Vacations can be expensive! Airfare alone is enough to make me cringe! Then add two kids to the mix and suddenly you’re paying double what you used to pre-kiddos. You may wonder how people can ever even afford to go on exotic vacations with their whole family. Well here are a few super simple ways to save for vacation, and afford to travel as a family.
Get a Rewards Credit Card
We pay for everything on our credit card. From day to day items, groceries, and gas, to any bill possible. Then each month we pay the entire credit card off. Why? Because our credit card gives us points! These points we can redeem for flights, hotels, merchandise, experiences, or cash! And they never expire! We mostly use our points for flights, and have saved a ton of money flying for free. For two adults and two toddlers, it’s an expense that really adds up!
Our rewards card is through our credit union. You can check with your bank to see if they offer one, or research the best rewards cards available. Some give points, and some give airline miles, most giving you a large amount of miles just for signing up, or after a certain amount of purchases in the first year. There are also many available that do not charge an annual fee, so make sure you pay attention to that!
There’s no better way to save for a vacation than just doing what you normally do! You might as well accumulate points for doing it!
Disclaimer! First let me say, this is not a good option for someone who is already in credit card debt up to their eyeballs. If that is you, please disregard this tip. This ONLY applies to those who can pay off their credit card balance each month, therefore accumulating zero interest charges. If you are not able to pay off your credit card in full, please do not do this, as you will be charged a lot of interest, and it will not be worth the points you are accumulating.
Set Aside Some Money Each Month
If you are planning for a more expensive trip, try to set up a separate account for your travels well in advance, and contribute something to that account each month.
Set a goal. This can be the expense of the entire trip, or maybe you can already afford the vacation, but just need to save for the airfare. Then give yourself a deadline. The deadline could be the month your deposits are due for your trip, the month you are supposed to leave (though this probably isn’t the best option, as you want to make sure you have enough saved in advance), or several months in advance. Take your goal amount and divide it by the number of months until your deadline. This is the amount of money you should be contributing to your travel fund each month.
Stick to your goal! If this is your dream trip, you want to make sure you can really afford it, right? So even if it means going without a dinner out or a trip to the movies for a while, it will be worth it to fulfill your goal in the end! Make sure you are really contributing your set amount to your travel fund each month!
Ask For Adventures, Not Presents
Family and friends are always asking me what our kids want for their birthday or Christmas, and I never know what to tell them. After all, they already have more toys than they need, most of which they never play with. I have always had the mind set that adventures and experiences are more important (and more fun) than toys.
Next time someone asks you what you or your kiddos want as a gift, think about asking them to contribute to your vacation or an experience instead of a physical present. This Christmas, my parents got us a gift card for Great Wolf Lodge, a place we have been really wanting to take the kids, but that is really expensive!
I recently discovered this awesome website called GoalSetter. It is basically a savings account for your kids that anyone can contribute to as long as they have your email address. You (or your kids if they are old enough) can set goals or different categories within their account. For example, people can contribute to their vacation fund, college fund, savings, or any other category that you can think of. In addition, you can set a monthly allowance to be deposited from your account, and many other savings features! It’s super easy to set up, and there is no fee to withdraw the money accumulated, which you can withdraw at any time!
Hopefully these ideas will motivate you to start planning your next adventure! See some more travel money saving tips at our post, 6 Ridiculously Easy Ways to Save $$ on Vacation.
