I am a person who has never been very well off. I also long so much to travel as it really soothes my soul and I just love simple things like a weekend away as well as week long excursions. I really love the outdoors and the feeling of taking a little time to spend with the people I love. If you have the travel bug but find yourself unable to afford to do it, I am here to tell you that just about any budget can afford to travel with just a few simple savings techniques. These suggestions might not work for everyone, but they can apply to most people. Here are my tips for How to Save for a Vacation on any Budget.
How to Save for a Vacation on Any Budget
1. Find your money leaks and seal them up. This will depend on your individual situation, but most people have what I like to call money leaks. These are the little bits of money we spend without thinking too much about it that is not necessary. For instance, do you stop for a soda or coffee daily? How about a candy bar at the grocery store? These are so small that we don’t think much of them, but if you spend am average of $3 a day on these things, that’s $21 a week and $84 a month! That’s a night in a hotel in some cities. If you find yourself tempted to spend money somewhere, place it in an envelope instead. You would be surprised at how fast it adds up.
2. Sell some things you don’t need. Spring is here soon so it’s the perfect time to hold a yard sale or clean things up and sell them online. People are getting tax returns back too, so they may be looking to buy furniture you have or other large items you don’t need or want anymore.
3. Split the costs with another family. Do you have a family that you would love to vacation with? For larger groups, you can sometimes get discounts into theme parks, camp grounds, and other vacations spots. Check into this and start saving!
4. Save your change, seriously. My family saves every penny we get throughout the year and every summer we ‘cash’ it in and turn it into bills at our bank. We usually end up with $200-$300 dollars! This is a great boost for a weekend away or a big chunk of a weekly vacation. Seriously, we don’t even miss the change.
5. Cut extras for a period of time. If you are on a budget, you probably have already cut many extras, but is there 1 thing you hold onto just as a luxury? If you can, put it on hold for a period of time. You aren’t saying goodbye to it, just saying, “see you later.”
6. Eat at home. Eating out sometimes seems like it saves you money, especially with the low cost of fast food, but I regularly eat at home for less than $10 meals for the whole family. If you budget well, you can feel your family for far less than eating out. Even if you are a single person or a couple, you will see a drop in how much you spend on food by cooking at home.
7. Have money direct deposited for you so you don’t consider it in your spending money. If direct deposit is an option for your paycheck and you don’t have it set up already, do so. You can also ask the bank to place a portion automatically into a separate account. Even if this amount is simply $25 a week, that’s $100 a month!
8. Take a side job if you have the time. Have everyone do something if you have older kids or teens. Think back to when you were younger. Do jobs like weeding out gardens, babysitting, or even going grocery shopping for others. Making just $50 a week means you have $200 a month extra for just a few extra hours of work. If your older kids or teens help, let them know they get a say in how the vacation is planned. This may be a great incentive for them!
More Vacation Savings Tips:
How to Take an Affordable Vacation
5 Ways to Save on a Beach Vacation
Tips for Saving Money on Vacation
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Tia @ financiallyfitandfab says
Great tips! I leak in my budget is eating out so I have been trying to curb that to allocate the funds to other places like vacations!