Compulsive flight ticket buyer ;-/

[Kiara]

I am turning out in being an impulse flight ticket buyer. I don’t know if it’s a serious disease, or if it’s simply the effect of my SO, who lives at 2000 miles from me right now! We spent a wonderful week in Mexico just seven days ago, for Spring Break, and when I came back to New York I was so depressed. It happens all the time when we spend some days together and then we have to say bye-bye. Crying for no reason all the time, zero energy, zero will to go to the gym, to study, to talk with other people... and also headache and a bit of fever (100F).

So... the solution is to plan our next visit! I have read several posts of people saying that it helps to know when the next visit will be. But in our case, we are seeing each other a lot! Almost every 2-3 weeks! Considering the distance, that’s a lot!!! This time I was supposed to wait a month, before having him coming in New York on May 1st and spending 10 days together. He already has the ticket, and everything will be fine, but... I CAN’T WAIT SO LONG!
So, since college is close on Passover (April 18 and 19), I checked the flight and... I bought the ticket for Salt Lake City! Buying a flight ticket twelve days before the departure day is crazy, it’s so expensive! It’s 100$ more expensive than usual, and the total... I prefer to forget about it!

I am really happy, but a bit scared of this huge love that I feel for my SO. I had other BF before, and I had never felt anything like this! I feel like I can’t live without him! Actually, I have also found a reason to justify to myself this unexpected expense: this is going to be our last time in Utah together, as the semester is finishing and then we will be both back in Europe. We met in SLC, we had our first date there, my first sweet (orange) fried potatoes, our hikes in the Wasatch mountains and in the National Parks, our dorm, the campus… So I really want to spend 5 days with him in that place, again! I am so sad if I think that it will be the last time 

The problem is not really this impulsive buy, but… what if it continues like that? In Europe (we will be 850 miles afar), we have checked, we have several options (train, bus, planes) , but they are all around 150-200€ and take at least 10 hours, from home to home. That’s crazy: here in the US we have 2000 miles, and it’s less than 10h considering everything!

Is there any other compulsive buyer in the LFAD community? Did it happen to you to buy unexpected tickets in situations similar to mine? And then, more important: should I try to slow down my impulses, or should I simply enjoy the great feeling of being in love?

[NaNi]

I can't really be a compulsive buyer because I can't afford more than one ticket per year anyway. A flight from Germany to New Zealand costs €1.700 and then I also need to find a place to stay which usually costs €1.500. But if I had more money I would definitely plan more trips.

[nicole]

Oh if only, $900 + a ticket, there's no way I could do that now. Maybe if I had a job, but being a poor student, plus we're saving up for a house and stuff. There's no way. The only reason why I got this next visit was because it was my 21st birthday present off my dad.

And to answer your question, if you have the means, then why not? God knows I would. I'd just be careful you have money spare for if any emergencies occur.

[Dziubka]

I'm somewhat like that, too.
Not exactly, because I don't really buy expensive tickets, but I'm constantly looking for good deals and when I find cheap flights (ie <90€ in our case) I buy them.
I buy the train tickets 3 months in advance to get a good deal and because it makes me feel good to know that I'm definitely going to see my boyfriend. I'm actually quite disappointed that I don't know my schedule for next semester (I only have 1 class, I just need to know when it is!), I'd totally buy tickets for October/November already if I could.

[Insanity]

I'm with the others that can't afford to. I plan on visiting my SO once a year (hopefully for a few months, my uni summer holidays are like 4.5 months) which just the plane ticket will cost $2300, then I also have to factor in travel insurance and have enough money to prove I can support myself without working.
I wish I could see my SO every few weeks, being so far away from him and his son is really hard, especially since it's his son's birthday this Month.

I think it's up to you whether you feel like you need to cut back, I know we all would love to visit our SO's all the time but we have to weigh up the costs and whether travelling so much is practical. Maybe you need to ask yourself if you're feelings for your SO are healthy, loving him is understandable but it can be really unhealthy to be dependant on them. I'm not saying you are, you'll know yourself. Maybe ask yourself why you're impulsively buy these tickets?

[Insanity]

I'm with the others that can't afford to. I plan on visiting my SO once a year (hopefully for a few months, my uni summer holidays are like 4.5 months) which just the plane ticket will cost $2300, then I also have to factor in travel insurance and have enough money to prove I can support myself without working.
I wish I could see my SO every few weeks, being so far away from him and his son is really hard, especially since it's his son's birthday this Month.

I think it's up to you whether you feel like you need to cut back, I know we all would love to visit our SO's all the time but we have to weigh up the costs and whether travelling so much is practical. Maybe you need to ask yourself if you're feelings for your SO are healthy, loving him is understandable but it can be really unhealthy to be dependant on them. I'm not saying you are, you'll know yourself. Maybe ask yourself why you're impulsively buy these tickets?

