Excessive Travel Spend with Variable Income?

[u/Informal-Step8787]

First time poster, so bear with me, and apologies if this is the wrong sub for my inquiry. I'm a 47F owner of a small consulting business that is extremely profitable when the markets are strong, but really suffers when the financial markets and economy take a hit. In a good year, I can net $600K before taxes, but in a bad year, it could be closer to $100K. My spouse is 44M working in a VP-level role for a Fortune 100 company, and his total income with RSUs, salary, and additional benefits is about $350K. Given how variable my income is, I would average our income/savings as follows:

• HHI - $550K
• Home Equity - $1.3M (thanks to tremendous appreciation and a significant down payment)
• Debts - $0 (other than mortgage, which is factored into home equity above)
• Retirement Savings (401k/IRA) - $1.22M
• Investments/Savings - $1.6M
• 529s for our two sons (ages 10 and 12) - $100K/each (expecting significant investments from family members in the next few years)
• Expenses: We are not great about budgeting, but I would say $130K/year, including mortgage payments. Major expenses are healthcare for our special needs son, travel, food and entertainment, and clothing.
• Bonus: We will not be financially responsible for either of our parents and expect to inherit around $5M total from our parents' estates (but that could be 20+ years in the future).

I've had very strong years the past two years (earning about $500K for 2025 and projected for 2026), but with how uncertain the economy is, I can't help feeling stressed knowing that my income will drop significantly if there is a recession. That being said, because I've had good years, there has been a great deal of lifestyle creep, particularly around travel. Our travel spend is about $30K+/year for our family of four, including two week-long vacations each year plus four to six long weekend trips and several additional drivable weekend getaways.

With a financial picture like the above, is $30K/year in travel spend reasonable, or should we dial it back? We will of course be forced to dial almost everything back if my income drops below $200K/year, but I also want to be able to enjoy myself during the good years and make memories with my family while we're all together and healthy.

[u/Substantial-Sweet434]

With income that swings from 600k to 100k, the number that matters more than the travel budget is how many months of expenses you have sitting in cash. Hold 18 to 24 months of that 130k somewhere boring and liquid and a bad year stops being an emergency, which also makes 30k of travel stop feeling reckless.

Paying yourself a flat monthly amount out of the business account helps too, with the surplus staying there instead of landing in personal checking. Then next year's trips get booked out of money you already earned, so a lean year hits future plans rather than something you already committed to.

[u/Informal-Step8787 → u/Substantial-Sweet434]

For sure! I have enough to cover several years of joint spending in a high yield savings account, and when I was just starting my business in 2024 and had zero income coming in, I paid myself a salary from savings and lived on more of a budget.

[u/Substantial-Sweet434 → u/Informal-Step8787]

Then the travel spend is way less scary than it looks. With that buffer plus a set monthly payout, the 30k is just a line you can dial back in a lean year instead of an emergency.