Preparing for a Frugal Vacation

In today’s tough economy, any dream vacation you may have, may have to take a backseat for a while. When there are so many bills flooding in, it becomes hard to spend even just a dime for leisure. Any paycheck you may get automatically goes for the best personal loans, mortgage, and other debt.

However, your family vacation doesn’t have to be just a fantasy. Despite of all your financial responsibilities, you can do this one simple thing- plan your vacation right. And by planning it right, means you must do it in frugal ways. When you’re not spending so much on your vacation, it becomes easy to save for it. But best of all, it won’t have to hurt even if it’s your hard-earned money you’re spending.

First step is to determine the type of vacation you’d want to have. Is it a Caribbean cruise? A trip to Hawaii perhaps? Or skiing in the Alps? It is important to know your destination first. Through this you will be able to sort out necessary expenses plus you’ll have an idea what bargain to look for whilst planning the trip.

Once you have a target destination, determine the best times to go there. Here’s how it generally works; when it’s peak season, prices are up. You may have to spend thousands of dollars for hotel rooms the entire time. But when it’s off season, hotel promos and vacation packages are aplenty. Resorts and hotels want to have their income so they give low prices to keep tourists coming in. This is the best time to have your vacation. As for booking, do it in advance. Months prior to departure will give you promos on airfare and an ample time to save for the trip.

When it comes to vacation money, I must say saving is your best bet. At least six months prior to your planned trip, save at least $100 a week. That shall give you $2400 budget for food, drinks, and plenty of vacation activities. To make saving even easier, involve your family in it. Have your kids save for other expenses such as their own terminal fees or payment for activities they want to do during the vacation.

But don’t rely on cash alone. Ready your credit card most of all. This will be your lifeline should your cash run dry while in another country. So if you have credit card debt and other personal loans, pay for them until you have enough credit left in your account.