Ballin on a Budget: Top 5 Vacation Spending tips to save money.

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xx Rachlemorgan

No matter where you go on vacation, whether it’s the next town over, across the country, or even to a different country or continent, one thing remains constant: the need to have some money to spend. Whether you’re spending money on transportation, food, gifts, experiences, or typical trip expenses, vacation spending can quickly become overwhelming and change a trip from fun and exciting to stressful and frustrating.

To keep you from returning home to find you’ve spent more money than you have, or come to the middle of your trip and realize you don’t have any money left for the remainder, we’ve put together some tips and tricks to help you budget your vacation spending to maximize your fun and enjoyment while minimizing any headaches or stress.

Know Your Crucial Expenses

No matter where you’re going or how long you plan on being gone, it’s easy to recognize what your necessary and critical expenses are going to be. Before you set off for your trip you should already have an idea of where you’re going to be staying (Hotel/Hostel/VRBO) so this expense should already be accounted for when putting together your vacation budget.

Depending on your preference and travel style, it is best to plan for at least 2-3 meals each day that you’re on vacation. Some days you may only find yourself eating a snack and a single meal, while others may find you eating more. While you don’t need to have every meal planned out in detail, it is important to have a rough estimate (based on some prior research) of how much a typical meal costs for your destination.

You should also give yourself the flexibility to have a nicer meal or two during your trip. While you may find yourself wanting to just visit the golden arches or grab a sandwich from a corner store, sometimes the best memories you’ll take home with you are the meals you have.

Another crucial expense you should be aware of before you set off on your trip: Where you’re staying. Regardless if you stay in a tent, a BnB, hostel, or a 5-star hotel, you should at least have an idea of where you’re going to be for most of your tip, and its estimated cost.

Depending on location, a hotel can cost anywhere from fifty to hundreds of dollars per night. Based on what you’re looking for out of your accommodations, the price and quality can differ drastically. Some people tend to view their accommodation simply as where they rest their head after a busy day, while others look to enjoy their room as much as they do the rest of their trip.

A final expense that is difficult to adjust after you’ve already landed is travel. Based on the type of trip you’re taking, you should have a good idea of how much it will cost to get to/from your destination. Whether you’re calculating gas prices, airfare, cruise costs, or train tickets prices, you’ll typically have your main travel costs figured out before leaving.

Some travelers like to purchase the first half of their travel and leave the return trip purchases until towards the end of the vacation. I’d highly avoid doing this. While you may hope to find some last-minute deals of a few travel sites, I would avoid leaving your return trip up to chance. Additionally, you may run into the possibility where all options are sold-out, or outside of the amount of money you have left.

My recommendation: Make sure you’ve got all of your essentials planned, you can always adjust other things, but the crucial necessities shouldn’t be left to chance.

Set a (Flexible) Daily Budget For your Vacation

Depending on how you like to travel, you might like to have the most daily plans figured out before you set out for the day, while others would rather see how the day goes. While both travel styles have their positives and negatives, it is still possible to budget and keep your vacation spending from getting out of control.

For those who like to plan out a trip with greater detail, researching and setting a budget for the activities you plan to do can be a great way to keep from being surprised about any recent price changes or learn about discounts that may be available. When you create a budget it helps you be mindful of ways to prevent overspending.

For others, it may be easier to just set a flexible daily budget for your trip. Say you want to spend no more than $50 per day on activities or entertainment, this can be figured into your expected spending budget. A good rule of thumb is to allow a 5% – 10% buffer to this budget to allow you to still enjoy yourself, while keeping you from completely emptying your wallet.

Remember: You’re on vacation. You don’t need to be completely strict with your daily budget, but you should know how to budget and adjust accordingly if you find yourself wanting to spend more on some days.

Souvenirs

Bringing back souvenirs can be a tricky subject for many travelers. When space and money are limited, it is hard to know if money should be spent on something meant to be brought back, and if it would be better spent on experiences that may be remembered for a lifetime.

Growing up, when family members would go on a vacation, I always looked forward to finding out if I’d be getting something representative of where they went. Sometimes a small key chain, a shirt, or a toy would make my eyes light up, and I’d feel like I had a piece of treasure from a far away land.

Now that I’ve been going on my own vacations, I see how difficult it can be to balance the desire to bring something back for friends and family, and to conserve space and instead focus on something fun to do that could be shared through stories and pictures.

When you have a limited budget and space, and need to be cautious of possible damage during transportation, it might not always be possible to bring back all of the gifts or purchases you’d like.

While backpacking across Europe I knew I wanted to bring something back from the countries I visited, but with limited space and knowing that fun gifts don’t always last, I knew it should be practical while still reminding me about my fun journey, these are some ways to prevent overspending.

My go-to trip souvenir is shot glasses. While you risk them possibly breaking (since most are made of glass), you just have to be a little careful with how you package them, where you store them, and what they’re made of. For me, these are something fun, make a cool collection to show off, and can be used fairly often.

When planning on souvenirs, keep in mind who you’re getting them for, how you plan on getting them home, how much room they take up, and if the money spent on them would be better spent on experiences.

TL;DR

When you plan your trip, make sure you create a budget. Keep in mind your crucial expenses, how much you want to spend each day, as well as overall, and if money spent on souvenirs would be better-spent on experiences that may outlive a physical item.

Don’t get home to find out you’ve spent 2-3X what you wanted, or come to the middle of your vacation to find out you have nothing left to spend. You vacation spending budget doesn’t have to be completely set in stone, but by being aware of what you’re spending your money on and what you expect to spend you can keep a fun trip from becoming a guilt trip.

What are some of your favorite vacation budgeting tips and secrets? Let us know in the comments below. Check out some of our other articles filled with other budgeting guides, traveler highlights, and healthy living tips and tricks.root

Disclaimer: Rachlemorgan has her BSW from Saint Louis University, and is currently working on classes towards medical school. Everything written by Rachlemorgan and guest authors is solely opinion. Although we link to reliable sources we are not licensed professionals and our articles are solely to provoke thought, and express our opinion. If you or someone you know is in need of professional help please check out this reference sheet.

xx Rachlemorgan