Whenever we plan a vacation I try to set a certain amount of money aside. I usually just get an envelope and mark it "vacation". Then I put a little money in it throughout the year. Well this year I didn't do that so I'm saving the money we made from our yard sale we had the other week. Do you save throughout the year for a vacation trip? If so, how much do you usually save up for your trip?
[question posted by Shar19]
responses and comments:
I try to save up as much as I think a trip I am planning is likely to cost. I know in advance of booking a flight if I am on target or not. If I am I book my flight and then complete saving the rest of the money that is needed. If I am having difficulty saving enough I will reconsider my destination and book a different flight. Examples of cheap trips I have been on are a flight to Trieste in Italy then a bus on to Croatia and a flight to Bulgaria and a train on to Romania. Expensive trips that I have done are to the Seychelles and to the Maldives. I did well saving to go to Central America so I treated myself to staying in a tree house and in a lodge. I save throughout the year because travel is my top hobby. [maximax8]
Good for you! You're very smart to do that. [Shar19]
Hi there Shar. I have been with my girlfriend for almost 1 year and 9 months now. Our first vacation was last year and we saved about 7 months for it. We spent a little under 1.000$ for our 10 days trip to the Olympic beach in Greece. That included our transport, our accommodations and the food and drinks we had at the restaurants each day and last but not least the presents we bought on our way back. For this year's vacation we saved for about 1 year, and we managed to gather about twice the sum, but that's not too much as we are going to England, which is a far more expensive country. [elitess]
You're both very smart to save year round. Have a great trip to England. [Shar19]
We don't usually plan big vacations for the year. We have a savings account and a christmas club account. So we just put the money into those two accounts and use them when we need them. We are planning a disney trip for next year though so we have to start saving for that. I also would like to take a yearly trip to the beach and make it a tradition, but we haven't started that yet. [ravinskye]
Sounds like you have a good plan. Do you know where you want to stay in Disney? I want to take my family there next year also. [Shar19]
Hi, shar19, you have a good idear to save money, hehe, i want to have a vocation ,so i will save money from now on, and i can take your methord. [yichuhehua]
I'm glad to help. [Shar19]
I have tried to do that before but something always takes the money before hand. We have not been on vacation in years but we may go some place this year. We will use some money out of an extra paycheck during the month, to go somewhere. We may take around $200 or so since we will be taking my daughter also and have to pay for gas and food and things. [stephcjh]
That is a problem when you have to use your vacation money for other emergencies that come up. I've had that happen before. [Shar19]
We have tried the whole saving money thing, but it never seems to fail, something always comes up and we have to spend that money.We don't really mind not going anywhere on vacation though. We just find plenty of things to do that are close to home. [lynnemg]
Nothing wrong with that either. As long as you get to do something. [Shar19]
I actually have 3 separate bank accounts set up for my vacation savings. It started out YEARS ago, I'd put $5 out of each paycheck into the bank for my family reunion. It didn't cover the whole thing, but it made it easier to come up with the rest of the money if I already had a big chunk of it put aside. That has now grown to $40 for a cruise, $20 for the family reunion and $20 for a family vacation. I also put $10 away as my "fun" money. Aside from that my husband has $10 for his gun fund. All this comes out of our paycheck every time, just like a bill. It's great to have the money aside when you want to take your vacation! [reinydawn]
That's a great plan that you have. [Shar19]
I only started saving money last year for out summer trip last April. I jot down the estimated amount needed plus add a few more just to make sure I have enough to get through the 3 to 4 days. I was able to save around $400 dollars but did not get to use all of it since we we're staying with my in-laws and they fed us the whole 3 days. For next summer I will surely save because my in-laws are planning to go to another country thus I need to make sure I have pocket money for that. [sublime03]
That's wonderful. It's great to know people who can put you up for a few days and feed you meals. It really helps cut down the expenses. [Shar19]
i'm just starting to save up for my vacation this december:) i don't know how much i'll be able to save but i hope that by that time, it'll be enough for my pocket money, my ticket and my gifts for the family :) [orevro]
Good for you. It's never to late to start saving. [Shar19]
To pay for our vacations we usually take 1/4 of our income tax return and put it away for our vacation. I also have a little change jar, and I throw change in it every day. It usually accumulates about $200 extra for our vacation. But the income tax return is really the key for us. [ladym33]
Everyone should have one of those change jars. It really can add up. [Shar19]
My husband and I save up money every month. Last year we were saving up for our wedding. We both had an extra job and we managed to make more money than we needed for the party, so we plan on spending the rest of our savings on travelling. We are going on vacation in about a week, and we are going to spend some of our savings on a trip to Lithuania and Latvia. I think that is a great way to spend the money, because travelling is very important to both of us. When we get back home we are going to save up money for our next trip. My husband's money is spent on rent and bills. I also pay some bills, but we are usally able to save up the rest of my money. [Porcospino]
Sounds like you have a good plan. [Shar19]
Sure we save, we don't have credit cards so we don't pay for our vacation for years afterwards. We have a Disneyland fund and a Hawaii fund too. I think its important to save and budget for vacations otherwise you regret your overspending and you can learn how much it takes to have a great time away with your family. [gitfiddleplayer]
You're right about that. Well said. [Shar19]
No, I never save for vacation. I usually will save my change but that is it. I wish I had the extra money to save for vacation. [sharlahodges]