I’m a firm believer that just about anyone can go on vacation, even if money is tight. If traveling is your biggest priority in life, you can get there with a savings plan and a bit of creativity.
Don’t let other people discourage you. Saving for a vacation is all about trade-offs and priorities. Someone else’s priority might be saving for a new car or buying a new house. I have a few savings accounts but I put the bulk of my savings into my travel fund since it’s a huge priority for me. Fancy designer shoes and going to movies? Not so much.
Here are six ways that I save for vacations:
Choose your destination
Have a destination in mind before you start saving; it will make it easier to reach that goal and you’ll be able to more easily determine your minimum budget. If you’re planning a week-long trip to Guatemala, your budget is going to be drastically different from two weeks in Europe.
Once you’ve chosen your destination, research average hotel prices, transportation, food, attraction fees and any other miscellaneous expenses you might incur. Use sites such as Tripadvisor, Lonely Planet and Fodors to estimate costs. Remember that it’s always better to overestimate than underestimate.
Take your total vacation cost and divide it by the number of weeks until your planned dates to determine the amount you need to save per paycheck.
Create a budget and set up a dedicated savings fund
I set up a savings account dedicated to traveling. I have a set amount of money taken out my paycheck and deposited directly into that account and it really adds up over time.
A transfer of $50 per paycheck adds up to $1200 and can cover most of cost of a trip to an inexpensive destination, such as Guatemala.
Save every single day
Most of us spend money on frivolous items every day without thinking twice. A $5 latte and a $20 happy hour all add up. Skip these extra purchases and put the money you would’ve spent directly into a savings account.
On days when I bring my lunch instead of eating out, I move the money that I saved from my checking account into my savings account. Every latte and lunch out that you skip brings you one step closer to your dream vacation.
Sell items you aren’t using
eBay, Craigslist and yard sales are all fantastic ways of getting rid of unwanted items. I spent a few weekends listing old, unwanted clothing and shoes on eBay and made $500 which I promptly transferred into my travel fund.
Look through your closet to see what you can sell. Perhaps you have an old camera, an old phone or sporting equipment that you never use? You’ll also have the benefit of decluttering your house at the same time.
Save your change
I once paid for a week’s worth of lodging by saving change and dollar bills in a jar. You won’t be able to pay for your entire trip with this method but it can help pay for food or vacation activities.
Get a side job
Still don’t have enough money to go on vacation? Part-time side jobs that don’t require a lot of extra time can help you reach your vacation savings goal. Consider babysitting your friends’ kids, freelance writing, coaching the dance team, etc. Check out this article for ways to make an extra $1,000 per month.
You’ll may need to periodically remind yourself why you’re saving up for your next trip. To stay on track, consider signing up for language lessons at your local community college. Visit Trover.com to see stunning photos of your destination, along with some tips. Change your phone’s wallpaper to an image of your destination.
How do you save for your vacation? Share in the comments section below.
Hi,I have retired two years ago and have started checking off my “Bucket List”..And happy for it..Am wanting to make a trip to Europe in 2016..I have reserched for a few months, and because i am a beginner at the traveling game I feel I need to go with a travel,tour company..I think I would be more comfortable knowing most of the trip is charted out and planed ahead of time..Do you have any advice about tour company’s?? I want to see London.Paris and Rome.If I see theses places I will have done abig chunck of my list.I have afriend going with me and we have come up with about 4000.00 per person and have started saving.Thanks forany advise for the trip of a lifetime for Mazie and I..
My travel BFF and I live 2000 miles apart from each other. I used AAA Travel Services. We went to London and Paris for ten days for less than $5000.00. And that included souvenirs and quality designer leather. We had the experienced European Travel Agent help us in planning out our trip and airline. We meet up in Dallas/Ft. Worth for the long flight to London and return to Dallas from Paris. The Travel Agent coordinates this meeting and gets us plane tickets next to each other usually where there is only two seats. All we have to do is pick up our tickets. I use the AAA Travel Agent in my city to make all these arrangements and when our tickets and other documents come in, I pick mine up at the office and she mails my friends documents to her via FedEx. We make these arrangements in plenty of time so we don’t have to worry about not getting our documents on time. The travel package we buy is a “self guided” trip from General Tours. We don’t want to travel in a group and be on a tour’s time limitations. We buy the Superior trip and our lodging is in 4 star hotels with all the amenities. It only costs an extra $100.00 to use the Superior trip and it’s well worth the money. It’s one step below Super First Class which only gets you a more expensive hotel. You must be a member of AAA Motor Club in order to use the travel services and the membership is inexpensive and offers a lot of amenities.
When we travel with our kids, we have a plan for the “how much longer” question. Each child (we had 3) gets to ask twice the whole (one way) travel. You can hear them bargaining the use of the times to use their share. You could limit the number of times to be asked according to length of trip and # of kids.
If possible, contain a small copy of a map showing the route of the trip for each child or row of seats.
Even in the hectic times of a departure, try to stop and speak very clearly about behavior expectations so that the trip stays good for all. Be firm but positive. Basically say what would be the downers and list a few ways to be of help. Congratulate and even reward extra good behavior. Bribery is not a crime by parents travelling with kids.
Each child gets a ziplock of appropriate size for length of trip with simple crafts or artwork, reading material etc. Both “personal items” and “pastime” items can be used, available in so many sizes. Marker handy to put names on ziplocks.
Be prepared with containers (ziplocks?) for nature finds like shells, stones, etc; Best to mark with name.
Individual containers of lip gloss or hand cream can also be kept handy, primarily to pass time or a break in boredom. !!!
Snacks are a must but so are trash bags.
Considerate settings on all electronics are a must.
Singing songs together works with some families. Even Christmas carols in July.
I Spy works. Joining in composing a list of must-sees can be fun, then first to check off all (say, 10) wins. examples : red cow, yellow truck, pink building etc First to see gets to mark off his list. Next one first to see, gets to do the same. E T C til winner named for all or the most marked off his list
20 Questions works. Printed book of AdLibs works. Can be read aloud in car, but NOT allowed too many, too often. Just declare a timeframe accordingly.
Avoid: noisy items, too large blankets & pillows, smelly items (!), too much brought along by one compared to others.
My parents would pray at the beginning and end of our trips, asking for safe travel and thanking for safe arrival back home.
All children can make notes in a small journal….emphasize nice comments outnumbering complaints but “you can only do so much” about that! Younger kids can get help if can’t write yet…they have opinions!
A supply of pipe clearners, solid white and/or colored, can be creative and fun.
I have a certain amount of money set aside each check for vacations. And when I finish one vacation, all of the spending money from that vacation goes back into the fund. This allows me to travel 2-3 times a year.