Summer is quickly coming upon us and that means vacations and summer get-aways are just around the corner. While you may have your basic vacation expenses planned out and budgeted for, there may be a stretch in your budget to save for spending money during the vacation. Here are some unexpected ways you can save for summer fun.
Unexpected Ways to Save for Summer Fun
Start a piggy bank right now. If you have a vacation planned for later in the summer, saving your change from now until then could add up to more than you think, especially of everyone in the family chips in. In just a couple months, you could have a couple hundred dollars saved!
Save points on reward cards. If you have a reward card through a retail store or your credit card, start saving these points to apply them to gas, incidentals like road trip snacks and meals out during your vacation.
Set up your bank account to take a small amount of each check from now until vacation time. It is as easy as talking to your bank and asking them to take an allotted amount out. It could be something as small as $25-$50 per paycheck and still leave you with several hundred dollars in there by the time you leave for your trip. Since the money is not being placed in your hands, you won’t be tempted to spend it as easily.
Place money in your vacation fund for things you won’t be using while on vacation. This includes groceries you won’t be buying, Netflix services, paper delivery, gas to commute to work, lunches eaten at work and so on. Place the money that you would normally use for these day to day expenses in a savings account for your vacation.
Have your children help you save. This may seem odd, but if you can get your children to help save for their portion of the trip (small things like souvenirs, snacks, etc.) it will be less you have to spend on them while on vacation and it will have the added bonus of your kids learning to value and budget their own money. If they choose to not save much, keep reminding them that the less they save out of their allowance, the less they will be able to spend on fun treats while on vacation.
If you will be traveling by car, buy gas cards in advance for stations that are along the way. This way, when vacation comes, you are already ahead of the curve and that expense is covered. You won’t have to worry about saving it the whole time.
Turn your gift cards into cash to use. Do you have gift cards that have remaining balances on them or ones you will never use? You can turn them into cash by selling them online for cash. If you have a lot, this could add up to a good amount of cash in no time to use on vacation.
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