luvtravelin2

Curious, how long does it take you to save your pennies before you go on vacation? Since I've been coming to this board, I've notice quite a few people take multiple vacations a year. Which is a good blessing!! It takes some people a year just to save up for 1 nice vacation, unless some people just use credit cards and pay it off later.

louise1928

Depending on how many trips we plan for the year, I usually start saving in January, but it really depends on what we are doing. For instance this year, we are taking a mini weekend trip to NYC and in December we are going to Orlando for the holidays...We purchased the airline tickets to Florida with some of our tax refund, and for entertainment, hotel and food expenses I budget what we may spend and I always add a few extra to that amount and begin saving weekly. Whatever the amount is, say, $1,000, I divide that by the amount of months we have until we leave and there you have it..I am even saving for our mini vacation to NYC. I figure just by taking lunch to work, that $25.00 a week saved for 4 or 5 months is paying for our weekend in New York, without having to dip into our paychecks. I usually pay for the lodging and transporation cost, and my husband pays for all of our meals and entertainment...Since I am not really a drinker (two drinks max.), I pick up the bar tabs, (sometimes) and souveneirs he pays for. It all depends on your income and expenses. If its an all inclusive vacation, we just split the cost of the trip, and save for shopping, sightseeing etc. Saving is definitely a must for us. We only use credit cards for car rentals, if needed, and we bring it with us for emergencies. Everything else is paid in cash. That was a travel rule we applied 12 years ago, and so far so good.

Deloris

Interesting question. I was asked this in 1999 in Tanzania in the Sarengheti by a native waiter at our hotel. I'm a "boomer" and would have visited this area sooner if finances and politics would have allowed. I responded "50 years"! He was stunned and we replied that this was such a special trip and so expensive that the Americans who come here are dedicated to educating ourselves to their culture and ecology.
He was amazed and very impressed!
That was the extreme.
I recommend that budget minded folks of all financial status take advantage of the mileage programs for airlines on their credit cards. One caveat: PAY OFF YOUR DEBT MONTHLY OR THIS WILL NOT BENEFIT YOU!!!! EVery charge from $10 up will benefit you and many cards give double miles and bonus miles for special services. Second point: always watch for travel deals in Sunday papers, online web sites like Luxury Link.com,expedia, etc, and check with local travel agents and cruise lines that offer deals and LAST MINUTE deals.
It takes work, but if you list your goals, priorites and interests, there are deals out there waiting for you.
The most important is to compile miles on an airline (or more than one airline) mileage program that you can
cash into down the line for free trips OR upgrades.

bluestructure

I usually pay for Air/hotel up front and then start saving money to spend while there, usually 4-5 months ahead of time.

gail

Also use FF miles for airfare. Sometimes we end up "saving" without realizing it - such as when a deposit is necessary many months in advance. When time for vacation comes, it has long been paid off and we have part of the trip paid for.

Cash/spending money is also done relatively painlessly - with daily change put into a bank and rolled and turned in before trip - easily adds up to several hundred dollars a year.

Since both husband and I have second variable consulting jobs outside our regular employment, we can either work extra hard or take advantage of an unexpected windfall to pay for more expensive trip - we paid for Egypt trip with proceeds from an unusually lucrative consulting opportunity. If we earmark proceeds of these towards a specific trip, the extra hours don't seem so bad.

All that said, a month after each trip there is always more on the credit card than we had expected, but that is always paid off in a month or 2.

Stephanie

I only take 1 big trip a year. If I go anywhere else it isn't more than a 7 hour drive away from my home. I only have one income so it restricts me in how luxurious a vacation can be. My accommodations are usually at Days Inns or Motel 6s. Since I don't vacation to stay in my room it doesn't bother me at all.

J_Correa

A lot of our trips are long weekends and since we drive to our destination and don't stay at expensive places, we don't really have to save to make it happen. We just decided to go and go. I also travel for work, so I get FF miles to cash in for trips, and I can sometimes work in a side trip after a business trip so my expenses are pretty minimal. A couple weeks ago I was on the east coast for work, so I stayed a couple extra days and went to NYC and Philly.

abram

We have a travel fund that we put money into whenever we have any extra, so we are always saving for a vacation.

We take two0three ski weeks per year, usually a weekend trip or two, and a two week trip in the summer or fall.

We charge everything for the FF miles, but pay the bill in full every month.

