When you know how to budget for vacations, you are able to provide your family with a much-needed break without hurting your plans to pay off debt or stay out of debt. Everyone needs a break from the daily grind, and a fun vacation is just the way to do that. Whether your vacation is 4 days or 2 weeks doesn’t matter. It’s all about being able to get away from the rat race and stresses of daily life to enjoy time together as a family. Also, check out our article about how to save money on vacations by camping.
How To Budget For Vacation
Keep loose change. If you pay for things with cash, you can easily add the loose change to a jar and save it for your vacation fund. This usually takes a while to add up to a significant amount, but over the course of the year you can save a few hundred dollars that could pay for a day or two on the road.
Automatic Deduction or Vacation Club. Our bank has a Christmas Club and a Vacation Club account where you can automatically deduct that money and it is put directly into those accounts. Then during a certain month of the year you are sent a check with your balance. I have done Christmas Club for many, many years, and it is a great way to set that money aside.
Ask your bank to put any “change” into a savings account when you use your debit card. This is one easy way to add money to your vacation savings without hurting your overall budget. Many banks offer the option of automatically rounding each debit card purchase up to the next whole dollar and adding the difference in amount into your savings account. You’ll likely be surprised at how many times you swipe your card each month and how much you can save this way.
Turn off unnecessary entertainment. Sometimes to budget for vacations you have to eliminate other budget items. Things like satellite, cable, unlimited data on wireless plans and similar can quickly add up to a few hundred dollars each month. If you drop a $100 cable bill and instead use a $10 per month streaming service like Netflix or Hulu, you can save $1080 in just one year. That is enough to cover a 3-4 day trip of frugal activities and hotel stay out of town.
Stop treating it as a luxury in your budget. While vacations aren’t necessary, they are very important. Instead of including it in your luxury list, add even just $20 a month toward a necessary vacation fund. Being emotionally and physically healthy is important. Getting away to relax and enjoy your family promotes both physical and emotional health. If it makes you feel better, add it to your health budget as a precautionary expense to prevent stress-induced illness.
These ways to budget for vacations are sure to help you make a time away with your family easier to manage. Remember, a vacation doesn’t have to be at a far away destination nor lengthy to be good for you and your family. There are many budget-friendly vacation destinations you can enjoy with your family.
Leave a Reply