Almost one-fifth of baby boomers dip into their kids' inheritance to go on holidays – and the vast majority don't feel guilty about doing it.

Of the 18 per cent of Australian seniors who travelled using money intended for their children, 85 per cent said they didn't worry about spending it, with almost half subscribing to the maxim that "you only live once", a new survey has found.

Carolynne Wawrzyniak says she and her husband "worked huge hours" before retiring and their children would rather they spend their money. Credit:Nick Moir

Just over half said it was their money and they deserved to enjoy it, or that their children already had their own money, according to a survey of 1000 people aged over 50 for the Australian Seniors Insurance Agency (ASIA).

"I think we would be hard pushed to find children who would begrudge their parents a trip of a lifetime or an opportunity to be happy," ASIA's general manager of marketing, Simon Hovell, said. But in news he described as reassuring for the next generation, most senior travellers were budget conscious, with 93 per cent saying they spent time looking for the best deals to save money.