Ways to Save for Summer Vacation

During the summer months our older children have off from school. This time is one of the biggest times that people travel. Summer vacation is one of the most expensive events that many parents take on. This is all done in the name of spending quality family time together. So there has to be ways that us as parents can save money in order to make the vacation seem less of a hardship at the time.

First you want to pick your destination. If you don’t have a place set in your heart to go look at specials during the time you want to go. Compare flights and hotels and you might find just the perfect place for you to go.

Create a separate savings account that is for your vacation. Place a specified amount into it from every check. Add this amount before paying for any bills that way you don’t accidently spend it. If you are able to contribute to this account on a weekly basis that is the best, however bi-weekly will work as well. Just make sure that you don’t skip payments.

Reduce the amount of extras for at least three months. Sometimes we forget how much we actually spend on dinners out, or a movie night. If you place the money that you would put into the entertainment or last minute meals out, of mini vacations - you will see your summer account increase. The entertainment reduction doesn’t have to be all the time, just a few months out of the year.

Preparing your foods can help a person to save money. It is cheaper to make a meal at home than to obtain the same meal at a restaurant. If you scale back the times you eat at a restaurant you will be able to add that money into the summer vacation fund.

Planning ahead can be one of the most important parts of saving for a vacation. The last minute purchases throughout the year can eat up a lot of money. However if you make a plan or lists. This attitude of planning ahead can help prioritize your purchases and bills, giving you extra money to place into the summer savings account.

A final idea to help add just a little extra money to your summer vacation savings account is through sales. This sounds silly, but if you have a garage sale you can designate one day of the sale or the whole sale to go to the summer fund. Another option would be to sell things on sites like eBay or craigslist, and specifically sell them so that the proceeds can o into the vacation fund.

If you take one or two of these ideas you will be able to add some extra money to your summer vacation savings account. Extra money will give you the ability go someplace nicer, or plan an extra day. You never know the possibilities.