Real Life Tips to Save Money for Your Summer Vacation

You’re anticipating your long-awaited summer vacation. While the anticipation may be half the fun, you might be a little apprehensive about how you will pay for the trip. Inflation is at an all-time high, gas prices are through the roof – which means air fares are high, too. How can you cut back and put funds toward your holiday without feeling like you’re starving yourself of food and fun?

Set Up a Vacation Fund ASAP

Whether you create a special savings account and funnel a portion of your paycheck into it every week or label a jar to house your spare change, setting aside money for your trip will keep you motivated. Best case scenario, this is the only account you will use to fund your trip. Do some solid research and get a realistic range in mind on how much the adventure will cost in total. Funneling a comfortable portion of your paycheck to this new account, and seeding it with other savings (listed below) will help grow the savings.

Use a Portion of Your Tax Refund

If you’re due to get a tax refund this year, instead of splurging on items you don’t necessarily need, vow to put a portion of it into your vacation fund. A good way to think of it is – you’re still using your tax refund on something fun for yourself! It’s just not an immediate gratification. The IRS is recommending filing online for speedier service. It’s worth it to do a little research into the best free or minimal-cost tax preparer or if you are truly adventurous, do your own online.

Realistic Cutbacks

When you prepare to save for a certain goal, it’s easy to go a little overboard with cutting back. Vowing to eat mac and cheese every night (which might be ideal for some people!) is generally not sustainable. Fortunately, there are reasonable and realistic ways to save money without really feeling the pinch.

• Cut cable. With all of the free streaming services available, cable has quickly become a costly choice of entertainment. 
• Find cheap auto insurance. Chances are you’re paying too much for car insurance. Do some research and put the money you’ll be saving over the next few months directly into your vacation fund.
• Wean off of name brands. This includes groceries, wardrobe and home décor pieces. Store brands are just as good!
• Bag your lunch. If you’re fond of takeout (for lunch or for dinner) draw up a meal plan for the week, buy the groceries and stick to it!

Cancel those Subscriptions

All of those specialized monthly memberships may seem reasonably priced, but when you have multiple at even a few dollars apiece, they add up quickly. Regularly scan your credit card and bank statements to get an idea of what’s quietly being extracted, you might be surprised! If you’re not one for regularly checking your statements, you could find yourself spending money on a subscription you didn’t realize you had or thought you had canceled. 

Get another Job

While you probably already work hard enough, if you’re truly motivated to save for a luxurious vacation, consider taking on a seasonal or part time job. Remind yourself that it doesn’t have to be forever, and you’ll reap the rewards by staying productive, earning money, and not overusing credit cards. Plenty of side hustles exist including:

• Making deliveries such as Instacart, DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub, etc.
• Pet sitting and dog walking
• Bartending or working at a coffee shop
• Consulting
• Light yard work
• Temp agencies

Have a Garage Sale

Now that the weather is getting nicer for most of the country, it’s time to clean out the garage, basement and attic! While purging yourself of items you no longer need, you can put all of your earnings right into your vacation fund. You can post signs for your garage sale and announce it online. In anticipation of the event, start cataloguing items now that you’re willing to let go of – and adorn them with price stickers.

Rent Out Your Extra Space

Now that you have all that extra room in your garage after your garage sale, consider renting the space out for storage. If you have an extra bedroom or two, you might think about taking in a roommate or two. While the adjustment might be a little difficult, this avenue has the potential to yield a lot of cash. If you’re worried about the length of time involved, let them know upfront how long the rental will be or make the lease month to month.

Where there’s a will there’s a way, so if you’re determined to make the most of your summer vacation, take the steps now to fund it wisely.