from San Francisco. So, more to come on this one.

Travel is already a significant portion of our budget for myself, M & the boys. I'll likely plan to pull forward some of our spending in 2027, and expect that it will level off quite a bit after that. I'm happy to have the flexibility to make these trips happen for our parents. As a result, we are going to work hard to keep other expenses in check & save up extra funds! 

Travel planning, budgeting & optimizing perks, rewards, miles, etc is one of my favorite things to do, so stay tuned for more details on how I try to optimize these trips. Without work travel, I will not have many miles or points to leverage, but I will have the glorious advantage of having a flexible schedule. 

Are you daydreaming of any trips?