With kids, a mortgage, and bills to pay, often a vacation can seem out of reach-and it’s easy to put it in the “too hard” basket. Traveling with a family is much more expensive then traveling solo, and flights, hotels, and entertainment can soon stack up.
If you’ve been thinking about taking the family on a vacation, here are some ways you can save for travel, and be heading to the airport sooner than you’d think:
Make a budget
If you’ve got some debt that you’re paying off, or you realise you’re simply not great at saving, it’s time to create a budget.
Writing down your goals makes them more achievable, and keeps you focused, and a budget will allow you to calculate all of your income and expenses-so you can see where your money is actually going.
Switch Providers
It’s easy to get into a rut, and continue to pay insurance, electricity and internet bills, without checking if we’re getting the best deal. At least once a year you should shop around and see if you can switch to another provider and bring those payments down. This is an easy way to save hundreds of dollars a year.
Sell up
Most homes have hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of electronics, furniture, clothes, and toys that they’re not using. Have a yard sale, or advertise more expensive items on a website like eBay, and you’ll be surprised by how much money you’ll be putting into your travel fund.
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Talk to a travel agent
Travel agents understand that families need to budget for vacations in advance. Ask them for a quote, and give them your budget to see where you can afford to go, and how long you can afford to stay there.
While flights usually need to be paid in full (and the sooner you book these, the cheaper they’ll usually be), often hotels and activities just need a deposit, and can then be paid off over a few months (depending on the providers terms and conditions, and how far in advance you’re booking).
Be thrifty
Now that you’ve made a budget you can also look at where your biggest expenses are, and see how you can cut them down. Gas is usually a big one, so see if you can commute to work, or carpool with someone else from the office.
Use a price comparison site before you make any large purchases, and sign up to websites like LivingSocial and Groupon, which often have huge savings for things like haircuts.
Get the kids involved, and explain to them that if they want to take a vacation they’ll need to help out too. This is a great way to teach them about budgeting and managing money while they’re young, and they’ll also appreciate the vacation more if they know that the whole family has been saving to make it happen.
