Summer is almost here and I know most of you are planning to go somewhere without cutting in your budget. We want to have fun but we still think of our money that we are going to spend. First thing to do is to plan everything. The location, the place that you are going to stay, how many days you plan on staying there and who are you going to bring with you. Some of us want to go alone but like they always say, the more the merrier! Let us now start with our lists.
- Plan Ahead – Planning ahead of time will give you so many options. You will have all the time to check on the possible places that you want to go and to check the weather conditions. If you wish to go there by land transportation then you can have time to look for shorter routes along the way and to check for some stop over during the trip. Make a checklist of the things that you want to bring with you and never forget to bring your identification cards with you. If you plan to travel on June then you need to start planning out 4 months before your designated date of travel. Remember to pick the right place to go as not all the destination places are equal when it comes to expenses.
- Set a budget – Set a budget to everything from gas, food and accommodation. The bigger your family, the more you can save money if you prefer to travel using your own car. A well budgeted road trip for summer vacation is always a success. My best advice if you prefer road trip is to go to a place that is near your location to save more money on gas. Camping is an option too if you want to save money while enjoying the summer. It does not matter at all if you rent an RV or a tent because once you go for camping; you already saved money instead of checking in the hotels. If you do not prefer camping then you should be open to go to places with tourists spots that are free to visit.
- Look for greater options with Fares and Hotels – Before going on a trip or planning on a trip, be open for options. Always check everything online if they are on sale or not. The best shot you have is to sign up for their newsletters so you will be updated every now and for future travels. There are a lot of websites where you can check for cheap hotels online that requires no deposit at all. Do not hesitate to book if you find a coupon that will help you save a little, besides it is still discount. Once you already found your perfect hotel, always check for promotions by contacting them. Ask them if they have discounted price if you reached their criteria like if you guys reached 5 adults then you have free bed. When it comes to car rentals, check Hotwire for car rental agencies with great deals.
- Bigger Savings with Bundle – What I mean is that when you book a flight to a specific website and you want to book the accommodation as well to their website then you get to save money. Some websites will offer you great deals for you to travel at ease and with nothing worry at all as they got you covered once you reached your destination. Do you prefer to go on a cruise ship? No worries because an all-inclusive trip for cruise can also save you money by putting all together your food, trip, entertainment and accommodation for the price of one.
- Group Travel – Travelling with a larger group will help you save a lot of money. It will help you save in a way that you can allow them to split all the costs with you. Also with larger group, it will let you all decide to stay in a hotel rather than camping. Who does not want to stay in the hotel and sleep comfortably in a cozy bed! Some hotels have their own kitchen inside the room and that is intended for large group of travelers. When you have a kitchen inside your room, you can save money too because you don’t have to buy food every single day and all you have to do is to cook your food.
- Budgeted Entertainment – Please guys, if you travel to a destination with a lot of entertainment places, do not overspend! Make sure to research before going to a trip as some of the destinations have their own entertainment spots and in that way, you can set a budget for the entertainment of the whole family. Free entertainment is also an option but do not expect that the entertainment you will get is the same as the once that are paid. Most of the free entertainment can be found in the local parks and all you have to spend there is your food and souvenirs. If you don’t want to mingle with a lot of people, the only option you have is to bring your own entertainment like bringing your DVD’s and board games. A little bonfire at night and share spooky stories while eating roasted marshmallows. How awesome is that?
- Spend Less on Produce – Once you are on vacation, it does not mean that you don’t need to cook meals. That is totally wrong! Before going on a trip, stop by in the grocery store or in the dollar store and buy all the food that can be cooked without hassle. Buying bulk foods will help you save a lot of money as you don’t have to go to the restaurant and eat the entire meal there. If you plan to stay in the hotel, check everything if they have free breakfast as well and all you need to worry is your lunch and dinner, while hotels with kitchen will let you cook your favorite home meals without letting you spend a penny for food.
- Extra Fees – Please be careful with those sneaky extra fees that can be found in your airline bookings and hotel bookings. Most of the hotels will charge you for the parking and for the use of their Wi-Fi, and or resort fees. Check everything and read everything especially in the terms of agreement. I know that we are used to seeing those extra fees in the receipt but some hotels will find a way to get in your pockets and if you don’t read the terms of agreement, you will be shocked when you get to see your bill once you checkout.
- Car Rentals – If you don’t have your car with you, then consider renting a car. But be careful too as car rental companies are sneaky too! In order to avoid the sneaky fees for car rentals, make sure to return the car on where you pick them up and return it on time to avoid the fees. Using your own GPS will save you money too as the car rental companies will charge you for using their GPS. How do you know if what car you are going to rent? It is easy, choose the smaller cars! Smaller cars is equals to smaller fees and please, do not forget to fill up the gas that you used to avoid an extra fees! Do not sign the insurance paper at the back. Get your own insurance guys! Check your insurance before you travel and see if they cover road accidents when you rent another car just in case of emergency.
- Gas Savings – Save money in gas by using the app “GasBuddy’ as it can help you locate all the gas stations with the cheapest deals that you can find along the way. Oh and do not forget to use the GPS as well to check for shorter route to avoid more use of gas!
Where do you plan to go for your next summer vacation? Did we miss something? Please let us know with your comments below!
