Are you Saving for a Family Vacation? If not, you should be! Family vacations are a lot of fun, but they can also put quite the strain on your budget. This year instead of putting your annual family vacation on the credit card, plan for it ahead of time and start saving up. If you feel like it is too late for this summer, you can begin now to give your annual family vacation an even better budget for next year!
Saving for a Family Vacation
If you aren’t sure why saving for a family vacation is so important, just remember that getting into debt is never a good idea. Vacations almost always cost more than we expect, so having a good vacation savings account can help prevent dipping into your credit line while you are away with your family. You can enjoy the vacation you can afford, and go home with no worries about paying it off down the road. Below are some steps for helping you begin saving for your next family vacation.
Try to cut back on variable expenses
We all have a few of these random variable expenses that are easier to cut back on than others. These aren’t things like your rent or insurances, but things that while necessary can be cut back on occasion.
- Grocery and household supplies: cut coupons and shop sales
- Eating out: Limit weekly expenditures
- Shop sales for clothing and school supplies
- Cut your own hair or wait longer between salon visits
- Skip the cable or satellite and cut back to one streaming service
- Start planning your meals to avoid throwing out food
- Change to store brand instead of always buying name brand foods
- Eat vegetarian meals a few times per week
- Pack leftovers for lunch
Every family will have different variable expenses. From your morning coffee to the lawn service you use, you may be able to cut back and save. These are just great ways to cut back and begin putting away extra money for your family vacation.
Start Setting Aside Money Regularly
Take a portion of your disposable income that you are comfortable with and set it aside each week or month. You can stick cash in a cookie jar, or even better, open a special savings account – ideally one that bears interest – and start having your monthly vacation funds sent there as soon as your paycheck hits. By putting the vacation funds away first, before you start to pay bills, you won’t even miss it. If you wait until the end of the month when all the bills are paid and all the purchases are made, chances are that there isn’t much of anything left.
Book what you can afford
After a couple of months of saving up, you’ll get a pretty good idea how much money you’ll have to spend by the time summer rolls around. That’s your budget and your next job is to make sure you find a vacation that fits within those means. Don’t forget to leave some financial wiggle room for extras like ice cream, fun and spontaneous activities and anything else that sounds like fun as you go about your vacation days.
Don’t book anything that’s pricier than you can afford. The whole point of saving up was to avoid maxing out the credit card this year. You’ll be glad you stuck to that budget when you get home and find that a few weeks after you get back your washing machine dies and your kid needs new glasses. A lower cost hotel may not have a provided breakfast or tons of space, but it will save your budget.
You may also look into an Airbnb or even Endless Vacation Rentals that may be more per day, but could provide you the means to cook more meals and save money on eating out. Check your budget and plan accordingly!
Begin saving for a family vacation today with just a few simple steps! These tips will help you to make your next family vacation easier than ever to manage, and still be family fun without getting into debt!
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