When people travel they usually do so because it’s a vacation and a chance to get away from responsibilities. The last thing anyone wants to worry about when on vacation is keeping a budget or staying on a plan. However, this is exactly what needs to be done to keep a vacation pleasurable.
Too often a family or individual goes out, has a bunch of great plans on how the vacation will go including spending, and then scrambles in the last few days to pay for the basics. More often than not, the extra spending then ends up the same credit card the flight and hotel were on, adding to the related debt.
Have a Plan, Stick to the Plan
Being financial smart on a vacation or travel doesn’t happen by accident. Smart travelers set out a budget and stick to it. To make this possible, because even vacations come up with the unexpected, a good travel plan also has a buffer in it for what-if’s and accidents. Doing so avoids panic later on when some unplanned expense rears it’s ugly head and threatens to upset the affected trip.
A plan doesn’t have to be exotic. It can just cover the basics: travel, lodging, food, and free spending. With money set aside for each expense, there’s no worry about how to pay for the cost category when it occurs. Once the plan is defined, the traveler just needs to stick with it and avoid aberrations.
Get Bargains Up Front
A very good way to make financial resources available for other expenses on a trip is to focus on bargaining and obtaining lower costs up front. This includes flight, car rentals, and lodging. Significant savings can be had using travel consolidation websites that allow a traveler to compare costs by different companies for the same kind of amenity. The difference can be as much as 30 percent between offered prices.
Reduce trip cost as well using airline miles with credit cards. You spend money every month paying regular bills. Pay these with an airline credit card instead and pay the credit card off each month to keep the balance $0. Doing so racks up credit points quickly which can then be used for free airline tickets. The domestic airlines tend to award tickets the fastest using this method.
Save While on the Trip
Additionally, if traveling in the U.S., there’s no reason why coupons can’t be brought along to reduce spending on the trip. Many coupons are good regardless of which state the spending occurs. This can save a considerable amount on restaurant food, entertainment, and unplanned rental cars. Many such coupons are available over the Internet just using the zip code of the destination location rather than one’s home location.
Traveling doesn’t have to be the creation of your next big debt. With some good planning and sticking to a budget, a tourist can enjoy his vacation and not break the bank. All he has to do is make sure he reduces costs up front and sticks within his budget while on the trip.
thanks for the details.. bookmarked.
I am going to ask another question regarding which CC should I add to my credit card profile to add to my rewards. I have excellent credit, pay my balance in full each month, and I use my CC to pay for everything I can to rack up points/miles etc.
I am at a point where I want to increase my points and miles so there are some options. The question is, what is too much. I basically share a VISA with my wife, and have an older VISA that i keep. I realize that you should keep older credit cards for history. I want to add at least one AM/EX either the Starwood points, or the Delta Miles. I also might switch our Cap1 card to the signature to get 2 points for every $1 spent, instead of 1.25 for $1. That is a new card, not a switch. And recently, I have received letters for UNITED miles (20,000 bonus) and AA Miles (21,000 Bonus). I would love to use those just to add to my miles on those flights. Could I add 3-4 cards without hurting my excellent credit? I will not rack up debt.
This sounds funny but the last time we went backpacking in Europe we each had roles and one of them being the group travel treasurer…lol it really works.
I am 16 and I have been alone to England before, (it had been using the Cambridge Students Program, and so i was having a group, however i traveled there and came home alone, not understanding anybody, for 3 days. I handled my money very well and there have been not one other altercations except after i cracked the screen on my cell phone.) My parents have both explained that they’ll happily produce the possibilities to visit they didn’t have becoming an adult and also have let my now 18 years old brother travel as he only agreed to be 15. My close friend who’s from Croatia, that has A lot of family there, covers every summer time years old visit and remain together with her family. Her household is very reliable (financially) and i have met a lot of family already. She’s asked me this season and it’ll be this kind of experience that i can opt for her. I have to request my parents soon, (the more I wait, the greater the tickets for any plane are) but my parents sometimes agreeOrno towards the most absurd or minor things. They’re very unpredictable and only put a lot rely upon me or are skeptical of each and every single factor I actually do. I am not really a party girl, I have not came home drunk/high/intoxicated and also have never become into (much) challenge with them. Don’t say ‘This is dangerous’ etc since i realize all of the terrible stuff that could affect me. But where we’ll be remaining is an extremely small, community-oriented town/village where everybody knows one another and it is just like a large, huge family. I simply require a couple of pointers regarding how to breach this susceptible to my parents and just how to convince them.
what exactly are some bad reasons for getting an infant in a youthful age (teen years)?