Summer Travel
Budget How to
for Vacation Where to put your money and how to stretch it further By Victoria Pressley Many military families live on tight budgets. Combine that with being far from family (usually) and I’d wager that most of us don’t get to travel for fun as much as we’d like. Here are a few ideas to help you find the funds, create a vacation budget and stretch those savings so you can do more for less.
Where to Look for Money Barbara Brown, Army Community Service Financial Readiness Program Manager/Army Emergency Relief Officer for Camp Humphries in Korea, suggests you: “start a vacation fund by having a percentage of your paycheck automatically deposited into a saving account. Also, if you receive a tax refund, try saving it.” To identify a few spare bucks in your daily budget, “pay for purchases with cash, spread your holiday shopping throughout the year by purchasing items on sales and paying cash,” she says. “Also, prioritize bills and review debt to adjust your monthly budget as needed. Additionally, I encourage those who do not have a budget to start by keeping a spending diary for about a month. Write down every purchase, so you are aware where the money is going. Next, identify fixed and variable expenses in order to establish a stable monthly budget.” A spending diary will bring to light those unnecessary little expenses you
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can cut or reduce. Do you really need to eat at the food court every day, for example, or buy an expensive coffee drink (or two) each day? Little things can really add up over time.
How to Create a Vacation Budget The first thing most people do when planning a vacation is decide where they want to go, when they want to go and what they want to do while there. Then they find out how much it will cost based on market rates, says Tim Leffel, author of Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune: The Contrarian Traveler’s Guide to Getting More for Less. Instead, he suggests you do some homework and be flexible — something as simple as changing the time you travel to an off-peak period can slash your costs by as much as half. To figure out how much money you’ll need to save, research your destination choices and compare prices for different seasons. The four main areas I research are transportation, accommodation, meals and entertainment. Having a good idea of how much you need not only helps you create a savings goal, but also helps you stick to that budget while you’re away, so you don’t return home to excessive credit card debt or an empty bank account.
Tips to Stretch that Travel Budget
How to save on airfare • Bump me: Some airports, like Chicago’s O’Hare, are notorious for overbooking flights. Slide over your military ID and offer to be bumped to a later flight. We’ve done this a few times. Sure, you arrive at your destination a few hours later than planned, but in return you usually score a voucher for future plane tickets and often get a free upgrade on your next flight. • Newsletters: Newsletters Sign-up for newsletters from your favorite airlines as well as fare alert sites like Smart Traveler and Travelocity. They can alert you to any sale fares from your home airport or on any routes you regularly fly. • Be Loyal: To maximize miles, try sticking with a couple of primary carriers. You’ll rack up points faster and earn better customer service perks, like more flexibility, priority boarding and possible seat upgrades. This also applies to hotel chains you regularly visit.