Not Made Of Money

Creating a vacation budget may not sound like your idea of a fun time. After all, vacations should be fun. Who wants to build a spreadsheet to plan a vacation? Aren’t vacations supposed to be relaxing? Building a budget is far from relaxing.

After giving the matter some thought, though, I think you will see that budgeting for your family’s next vacation could actually lead to a better vacation. The best vacation, after all, is one that doesn’t require you to keep paying its bills after the vacation is over. By budgeting for your vacation and paying for it with cash from your savings, you can relax and enjoy yourself without any worry about the future.

The first step to creating a vacation budget is to determine how much money you can afford to earmark for your getaway plans. Whether you can spare $25 a month or $250, the important thing is to commit to an amount. Set up a direct deposit or automatic transfer to make it easy to stick to your plans. Now you have an idea how much money you can spend on your next vacation.

Once you decide how much you can spend, you’re ready to start planning how you’ll spend that money. Will you stay close to home? If you have a small vacation budget you may drive to a neighboring city for your vacation. On the other hand, if you have a large vacation budget, you may be able to include airfare, a hotel stay, and other luxuries in your vacation plans.

Whatever your vacation plans might be, be sure to include these items in your budget:

Transportation to and from your destination – Airfare or fuel for your car are popular options.

Lodging during your vacation – How much will a hotel room cost? Will you cut costs by staying with family or friends? If you do stay with someone else for your vacation, be sure to include the cost of a hostess gift for your hosts in your plans.

Food during your vacation – Will you cook in your hotel room? Perhaps you’ll eat out for the duration of your trip.

Entertainment on your vacation – Theme park tickets and zoo admission fees are just a couple of the expenses that might fit into this category. Research your travel destination to get a realistic idea of how much money you’ll need for this.

• Maximizing Your Dollars by Shopping Clearance Sales
• Debt Snowball – How a Simple Plan Can Help You Get Out of Debt

• Money Hacks Carnival #7 at Mommy Gets Paid The Money Hacks Carnival #7 was hosted at Mommy Gets...
• Day 4) How Much Should We Ask Our Spouses to Do? Welcome to Day 4 of Where's My Money Going? Month!...