The key to making the most out of any trip is to be smart with your money and knowing where and how to spend it to make the most out of your budget. There is nothing more frustrating than missing out on an experience while being on holiday or not being able to stay as long as you want simply because you didn’t manage your resources correctly and had to compromise.
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Budgeting for travel may seem daunting and sometimes just the simple idea of going on a trip may seem difficult and unaffordable; but if you take a look at this tips and do some light research, you may realize that your next vacation just requires for you to plan your spending a little better and not have to sacrifice anything at all.
Here are some efficient ways, to put aside some money to fund your next vacation.
Make a plan and be thorough.
Planning accordingly may seem like an obvious place to begin, but trust us, failing to plan properly is the number one deterrent from putting together a vacation all together. Once you see the actual numbers and research exactly how much you need, you may be surprised that it may not be all you thought it was going to be. Researching and having clear goals will motivate you and help you focus your efforts on exactly how to reach your goal and go on your dream vacation.
Identify spending you can go without and compromise a bit.
Having a budget is very important in order to prioritize spending and identify exactly where your money is going. Having done that, you can truly identify which items in your monthly budgets are just not needed. Do you have cable but only use Netflix? Do you spend money every morning in overpriced cups of coffee when you can just have it at the office for free?
Eat at home and be amazed by how much you save.
Eating at home is a great way to bond with loved ones, stay healthy and get better at cooking which is an essential skill. Making your meals at home is excellent for you and a great way to save money. Eating out and take out may seem like good alternatives because they are fast, but is all about getting used to it. You will love it, just like making a lunch to take to work.
Separate your travel fund from other saving accounts.
Is very important in order to stay focused and track your goals, to keep your money allocated for traveling, in a different place from where you keep all your other money. This not only helps you have a clear image of where you are at with your progress, but also makes it more difficult for you to end up spending the money because you aren’t visualizing it in as effective way.
Image courtesy of Ken Teegardin at Flickr.com
Research early on best prices and deals.
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly; you could actually save up to 25% on airfare alone by booking during the middle of the week. Check out our deals at Royal Holiday and plan your trip in advance in order to make the most out of your money.
Don’t feel bad if you need some help staying focus.
Smartpig.com is a great alternative to help you stay focused and follow your saving plan thoroughly. You decide how much and how often you want to contribute and SmartyPig does the rest. You can even set up automatic recurring funds transfers and can set up as many goals as you want.
Make a change jar.
Coins add up and every little bit help. Make sure you always empty your pockets in the jar and just go exchange it at your back for free when it’s full. You’ll be surprised by how much money you end up having without any effort at all.
Sell some things.
This is one of the best strategies to use to gather up some cash and at the same time get rid of clutter. There are many places online where you can sell things you no longer use as well as garage sales, Facebook groups and other online communities. We all have some things at home we can do without and that someone else may find useful. You will be glad you gave it a try.
Get everyone involved.
Get your whole family involved in saving. Everyone at home can help and chip in a little bit into the savings. Not only will you reach your goals faster with many helping hands, but you will also instill a sense of purpose on your children and create good financial habits on them early on.
Track your savings in a fun, visual way.
Make a poster, paint a wall or create an only board for it. You will feel motivated if you actually get to visually see how far you are getting and how great you are coming along.