All people should place an emphasis on traveling in their personal life to interrupt the mundane tasks of daily life and to see new places in the world. However, vacations are expensive which means not all travelers can afford to go on major trips yearly. Fortunately, there are a number of beneficial ways to budget for your next trip.
Are Vacations Increasing in Price?
On a month-over-month basis, vacation prices have increased by 0.5% with the average traveler spending around $1,000 for a single-person week-long vacation. Consider how few people even have emergency savings built up, this increase in price can make taking a trip challenging. Below are five effective ways to budget your money prior to a vacation and during a vacation to ensure you have adequate funds.
5 Ways to Budget Your Money for a Vacation
- Establish a savings account for vacation funds
If you know well in advance that you are planning on going somewhere for vacation, create a dedicated savings account to use as a vacation fund. For a specific period of time, deposit around 10% of your monthly paycheck into this fund. The amount of time you do this for should be based on how long it will take to reach your vacation cost at that saving rate.
- Stay in vacation rentals as opposed to hotels
The nightly price for hotels in major cities such as Orlando, Florida, as an example, have increased drastically. However, affordable vacation rentals in Orlando for cost savings exist and can help you save hundreds, if not thousands. These short-term rentals offer access to entire homes or apartments and allow you to stay in the heart of your destination, all for a lower nightly cost.
- Start using credit card reward points for purchase
Credit card reward points are an often-overlooked method of saving money on vacations. Many credit card companies partner with hotels and resorts to allow rooms, activities, and more to be paid for with redeemed credit card points, which can save you hundreds out of pocket.
- Cook food instead of ordering out on vacation
Eating out is expensive, especially on vacation. However, if you are staying in a vacation rental, you can cook all of your meals yourself. This will allow you to save hundreds of dollars on resort fees for dining and more.
- Cut back on your standard expenses prior to the vacation
To save money for a vacation, you will need to cut back on your average expenditures that happen daily. For major vacations, start cutting back a year in advance so that you can start saving more money for your upcoming trip.
Save your money for a fun vacation
With the right practices in place, all people can start to save more money for their vacation. Just because you want to go on a trip doesn’t mean you need to resolve yourself to spending thousands of dollars. By strategically planning, you can experience a fun vacation all at a low out-of-pocket cost.