If you’ve planned a summer vacation but are worried about how you’re going to reduce your travel expenses, read on. Following this simple, five step approach to travel budgeting, you’ll get some of that blissed-out vacation feeling before, during and after your Big Trip, knowing that you’re able to afford that get away and won’t be returning home with maxed-out credit cards and a mountain of debt.
The first step is to think about budgeting your money ahead of time, based on what you’re most hoping to get out of the trip.
Think about what’s going in the scrapbook at the end of this trip — and then plan your vacation budget around those images.
Once you know what’s most important about the trip to you — relaxation, adventure and learning, family connection — you’re ready to plan for a vacation budget that will help deliver the experiences you’re looking for.
Start with the big picture of the expenses you’ll need to cover in your travel budget. Many are obvious, like transportation to and from your vacation spot, lodging, food, and entertainment. But here are some common expenses which are easy (but hazardous) to forget:
About.com has a handy travel expense worksheet to help you total your travel costs.
Understand the costs of the key experiences you’re looking forward to.
Check out our next post on vacation budgeting for smart ways to save on these big ticket items.
Mint tip: Keep it simple. Just look for details on the 3-4 experiences that are going to be most expensive. You can use your previous travel expenses to estimate a realistic vacation budget for the rest. Just search the Transactions Page in your Mint account using the dates of your last trip, the Travel category, or specific hotel, airlines, etc. for a quick snapshot of what you spent.
At this point, most travelers find that their wants exceed their wallet. If you need to make trade-offs, keep in mind the goals you’ve established in Step 1. For example:
At this point, you’ve got a realistic travel budget based on your goals, and you’ve made your trade-offs. Your last pre-trip step is to figure out how you’ll keep track of how your actual expenses are mapping to that budget. One option is to add your budget, and track your costs, in the travel journal you’ll keep.
Mint tip: Set up Budgets by category for the month that you’re traveling, and ask for email or SMS text messages when you exceed any of them. You’ll be on top of your spending without having to keep receipts throughout your trip.
By tracking your expenditures as they happen, you can adjust your spending during your trip. If hotel costs turn out to be higher than you expected, for example, you can compensate by spending less on food. Eat at less expensive restaurants, or buy some groceries and have your breakfast on your hotel room balcony and some lunches at a local park.
That’s your roadmap for a great trip — including some great and meaningful adventures, without the stress or surprises of overspending and post-trip regrets.
Have another suggestion for our readers? Are you planning a summer get away using Mint.com? A pair of Mint t-shirts to anyone sending us a postcard from their trip! We’ll be at 280 Hope Street, Mountain View, CA 94041 this summer, building out new features for you while you’re away.
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