Hey y\`all. I'm 42, debt free, single, have a 6 month emergency fund, and I want to do a little travel. I make $70,000 a year and I'm in the 22% tax bracket. It would take me the rest of the year to save up for a trip if I paid in cash. I also have enough in VOO for LTCG to pay for a trip. I'd need $5,000ish for the trip. I'm curious everyone's thoughts on using a brokerage account for some playtime instead of just saving up in cash.
I'm still maxing my Roth and HSA and I don't expect to retire until I'm 63. If I have extra money around I tend to just hide it in the market. I only tend to do a trip like this every 4 or 5 years. As I get older I'd like to do this more often. I'm allergic to fun and I need your help. :)
Also, are there people out there that use VOO or JEPQ to fund some of the bigger ticket items in their lives while they save for retirement? When is this a good idea?