Americans cut – As airfare and other travel costs climb, Katie Nguyen and many Americans are reworking their budgets—choosing trips over big weddings and cutting everyday spending or adding extra work to keep plans alive.
On a typical day in wedding planning. Katie Nguyen is weighing not just invitations and schedules. but where her money should go. The California resident and her fiancé are in the middle of plans. and Nguyen says she would rather put their hard-earned dollars toward travel than a “big fancy wedding.”.
Nguyen loves to travel—especially as a foodie—and she’s used that to shape how she thinks about the next chapter. She has taken small trips as often as once a month. and she’s aiming to go abroad at least a couple times a year. This year alone. her plans include San Diego. New York. Hawaii. and Vancouver. Canada. with Costa Rica and Vietnam also on her wish list.
With travel costs rising, Nguyen says she’s prioritizing trips in her budget and trimming other spending. A monthly membership to a fitness studio came up recently. but she decided she could replicate the basics at home and outside—using weights and running—saving “a couple hundred dollars a month.” She’s also watching for “frivolous shopping. ” including whether a new shower curtain for her guest bathroom can wait.
“It’s like, does it make sense to spend that money there and trying to identify the things that give us the most bang for our buck and really add value and impact to our life,” Nguyen said. “I think it’s just how we want to allocate money as prices continue to go up.”
Her approach mirrors what new research is finding across the country. A study by LendingTree surveying 2. 000 Americans found that 75% say high gas prices and airfare are affecting their travel plans. and 84% are concerned about affording their ideal trip. Still, 40% are planning to travel this year—just not necessarily the way they originally hoped.
In many households, that means turning vacations into a budget priority even when it forces changes elsewhere. Nguyen summed up the tradeoff as a matter of deciding what matters most when everything costs more.
“A new study by LendingTree of 2. 000 Americans found that 75% of respondents say high gas prices and airfare are impacting their travel plans. with 84% concerned about ‘affording their ideal trip.’ Despite this. 40% are still planning to travel this year – they’re just finding other ways to make travel work for their finances. ” the study results show.
And the changes aren’t limited to “cutting back” in vague ways. The LendingTree findings overlap with a separate view of what’s coming next: a study commissioned by PayPal in partnership with Edelman Data & Intelligence in May 2026 found that nearly 78% of 2. 001 American adult respondents plan to still travel in 2026 despite higher prices. Sixty-six percent said they would make a “sacrifice” to attend their dream trip.
PayPal’s communications leadership tied the shift to how people now frame travel. Amy Bonitatibus. SVP. Chief Communications & Corporate Affairs Officer at PayPal. said that consumers increasingly see travel as an investment in experiences. well-being. and connection. with Instagram and TikTok pushing aspirational destinations into daily view. She also pointed to PayPal’s role in turning those plans into something more financially reachable through flexible payment options like Buy Now Pay Later.
Bonitatibus also described the everyday mechanics behind the decision: travelers are not necessarily spending more overall. but they are rearranging where money goes. In the PayPal-Edelman survey. 40% said they would cut dining out. 36% would forgo nights out with friends. 35% would stop shopping. 31% said they would no longer use data apps. and 30% would quit the gym to help pay for bucket-list travel.
“What’s interesting is that consumers aren’t necessarily spending more. they’re finding smarter ways to make travel work. ” Bonitatibus said. “Many are making small tradeoffs in everyday spending like limiting the number of dinners out and going on fewer shopping sprees so they can experience that trip they’ve been staring at in their Instagram feed.”.
For some Americans, the math goes beyond budgeting—it includes picking up extra income. The PayPal study found that one in three Gen Z adults is taking on more work to afford their trips.
The shared message between Nguyen’s personal budgeting and the broader research is that the calendar may not be getting simpler, but the decision is becoming clearer: protect the trip by trimming elsewhere, and adjust the plan until it fits.
For Nguyen, the work is already part of the excitement—planning with more research and more flexibility than before.
“It’s all kind of a balancing act,” she said.
travel costs airfare gas prices wedding planning personal finance budgeting LendingTree study PayPal study Buy Now Pay Later Gen Z side hustle flexible payments