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Taking a vacation should be mandatory for everyone. I recommend taking a vacation no less than 4 times a year. I've met people close to their 60's and have never left the country. That is not the life that I am going to live. Today I will teach you over 10 steps that can help you save and travel so that you are able to take your Dream vacation. I will also show you how to balance your travel fund.
Also Before we forget while you are planning your vacation it might be a good idea to order some custom t-shirts so that you can have some cool memorabilia and take some pictures with also. Check out our website and design a shirt right here.
First things first. You are going to need your passport. The sooner you fill out the paperwork to get your passport the faster you can get it back without needing to pay an extra fee to expedite it.
Creating a Vacation Bank account is easy. It's so simple that you can do it online. After you create your bank account you can start adding your vacation funds in right away. Start off putting what you can in. I don't know if your job offers this option but some companies like Walmart have an option that you can deposit money into more than 1 bank account. I recommend depositing at least 5% of your pay to your Savings Account. I do not recommend that you look at your bank account each month as you may be tempted to go inside but stay disciplined and just make sure everything is going ok with your account.
I recommend that you should save at least $25 a week. I am saying weekly because you will not miss the smaller amounts as much as you will miss taking $100 dollars to save each month. The sound of $100 might make you reconsider if you should put it in your vacation account. You will notice that you already spend $25 on literally nothing a week already. It might be snacks out a vending machine. You might do this on drinks at the bar after work. Needless to say, saving your money will be the best way to save for your vacation. If the job that you work is paying you annually $40,000. You can save at least $100 a week. If you can't then you are overspending in a different area.
If you plan your vacation ahead then you can usually save on flights and resorts and make sure you can get a better-priced air bnb. You want to get all the excursion specials before they are sold out. I recommend Comparing prices for your flight on certain days. Those prices fluctuate so much its nerve-wracking. Also sometime it may actually be cheaper on some things once you get to the country you are going to. For instance, there was a guy and his wife that I met in the Dominican Republic. He said that online they wanted some crazy price to do the same excursion that he and his wife found from someone on the beach for less than 25% of the cost.
If you have not saved your money for your trip yet and know that you are going to go. Purchase your flight tickets and resort to save money from the price increase. Pay your credit card back over time until you take your vacation. You can also use your credit card for most of your purchases out of the country depending on which country you are visiting. Its usually safe and your credit card is protected against fraud and etc. If you are going to a Caribbean island just use cash. It's easier, I don't think I ever use a debit card or credit card except in the airports. While in Cities like Medellin, Colombia or Dubai, UAE I use my card for all my food purchases etc.
Everyone should have a spending list to keep control of your spending. You should know how much you make each month and how much you have in bills each month. This is mandatory for you to do, It will give you a better understanding of how much you can spend each month. Some might find that you have no money left over from your income that you can put in a vacation account. If this is the case then Step #8 might be for you.
You should also create a Vacation spending list. This will help you with your travel budget. Calculate how much everything is and write it down. Whatever the cost of what it says to add an extra $1000 dollars. You will find that when you vacation and get to other countries there are going to be unexpected fees.
They will want deposits. Some deposits range from $50 up to $800. You will also need Gringo Money. Gringo money is like an emergency fund for foreigners. Gringo Money is just in case something happens you might need to do some paying off to avoid unforeseeable events.
I recommend canceling those subscriptions. Netflix, Hulu, not Spotify because you are going to need them to listen to your music while you are traveling. If you do not have kids then cut the cable bill. I would not deprive the kids of not having cable. I couldn't imagine being a kid and missing out on all my favorite cartoon episodes on the weekends. I am sure there are more subscriptions that waste a lot of money. The gym memberships that you haven't been to in the last 6 months. Its time to cut them all off.
I have personally started doing this with a lot of different things like groceries. I will often buy the budget brand of food because hey it all comes from the same place anyway. Is there really any difference? If there is it's not that much of a difference. Things like water, I buy the 36 packs of water from Walmart for around $2.96 compared to a 24 pack of water for $5. I will pass. Actually,y you could really be a saver and cut bottle water altogether unless you stay In Flint which is unfortunate by the way. I can not believe we are going back and forth and had a government shutdown over a wall and Flint Michigan kids still do not have clean water to drink.
Starting a side hustle today is easier than its ever been. You can make extra money online writing a blog post. One of the most popular side hustles today is Uber. You can drive people around on your spare time and make extra money for your vacation. Not only are you making money but you might have some funny experiences with this also. A side hustle will give you the extra income that you need to take your dream vacation.
You can always work some overtime. Well if you have your own business. Some employers may be paying you a salary in which working overtime will not pay you any extra. If you work an hourly job and you have overtime available ask your supervisor or manager if you can stick around and help with some additional projects or whatever other tasks may be needed at work. In the USA Overtime pays 1.5 extra. You may also want to see about working on holidays.
This is easy to do. You can sell your stuff on eBay, Craigslist or Facebook Market place. You can post items of old things that you no longer need or want. You can sell old gaming systems, furniture, Clothes, and shoes. Things that may do not work anymore. Like Printers, Copy machines etc. Old laptops, and tablets. Some people buy these non-working items for parts.
This is the biggest spending problem I have. I eat out and at restaurants extremely too much. If you are trying to save for a vacation this is not the way to do it. First, I am not telling you to starve your self. I am saying that all the extra money that you spend on fast food and restaurants can probably pay for a lot of our vacations without anything else on this list.
Instead of stopping by a fast food restaurant for breakfast on your way to work a fig bar and drink a bottle of water. It's ok to skip lunch at Mc Donalds. Cook some hot dogs and french fries to save some money. Help increase your monthly budget.
I actually save anything that is not a $20 bill or more. I throw $10 $5 $1 and change into my change bucket. I try not to use cash to make purchases and it may be different for you. Some people try to only spend cash and not use their card. Most cards reward you with 1 and 2% cash back so you can actually make some money by only using your card.
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