A vacation is meant to be a time to relax or try something new, but you won't have any fun if you're too worried about how much it costs. Many people simply assume that because of all the variations in costs, it's impossible to make a budget for a vacation. In fact, there is a very simple way to form a vacation budget, and there are ways to budget for a vacation without depriving yourself the rest of the year.
Start Saving
To start, look for basic ways to cut your expenses throughout the year in order to save some money towards a vacation. Once you have a strategy to put some money aside, you can start to plan a vacation that fits into this amount of money. Before booking a trip, divide the amount of money you have by the number of people in your traveling party. This will give you an idea of how much can be spent per person on the entire trip.
Travel Costs
Take a few minutes to consider various destinations, and research the cost to travel to these locations. Ideally, transportation should cost less than 30% of the total amount of your vacation budget. Subtract the estimated transportation costs from the total amount you have for a vacation.
Lodging Costs
Next, take the remaining amount of money and divide it in half. This is the amount that can be used for lodging. Divide this amount by the number of days you want to stay on vacation in order to come up with the amount that can be spent each night on a hotel. Of course, you need to decide how long you want your vacation to be and how upscale you want your lodging.
Other Costs
Finally, use the remaining amount of money along with any extra that can be put towards the trip to pay for incidentals such as meals, tickets, and other expenses. Check prices on the things you want to see and do while on your trip.
Ways to Reduce Costs
A lot of people find that if they keep a vacation within a reasonable driving distance of their home, they can spend more money on hotels and entertainment. Others decide to look for every possible way to lower the costs of the various parts of the vacation. Looking for coupons, package deals, and other sales can greatly reduce the cost of a trip.
Use this as a guide to plan a basic trip, and then start making adjustments. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how much of your vacation budget should be dedicated to the various costs.
