How To Afford A Vacation

by Crystal Carder

Before I had kids, I always wanted to travel and explore the world. Then kids happened; I became a SAH mom and we went from having two incomes to just one. After a while, we needed a vacation, but my husband’s income wasn’t cutting it. I spent months working on ways to afford a vacation, and eventually I found a way that worked. My family and I now afford a vacation at least 3 times a year, without hurting ourselves, financially.

If you looking for a way to take time off from the daily 9-5, then this post is for you! Using these simple tricks, you and your family can afford a vacation at least once a year!

how to afford a vacation

These tips will help you afford a vacation, but will require a bit of work. As always, please read any special terms or conditions when signing up for any new programs or making a purchase.

Buy Gift Cards

A few years back, I was scrolling Facebook when I came across a conversation from someone who was asking how to afford a vacation. As I was reading through some of the comments, someone actually suggested this brilliant idea of buying gift cards throughout the year. Of course, I’ve never done this option, but it sounds so easy that I don’t really know what is stopping me from doing it. The trick kind of goes like this:

Since you’re probably already putting money back into a vacation budget, a vacation budget can easily be accessible to you and may accidentally get spent on other things. Keep that from happening by purchasing gift cards throughout the year. With gift cards, you really can’t go wrong as long as you buy gift cards for logical places. For example, don’t purchase a Sheetz gas station card if you are planning on traveling to Florida (because there are no Sheets in Florida). Gift cards can be purchased for almost anything and, as long as you keep them safe, they can help cut traveling costs and become kind of like a vacation budget, without the option to spend it later.  One way to get more gift cards throughout the year is to ask for them for birthdays, and holidays, or sign up for Swagbucks.

My favorite way to earn gift cards is by adding deals online at Dealspotr. 

Use Groupon

I never knew how amazing Groupon was until I tried it! Groupon is available online and through an app and they offer discounts and deals for almost everything you need for your getaway. Groupon adds new deals every day and they even allow you to book vacations months in advance. Sometimes you can even score a hotel deal at places like Myrtle Beach and Orlando for less than $60 a night! Groupon getaway deals usually sell out fast, but if you watch on Groupon, you may just be able to afford a vacation for less. 

Besides getaway deals, watch Groupon for deals on experiences too!

Budget a Vacation Fund

If you’re planning a vacation, I hope you have already started creating a vacation fund, but if you haven’t it may not be too late. First, you need to plan where you are going and how much it will cost. Then, figure out how much you can safely afford each month to put back into a vacation fund.

If you can’t seem to pull any money out of your pay to put back, you may still be able to afford a vacation, by trying some of these other options.

Have a yard sale

Most of us are guilty of having too much, if that sounds like you, then you may be in luck. Afford a vacation by selling things you don’t need or no longer use. This can be things like clothing, tools, furniture, or anything you can think of. If it’s too cold for having a yard sale, you can always try selling through online venues, just use caution when meeting strangers. 

Try Vacation Layaway

I’ve never personally used the vacation layaway thing, but I know many people who have vacations to places like Disney World. The way this type of layaway usually works is you pick out everything for your vacation; the date, airplane tickets, resort, and parks, and then you book it. Then, you pick out how often you would like to pay for your vacation and then you get a payment plan.

What are some creative ways your family has saved for a vacation?

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how to afford a vacation

Last Updated on 2 months by Crystal Carder

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2 comments

Agness of Fit Travelling March 5, 2017 - 12:07 am

Amazing post. These tips were very useful, Crystal!

Reply
Crystal Carder March 5, 2017 - 12:13 pm

Thanks for visiting, so glad they helped!

Reply

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