Planning a holiday is exciting; trying to create a budget and stick to it, however, is not. Here are five tips if you’re struggling with your budget organisation!
- Look for Deals Which Allow You to Pay Later
Perhaps you have a set budget in mind, which you know you can afford if you have the chance to save up before the date of your holiday, but you don’t have the deposit amount right now to book. You can better manage your budget overall if you can look for deals which allow you to book and reserve, but which don’t expect payment until the date of your holiday.
Sites like booking.com offer a delayed-payment situation if you need a good deal on accommodation, and you can also find a booking.com discount code to make even more room in your budget.
- Think About Spending Money
A lot of people, when creating a budget and searching for holidays only factor in the price of flights and accommodation and forget about how much spending money they will need to eat and explore while they are there.
If you’re looking at holiday deals which are at the top end of your budget, don’t forget that you need plenty of extra cash on top of that to spend during your holiday.
Therefore it’s important when you make your budget that you factor in your expected daily cost for your location of choice, which should include food and drink along with any activities you would like to do.
- Don’t Forget All the Extras
There are a lot of extra expenditures when it comes to travel, which you need to be aware of so that you can factor these into your budget. This includes thinking about the following:
- Does your passport need renewing in time for your trip? How much will this cost?
- You will need travel insurance for your trip, so how much will you need to set aside for that?
- Do you require any visas for your chosen destination? Do they cost anything?
- Will you require any vaccines or medication which you will need to pay for?
- Do you need to buy any particular items for your trip, such as a whole new wardrobe if you are traveling for a winter destination and don’t have any thermal or warm clothes already?
All this increases the price of your holiday, and you should make sure it’s all factored into what you can afford.
- Make a Priority List
If your holiday is a bucket-list endeavour where there are certain activities you know you want to take part in, like skydiving or scuba diving, then these need to be at the top of your priority list. This means you can make sure you have enough money for these activities before anything else, and once you know you can afford what you have prioritised, anything else is a bonus.
- Be Frugal in Preparation for Your Holiday
Your budget can be increased immensely if you make some seriously committed decisions for saving money before your holiday. Cut back on any takeaways, expensive night outs, or even cancel streaming services if you’re not using them, just so you can have the extra pennies to add to your holiday fund – and it all makes a difference.
