After hectic schedules and a lot of workloads, nothing compares to spending some time alone or with your loved ones at your favourite holiday spot. Getting away for a vacation can be exciting, but the expenses of travelling may worry you. An American Express survey shows that an average American spends about 1,145 USD on travel, including everything. That is expensive, but you can still travel to your dream destination by planning your vacation and saving accordingly.
Along with proper planning, opening a savings account can also help you make your dream come true. Even if you don’t have enough money to plan a trip, options like a personal loan for travel are available. It gets easier the sooner you start to save enough money and cover all your travelling expenses. And the better you manage your costs, the more your chances to have a hustle free travel.
Some Tips To Help You Save For A Memorable Holiday:
- Pre-plan and Make a Budget
Curate a list for all your expenses including food, hotel rents, travel expenses and everything that remains. Your budget will give you an estimate of how much you need to save for a holiday. Besides planning, keep watch on your routine expenses and treat yourself a little less for a while, cut down on your weekend dinner outings, movies or shopping plans. Cutting down on your expenses may seem tough initially, but having a little self-control can take you a long way. By doing so, your finance would increase until the time for your big holiday plans.
- Set Travel Dates and Book in Advance
After setting a budget, look for booking your travel tickets. Since the airfares and hotel stays can be a bit expensive, booking them in advance can offer you some discount and better services. For instance, some online travelling apps provide an attractive discount during some period. Great deals on airlines and hotels don’t last for too long, so grabbing the deal on time can save much of your money. You can check different platforms for booking your tickets. Depending on the discount offered, you can decide where to book the flights and hotels from.
- Make a Separate Bank Account
Having a savings account for your vacation is the best way to keep your expenses in control. Also, the savings would be safe for a long time. Regularly saving for your travel will make your travel hassle-free, and as mentioned earlier, little savings takes you a long way. Enough savings can boost your travel plan. If you save enough, staying at a five-star hotel, travelling to unplanned destinations or buying gifts for your loved ones will be a lot easier for you. Make sure you regularly deposit a fixed amount of money in that savings account to ensure enough savings for the holidays.
- Cut down on Extra Shopping
Anyone can get high on shopping, and this can eat up a lot of your money. So while shopping, try buying from the local vendors and knowing about the rates. You may also bargain for an affordable price. You can look for sales at certain places. Some services offer special discount on certain products and brands for students. So it’s better to reach out for convenient shopping expense and avoid unnecessary spending.
- Do your Research
Spend time on researching about all things like local transportation, restaurants, and check out for the packages which may include all the services. Keeping a check on exchange rates of foreign currency can give you great deals. Budget-friendly flights and hotels are a great way to save money.
- Buying Food at Certain Places or Cooking on Your Own
Having your morning tea or coffee can cost you upto $4 to $5, which can get expensive at the end. Instead, if you can manage to get ground coffee from the grocery shop and make it on your own, it can cost less than half the amount. Certain places at the end of day sell food at half price to avoid wastage. Buying food at a specific time can reduce your food expenses. A delivery app may give discount coupons or offer so that too can be a convenient option.
- Choosing Gifts Wisely
Gifts don’t need to be expensive; instead, it should be thoughtful or memorable. Gifting cheaper yet attractive gifts can impress your family and friends. Instead of a wine bottle or fancy stuff, getting homemade chocolates, sweets, pieces of jewellery can be a good option and can maintain your budget.