[Micah]

I would be a compulsive ticket buyer, but I don't have the money to do so. Plus, my children don't give me the flexibility to travel on a whim. Whenever I go to visit my SO, I have to make sure that someone is able to watch my kids. Then, I have to make sure he is able to pick me up from the airport - it's a 2.5 hour drive away and he has a demanding job. So... I can't do so because of the planning it requires. He pays for my plane tickets, so we usually have monthly visits. If I had the money and didn't have to worry about my kids, I would do it! Usually plane tickets cost less than $200 for me to fly to see him, so it's really not that bad compared to the rest of you. I'd say I am more of a compulsive driver! He lives 10 hours away, so sometimes if I have a few days off from my kids because they are with their dad, I will go visit him on a whim.

I say if you have the time and money, then go for it!

[Itsmy6]

If I had the money I'd be on a plane this evening but being broke I have to look for the cheapest fares. I'm scraping money together now to fly up to her for the 4th of july.

[MeeshaLenee]

I agree with what's been said before: If you have the time and the means to make visits happen often, without sacrificing something that may be more important in the long run (like money for closing the distance, for example), then go for it!

I definitely can't afford to fly to my SO often; once a year is probably my limit. But if I had money to spare, I would visit as often as possible. I am kind of an impulse buyer; I could see myself buying last-minute tickets just so I could see my SO.

I think you should be careful with how you spend your money in relation to your SO, make sure to weigh the pros and cons of buying expensive things like tickets before you do so. We all love our SOs and totally understand the feeling of wanting to be with them RIGHT NOW, so that's totally normal. Just don't let it hurt your finances, because that can cause a lot of problems in the long run.

[maja]

mhm I kinda do that...although luckily I have my mum mostly paying for the tickets...I dont know where you and your SO are from originally, but have you looked into things like Whizz Air, Ryanair or easyJet? They usually dont show up on things like expedia...if you (impulsively) book early enough, you can get really cheap flights. Also, if you have to take trains lots, I would recommend getting some sort of discount card. I know they have it here in Germany, not sure about other countries, but you might wanna look into that..

[Kiara]

[QUOTE=Insanity;106024
Maybe you need to ask yourself if you're feelings for your SO are healthy, loving him is understandable but it can be really unhealthy to be dependant on them. I'm not saying you are, you'll know yourself. Maybe ask yourself why you're impulsively buy these tickets?[/QUOTE]

You touched a good point. Sometimes I ask myself "How much am I dependant on my SO?" Everything started with some Skype calls to feel closer, but now everytime we are in Internet we are calling each other, even if then we are doing something else. It's like if we were in the same room, doing our study. And if I am a bit sad... everythign looks so bad without him and I feel I really need him to feel better. So... here is the decision to buy a new flight ticket!

Yeah, fortunately I can afford the flight (and all the related expenses). But still, it's a pity to pay such a high price ($450) just because I decided to buy the ticket to fly in 2 weeks.

[acroush]

I recently almost bought a ticket to see my SO. A ticekt from china to hawaii...that is 1,600 dollars and that does not include anything else. While I could afford it,( I would be completely broke after) after much talking and a lot of crying I relized then money was better spent when we will be together in Aug and will be able to spend more time together. It killed me knowing I could see him, but the money got in the way. I haven't seen my SO in over a month and I know a lot more people on this site have gone way longer. I know it seems weird, but the distance has created a relationship between us that is closer then any I have ever had with boyfriends in the past. I can't tell you to not see him, because if it was only 500 dollars to see my SO I would be on the next plane, but think of how distance can even benifit the relationship and give you a nice shot of independence. I have been more independent than I have ever been since my SO moved to China. It is a real powerful feeling to know that you don't need to rely on someone to be happy, and in turn gave us both self respect and strengthened our relationship even more... Not saying you don't have self respect I am just telling you what I experianced.

Lots of Love

[His_Critter]

I am a compulsive gas buyer. I go up I-95 every weekend so I can see SO... and I pay the dog walker... every other weekend it's $100 for her to walk the dogs so I can go see SO.... it's killing me but it's worth it.

[samglam209]

Mine is time. School every week day and I only get one week off in the summer and I will be visiting him. So in order to see him any other time he has to come up here. And he also has school and work. But he's coming in about a month. Then in June I'll see him. Then hopefully for my birthday in October and then in January/Febuary of 2012 we'll be closing the distance!

[Natyliz]

I'm guitly... I'm a compulsive ticket buyer too! Having booked tickets to see him, (even tickets way in advance) and therfor knowing when I will be seeing him, deffinately helps with that lonesome feeling when i get home after a weeks visit with him. I check for cheap flights on the net during the airlines 'happy hour' and book up! Perhpas foolish, not really knowing if he will be available for me to come visit as he is a salesman and could be on a road trip. I can't wait till mid May - that is when my next flights are booked for!