Jealous all your co-workers and friends are heading off to
somewhere hot and sunny this March Break?
Taking a holiday is something we should all do because it
helps us relax and get away from the day-to-day grind. One key element to a successful vacation is
not to create additional debt or other financial constraints. You can achieve this by planning in advance
so you know that all of your expenses will be covered.
Four Steps to Making a Vacation Possible:
1.
Create a vacation budget. The first step is to decide what kind of
vacation you want to take; will it be a weekend getaway or a weeklong tropical
retreat? You will need to figure out how
much the travel, lodging, rental car, dining and entertainment will all cost. Once you have your figure, you can divide it
up between the number of months until you want to go, this will give you an
idea of how much you should be saving.
2.
Open a separate vacation savings account. This will allow you to watch your money grow;
and also make it less tempting to spend it on other things. Ask your bank to set up an Auto-Save program
to automatically transfer a predetermined amount of money from your chequing
account to your savings account on a monthly or weekly basis.
3.
Save a portion of your tax refund. Also consider saving any work bonuses, gift
money and even the loose change in your wallet or pockets at the end of the
day. Many people are nicely surprised
how even small amounts can quickly add up.
4.
Try a one week spending fast. Once a month go on a spending ‘diet’ and try
to spend as little as possible over the course of the week. For example, don’t spend money on coffee,
lunch, going to the movies or happy hour with your friends after work. Instead, take that money and put it into your
vacation savings account.
Happy Travels!
Tracey
Source: Original
article published on Advisor.ca, 02-14-13, written by staff
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