Mr. Sthole and I try and take vacations when we can, but more times than not we have to make our yearly trip home count as our luxury get away. I love my family and I love going home, but every now and then I like traveling to places I haven’t seen yet, and more importantly, places where Mr. Sthole doesn’t leave me every day to go hunting. So everyone needs a vacation, but how, in this economy, do you save up for one? Apartment Therapy has a few tips and tricks for us to help us figure out the best way of saving for travel.
- Plan early. Preparing a year or two ahead of a major trip is not at all too soon. This will allow you time to save up and plan thoroughly.
- Set a budget. As with any large purchase, setting a budget will give you a goal to work toward. There are lots of online calculators for helping to budget your travel.
- Open an account. Open a savings account dedicated solely to your vacation. Make sure there are no fees and assure that the account comes with a debit card, which will be handy when you begin to book flights and accommodations.
- Automatically transfer. Determine a percentage you can deduct from your paychecks and have it automatically transferred into your travel account. This way, you aren’t tempted to spend this money on other items, and it takes absolutely no effort to move it from point A to point B.
- Identify savings here and there. Have a change jar? Take it to the bank and get all of that loose change into your travel fund. Do you and your family members receive birthday/anniversary gift money? Save it instead of buying yourselves something with it. Cull all of the unwanted items in your household and head to Craigslist or hold a yard sale. You’ll reap the added benefit of decluttering whileyou save! If you have children who receive an allowance, encourage them to get on board with the saving and contribute to the travel fund, too. It can be fun seeing what you can save as a team in the course of a year. If you begin saving as much as two years ahead, consider at some point putting the bulk of your travel savings into a 1-year CD. Currently, this will accrue 1% interest, which will cover some of the incidentals during your trip.
Do you have any special tricks that help you bulk up your savings? Share with us in the comments below.
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