To Dream the Impossible…A Vacation?

By Tisha Tolar, on July 20, 2009

If I have heard one resounding theme over any others among friends and family it’s that the possibility of a vacation is out for this year. In some cases, people I know have not taken a vacation in years! The number one reason: they can’t afford it. Well, at least they think they can’t afford it.

Photo by mode via Flickr

Vacation Does Not Mean Going Into Debt

Going on a family vacation does not necessarily mean drowning in debt. The key is to do it right and do it early. For example, my family of four as well as our relatives family of four, are vacationing in Disney World in September. We visited a travel agent in February and set up the vacation. The following day, we were advised that we were eligible for the free meal plan for all eight us, saving us nearly $1,500 right off the bat.

We have been making consistent payments over that time, allowing us to budget our cash payments and avoid credit card charges totally. Our vacation is now fast approaching and it seems what I once thought would be a terrible wait back in February, we only have two months to go, allowing us additional time to save our spending money once the trip is paid off.

A Little Legwork Pays Off Big

There are some incredible resources and deals on the internet where you can save money for a vacation. You just have to look and be consistent about finding the deals that are out there. Or do what we did and consult with a travel agent who is considerate of a tight budget and who can do all the legwork for you.

Creating a Budget for Your Vacation

Start your planning by making a travel budget based on what you can afford each week or after each pay day. Leave your credit card totally out of the equation and focus only on the cash you have. Consider canceling the cable for a few months or forgoing other things you don’t need in order to tuck extra cash away for a great trip. Once you know how much you can afford, you can decide where you can afford to go and when. Divide the total amount of the vacation by how much you can make in a payment each week, and you’ll know when you can afford to go away.

A Vacation is Good for Your Health

A vacation is good fun for the family but also good for the soul and your overall health. Slaving away at the office for extra long hours without a break can be detrimental to your mental and physical health. By having a plan to allocate based on how much money you can afford, you will not only have something great to look forward to but you don’t have to stress about the money that it will cost you.

If you do not take a break from the stress and worry of every day life and have nothing concrete to look forward to, you’ll end up jeopardizing your health which leads to costly medical bills and potentially forced out of work altogether.

If you haven’t had a vacation in a long time but still don’t feel totally comfortable taking off work for longer stretches of time, use the same savings principal but take mini-trips that are within driving distance several times throughout the year. Budget smaller amount of money for trips around your region and reap the benefits of both the break and the change of scenery without falling even deeper in debt.

10 Vacation Planning Tips

Here are 10 additional tips to help your vacation dream comes true:

1. The travel industry in general is vying for your business and now may be the best time to start negotiating your way to a great deal.
2. Don’t give up on your vacation because you think you can’t afford it. Do your homework first.
3. Ditch the credit cards. Bring one on the trip with you for emergencies (souvenirs do not count as emergencies) and in the event a hotel or other reservation needs a credit card confirmation.
4. Be disciplined about saving your cash each week, even if it means sacrificing some lunches outside the office in favor of a brown-bag lunch.
5. Stick to the payment plan and re-do your household budget to incorporate the new expenses.
6. Open an account with SmartyPig or ING online where you can store your cash and reach your financial goals for travel.
7. Start early with planning and reservations, especially for the pricier trips.
8. Sign up for email alerts on the online vacation sites so you’ll know when and how to get a deal.
9. Consider great vacation spots that are not necessarily one of the most popular destinations or go on the off-season.
10. Be creative with your travel plans. Remember that the thing that matters most is the memories and not the money or even the destination.

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Tisha Tolar is a writer for DebtFreeDestiny.com, where she provides information about credit card consolidation, debt relief and how to get out of debt.

All posts by Tisha Tolar

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