Starting a vacation fund now will allow you to go on vacation without going broke. To be honest, vacations weren’t really a thing in the beginning of my adult life. My favorite thing about the job I held was that I could work and cash out my vacation time. That allowed me to have an extra check to pay bills with. So exciting, I know!

My lack of vacation skills showed when I booked a cruise for the first time. I had booked it on a whim because it was cheap. Even the hotel I booked was based on price as well. No research went into this trip and we got lucky that the hotel turned out pretty nice. But what I didn’t think of was how we would get from the airport to the hotel. Like the thought never crossed my mind! Unfortunately, the answer ended up being a $60 taxi ride after being frustrated at the airport.

Take a Vacation

I have since then became a master planner at vacations. A little to well probably as my husband just likes to relax and not have plans, where as I designate something for every minute. But regardless of how you like your vacations, it is healthy to take one. Also you are creating memories that will be priceless through out the years.

Plan of Action

I had mentioned in More Bank Accounts Could Help your Budget, that one of our accounts is for vacations. We like to put aside money to go towards vacations even if we do not have one planned for the year. This allows us to afford our vacation whenever we are ready for it. Not to mention you are also earning interest on this money while you are saving up.

When disciplined about using credit cards, they can be a great way to fund your vacation. This is only beneficial when you pay them off right away and do not end up paying any interest. If you know you will not pay it off in time, please don’t tempt yourself to use them. Your vacation will end up costing you more in the end.

I personally choose to use reward credit cards to help earn gift cards or mileage to trade in for airfare tickets. I use these cards to pay my bills and then I turn around and pay off the credit card every week. While some people say to pay it off every month, I don’t even wait a month because I do not want to take a chance of forgetting. We use our free flights for our vacations or gift cards to buy items we need for our vacations.

Funding your Vacation Fund

Direct Deposit. If you have extra money from your check, after you are putting aside money to your savings, You can choose to have a certain amount directly deposited into you vacation fund from your check. If that option is not available through your payroll department you can set up for an automatic transfer every month.

Hustle Hard. Perhaps there isn’t really any extra money from your check. You can look into side jobs that you decide to dedicate the pay to your vacation fund. You can look into things like Usertesting.com, Uber, Ubereats, Doordash, Instacart, online surveys, etc. Really the list is endless. Do a search on Pinterest about side hustles and see endless possibilities.

Declutter and sell. Take this moment to go through your house and find things that no longer serve a purpose to you but may to someone else. There are so many sites to sell things on and of coarse the weekend yard sale. Check out sites like Craigslist, Varage Sale, Thredup, Ebay, etc. Take the money you make from selling items and place it in your vacation fund. This could also help you get a jump start on your spring cleaning!

Cut Expenses. Planning on going out to dinner tonight? How about you put that money into your vacation fund and make a delicious and cheaper meal at home. Really need cable? Why not cut it out for a few months, use that money towards vacations, and see if you really needed it anyway. If vacations are a priority for you and your family you will start to see ways to save money on things that don’t seem as important.

Speak Up

Every year I am asked the same question…. What do I want for my birthday or what do I want for Christmas. For the longest time I always had the same answer. I don’t know. Sound familiar? Then one year we were in the begining of building our new home. I told everyone I wanted Lowes gift cards that I would use to purhcase items for our house. If someone is going to spend money on you anyway, why not make it work for you.

The same concept works for vacations. If you are asked what you would like why not choose gift cards you can use. For example, I know Southwest Airlines sells gift cards, Disney gift cards can be used for any Disney purchase included their cruises, park tickets, food in the theme parks and so on.

Earn Cash Back

I have mentioned Ebates before in my post about Earning Money While you Shop. I use Ebates all the time. I have installed the widget on my computer so that even if I forget to go there first, it lets me know if I can earn cash back on a site I am on. I have used them to earn cash back on hotel stays, rental cars, and even cruises. It really is a great resource without a catch. You can also designate any money you earn from Ebates to go directly towards your vacation fund.

Staycation

Staycations can be just as fun as a vacation. The best thing about a staycation is you’re not spending any money on airfare. Find some places in your state that you have not been. Pretend you are a tourist and explore. A great place to start is to google travel guide + your state name. Decide to make a week out of it or even just a long weekend. Find a hotel with a pool. I swear my daughter’s favorite thing when we went to Disney was the pool. She would have been happy if we stayed at the pool the entire time instead.

Do you have any tips for funding your vacation fund or even just travel tips? I would love to hear all about them!