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Ultimate Guide to Planning an Affordable Vacation on a Budget
Ultimate Guide to Planning an Affordable Vacation on a Budget
With the warm weather from summer in full swing, getting a vacation on the calendar is surely the goal of families around the country. However, rising costs have made planning a fun vacation extremely challenging, which is why learning how to plan a vacation on a budget is so important. By saving money on your trip, you can ensure you don’t accidentally fall into debt while trying to have a fun vacation.
How Expensive is a Modern Vacation?
Understanding why budgeting for a vacation is so important starts with looking at the average cost of vacations today. On average, a weeklong vacation for a single person will cost around $2,000, meaning a vacation for a family of four could cost close to $6,000. This price is for those considering taking a domestic vacation, however, meaning those considering taking an international vacation should be expecting to pay even more.
What Are the Driving Costs for Vacations?
There are a variety of expenses that go into the total cost for vacations in the modern day, but a few expense categories standout above all else:
- Airport parking or general parking
- Airline ticket
- Accommodation through hotels or vacation rentals
- Food
- Activities and entertainment
While there can be additional costs associated with taking a modern vacation, building a vacation budget around the above expenses is the best way to tackle the task.
Top 5 Budgeting Tips for a Vacation
As mentioned, planning a fun vacation to major cities such as San Antonio or Los Angeles will require setting a budget well in-advance. Each of the following five tips can make this task far easier and quicker.
Set up a dedicated savings account for your trip
The number one tip for setting a vacation budget is setting up a dedicated savings account for your vacation as soon as possible. This account should be completely different from your standard savings account so that funds do not get mixed together. Ideally, you will be able to separate your savings between this account and your standard savings to allocate funds properly.
Put money aside on a monthly basis
Building off of the prior point, it’s important to set a savings target each month to deposit into the dedicated travel savings account you will have set up. Start small with your savings to see how much you can afford to put away and then slowly start to build up to a greater amount.
Book activities well in-advance of the trip
Another excellent way to start budgeting for your trip is to accurately figure out how much money your trip will cost. A great way to go about this is to book as many activities in advance as possible, as this will allow a person to figure out exactly how much their trip will cost them. This information can then be used to put an exact cost figure into your budget.
Travel during the off-season
One unique way to save money on your vacation is to simply travel during the off-season when there are fewer tourists in the area. Specifically, this will help to reduce costs as many locations cut their prices significantly during the off-season. A lack of demand is the primary driving force behind this trend, and it can potentially save a person thousands of dollars if they play their cards correctly.
Consider alternatives to hotels
Finally, another way to save money in your vacation budget is to stay in accommodations other than hotels. Hotels tend to have an average nightly price that is hundreds of dollars, but other options such as hostels or vacation rentals can be far cheaper. For those unfamiliar, vacation rentals are short term homes that are rented out to people. The cost tends to be slightly cheaper than that of a hotel and it gives a visitor access to more space than a simple hotel room. And, if you're wondering “where is best to stay?” when it comes to your destination, you can find plenty of advice and recommendations online to help you choose a location that suits you, and those you are travelling with, perfectly.
A vacation will be a large expense no matter what you do, but how much of that money comes out of your actual savings is entirely up to you. By using some or all of the above tips, a person can seriously cut down on how much they are paying on their trip. As a bonus tip, consider trying to use credit card points where possible to purchase airline tickets or hotels which can cut down on even more costs.
