You’ve saved up your PTO and feel confident with your household budget which means you’re ready to take a vacation! It is essential to stick to a budget even when you’re on a trip, and we’ve got some ideas to help.

Household Budget

Let’s have a little refresher on what your household budget should look like. Focus on the 50/30/20 rule. Every month your income should be split in three ways: 50% goes towards bills, 30% goes towards your wants — like a vacation, and 20% is for your debt and savings account. Now that you’ve been practicing that method it’s time to take that vacation you deserve.

Be Flexible

Okay, so you’ve saved your time and money — now it’s time to plan. Make a list of five destinations you’re considering. Research the flights and hotels for each destination. Try to be flexible about dates, changing travel dates by a few days could produce significant price changes. This will help you narrow down your location. When you’re open to location and timeframe, you can get the most bang for your buck. Another consideration is to plan your trip. When you book your flight three months in advance, you typically get the best price.

Travel Budget

It is really important to have a budget while traveling. When creating your budget, there are a few essential items you need to focus on.

• Transportation — this will be your most significant expense. Don’t forget to include transportation after you arrived at your destination. Look for public transportation, as it will most likely be the cheapest.
• Budget your accommodations, i.e., hotels, airbnbs, vacation rental, and don’t forget to add up every night that you plan to stay.
• Add food to your budget — if you don’t want it to be a big cost try to find an accommodation that offers breakfast, be open to cooking meals at your place of stay, and dine at smaller restaurants — less touristy usually means less pricey.
• Add up the activities. Consider tours, entrance fees for museums and parks, and shopping!

If you book most of your budget in advance, like transportation, accommodations, and planned activities, when you arrive you only need to focus on the enjoyable parts of the budget. You could bring a DEXSTA reloadable debit card with a set amount for the rest of your vacation. This is a great way to manage your money and keep you on track of your spending. If you are interested in more information on our reloadable debit cards, contact us or visit one of our branches, we’d be happy to help.