(content by Alex S)
The point of a vacation is to relax and enjoy some time off. It’s an opportunity to put your feet up, and enjoy not having to do everything for a few days— to even a few weeks! However, despite your intentions of relaxing, vacations can be a little stressful.
Between catching planes and trains and navigating a new location, there’s also the financial aspect of travel that can leave us stressed out.
When we’re afraid of being able to cover all of our travel expenses it can detract from our overall experience, and ultimately affect your whole trip. However, vacations don’t have to break the bank. You can get the most out of your budget by learning the right financial tips.
With a little careful planning and the right strategies, you can stretch your dollar significantly. Here are some of the best tips for getting the most out of your money while on vacation.
Set a Realistic Budget
Aiming too high or too low on a budget can be disastrous. If you set a budget that’s way too high, then you’re going to come back home from your trip without enough money to cover your basic expenses like rent or groceries. However, if you aim too low, then how do you expect to enjoy your vacation? Set a realistic budget that will suit your finances, and also ensure that you can still enjoy the activities you’re looking forward to on your trip. Having a clear budget will help you prioritize what to spend your money on and what to skimp on. In other words, if eating out and buying jewelry is your top priority, then save your budget mostly for that area of your trip.
Travel Off Season
Traveling during peak season when all of the other travelers want to go to the same destination as you is when you’re going to find higher prices. Instead, try to travel off season and you can save a significant amount of money not only on flights, but also on accommodation and even activities!
This is because vacation destinations still want to attract tourists even during off season, so they’re willing to offer attractive prices in an effort to keep tourism flowing.
Eat in Occasionally
Let’s face it, one of the best parts about traveling is that you get to eat frequently in restaurants. However, that’s not to say that you have to eat every single meal in a restaurant. In the mornings or at lunch, consider grabbing something in a grocery store that you can enjoy on a park bench, or even in your hotel room.
By substituting a few meals throughout your trip with something store bought as opposed to a restaurant, you can save potentially hundreds of dollars throughout your trip.
