Whether you want to go near or far, a vacation is a great way to relax, unwind and get a fresh perspective on life. But you won’t be relaxing much at all if all you’re thinking about is how much your long-awaited retreat is going to cost you.
The best way to fully enjoy your vacation without having money on your mind is to save for it ahead of time. Putting money away is often easier said than done, but what better motivation to do so than knowing that a little extra effort now will have you getting that rest and relaxation you’ve been dreaming of? Here are some simple money-saving tips that you can use to fund your long-deserved getaway.
Budget Out the Cost of Your Vacation
First things first, if you want to take a nice vacation, expensive or not, the best place to start is to get a ballpark figure of how much it’s all going to cost you. Try to get a good estimate on what airfare, gas, lodging, cost of activities, local transportation and any other vacation-related expense you can think of. Travel sites can help you give you an idea of these costs.
Once you have a number in mind you’ll be able to calculate how much you need to save each month to achieve your goal. This way you’ll know whether you can realistically save up that much money in your desired time-frame. If not, you can always save a little less each month and put off your vacation a few months, say from 12 months to 16 months instead.
Open a Dedicated Savings Account
There are more than a handful of online high-yield savings accounts that will often give you hundreds of times more interest than what many brick-and-mortar banks offer. Best of all, since these accounts are online-only and it can take up to a few days to transfer money out, it makes it easier to resist the temptation to pull out a few bucks here and there for unnecessary purchases.
You can easily connect your new vacation account to your regular checking account and even automate transfers at the end of each day or week, helping you get closer to your dream vacation.
Bring Down Your Expenses With Coupons
You don’t have to go coupon crazy to enjoy the savings that coupons can give you. Even a few dollars in savings each week can add up and, along with all the compound interest on those dollars your high-yield savings will give you, help you reach your vacation goal faster. You can find coupons almost everywhere these days, from your local supermarket to online. A great source of coupons is Pennysaver, where you can get great discounts on all kinds of products and services.
