Budget for Vacation the Easy Way

Some people never vacation. They never get to experience the excitement of getting on a plane and landing in an unfamiliar destination that’s theirs to explore for the next week or so. They don’t know what it’s like to get to look forward travel every few months. Why? Some people don’t think they’d like to travel (I think they’d change their mind if they just did it). Other people don’t think they can afford to travel. If you’re one of those people, you should learn a few secrets to saving for your next (first?) vacation.

Pick a Destination

It’s far easier to save for a vacation if you have one in mind and mentally planned. When you do this, it becomes real to you and encourages you to save for it no matter how much you really want to spend your vacation savings on something else. Choose a destination you’d like to visit, plan which hotel you want to use and check the average price of flights. Once you know approximately how much vacation is going to cost you, start saving with a travel goal deadline in mind.

Create a Budget

It’s not that difficult to do this. All you have to do is figure out how much you will need to take your dream vacation and when you’d like to travel. Now, divide that number by the number of pay periods between now and then and you’ll have the amount you need to save each pay period to make your travel dreams come true.

Save Extras

Anytime you have any extra income come in, save it. This means saving your change, saving any refunds or profits you receive from selling something or returning something, and saving any bonuses you receive. The more you save, the more you have to spend on vacation.

(Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)