You may have a large number of destinations on your bucket list that you want to see, which might make saving feel difficult. However, if you break them down a little bit – and decide which trip will mean the most to you – you can make a shorter list and start planning how to save.
Not everyone has enough spare cash to schedule a vacation on the spur of the moment, and if this is your situation, here are some money-saving ideas for you.
Start early
Once you’ve decided on a place to go, whether it’s somewhere entirely new that you’ve always wanted to visit, you want to relive fantastic school trips with your whole family, or you pick somewhere random out of a hat, you can set a savings target.
Breaking it down into weekly objectives, which are typically a lot smaller and more doable, is a wonderful idea and a great strategy if you find saving money tricky.
You can build a big vacation fund if you start preparing a few months ahead of time – and you could even exceed your expectations.
Set up an automated savings plan, so you don’t have to move money by hand; this will make it easier and less likely to be forgotten or purposefully not done.
Take your desired total and divide it by the number of weeks you have before you go. It’s a good idea to keep the automatic savings going after your vacation so you can save for your next trip, too (or anything else you might need).
Resist impulse buys
Everyone is guilty of taking a few minutes out of their workday to look for a great deal at their favourite online retailer. You don’t intend to purchase that, whatever it is, but you’re seeing advertising for it everywhere, and it’s becoming tough to pass up such a good offer. Before you know it, you’ve spent money you wouldn’t normally have spent.
Clear your cookies in your browser so you’re not tempted to make an impulsive purchase. In this way, you can avoid indulging when you don’t want to.
When you successfully reject an impulsive buy, reward yourself by transferring a percentage of the money you would have spent to your vacation fund. Consider it a little extra to make your vacation even more memorable.
Get good at meal planning
We dine out sometimes to enjoy a gourmet dinner and the companionship of friends. Then there are the times when we get takeout after a hard day at work, snacks on the way to the gym, or our usual morning coffee.
This might not seem so bad at the time, but this extra spending makes it far more challenging to save for the things you actually want – like your vacation. The overriding method that has succeeded for many people has been learning how to meal plan.
It may take some effort to break the habit of always dining out, but staying organized in the kitchen and planning what you’ll eat during the week will save you a lot of money in the long term. Consider all of the once-in-a-lifetime meals you’ll be able to enjoy during your vacation, and this could give you the impetus to keep going.
Leave a Reply