Tansy

I am always saving for trips, primarily because on Jan 1 of each year, I already know 80% of the trips I'll be taking that year. Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
So . . . I make loose calculations of travel expenses based on known trips, plus some extra for unplanned getaways, then put aside money every paycheck into a travel account. Any tax refund $$ and annual bonus $$ is split between our investment accounts, travel account, and home improvements.

Janny

Sometimes a year, but lately it's been maybe 3-6 months before.

bennnie

I generally start saving and planning for a trip simultaneously. Much of my planning involves investigating the cost of hotels, airfares, meals and the activities that we plan to do. The internet is absolutely invaluable for this. You can find out very quickly the cost of every tour you want to do, the admission to a museum even the cost of meals based on the menus that many restaurants post. I have a spread sheet I developed that helps keep track of my findings as well as works as an itinerary.

Then I do the same calculation that Louise1928 does. Just divide the total by the number of weeks before the trip and save that amount each week - or try to at least.

I keep a cash box that I throw spare change and small bills into. If I forgo buying lunch I put $5 in. If I take a book out of the library rather than buy it, I put $5 in. But to be honest its hard to be disciplined about this. So this week I'm opening an account at my credit union instead.

tcreath

We have a separate savings account just for vacations. Every other week (on paydays) a certain amount of money gets put directly into that account. The amount is ongoing, meaning we never stop having the money put into that account. When we plan our vacations, we plan it according to how much money is in that savings account. Usually we have enough for one larger trip a year (usually Europe) and a few smaller weekend-like trips (ie San Fran this July). If we are planning a larger trip, we just have more money taken out of our paychecks and put into that account.

Having the money directy deposited into our vacation account is very easy for us because, since the money is put in there right away, we never miss it. We've been doing this for 2-3 years now and its worked out great, and has allowed us to take some terrific vacations wtihout breaking the bank account or going into debt!

jacketwatch

I allow a certain amt. of pocket money for us every check but manage to save, over the course of a yr., around $3000.00. In addition we have a huge piggybank for loose change. Over the course of a yr. that comes to about $800.00-$1000.00 so between the 2 that puts a pretty good dent into our cost.

cactushugger

I'll sacrifice wearing the latest fashions, buying a new car every few years, expensive dinners out, and, many more "luxuries"... that other people may consider necessities. I live for my vacations. They feed my soul.

I agree with many earlier suggestions. We have a MilesOne credit card and can use the miles on ANY airline. We pay for nearly everything with it-- from vet bills out to groceries. We even put ten thousand dollars on the card when we bought a car. (However, we had that money in a "car" savings account. So, when the credit card bill came it was paid promptly.) As stated above, you must keep up with your monthly payments or there is no advantage. We currently have enough miles to fly both of us to Alaska or Hawaii.

I also have a vacation savings account. Through direct deposit I never get my eager little hands on that money. Our firm rule is that the vacation account is never touched for any reason other than travel.

There are two other ideas that I haven't seen mentioned. The first is vacation rental homes. Most beach communities, many mountain resort towns,and, assorted other places of interest have homes for rent by the weekend, week, month, or, longer. Depending on when and where you travel these can be a great deal. Often you can have all the conforts of a nice house for what you would pay at a hotel. For example, I spent a month in a nice 3 bedroom beachfront home on St. George Island (off of the Florida panhandle) this past winter. The house rental only cost: $1800.00 for a whole month! The reason? January is not swimming weather in this part of Florida. (During the summer the same house rents by the WEEK at just under the off-season cost I paid for FOUR weeks.) And, yet, there were many days in the 60's, and some in the 70's. Great for beach walking and shell collecting, sitting on the sundeck reading, and, watching the dolphins swim by. Since I didn't care about swimming, it was great!

Here's my second idea. Imagine that you rent one of those places and split the cost with friends or family. You REALLY save. My husband and I have done this with two other couples. We had a fabulous beachfront house--nicer than any of our own homes! The rent split three ways cost us considerably less than we would have paid for a week at a beachfront hotel. And, we had lots more space. On the nights we didn't eat out each couple took turns cooking. Whoever didn't cook cleaned up. Just be sure you really like the people you travel with. Then it's great fun.

You can find such homes by contacting the Chamber of Commerce, or, realestate offices at your destination. Find them on the web. You might also like to check out the VRBO website.(vacation rentals by owner) I've posted questions on several different travel websites asking for people's experiences renting through them. I have not gotten a single negative comment. Most have said the rentals exceeded their expectation. Based on those replies I am currently trying, through VRBO, to arrange a rental in Tucson.

I hope this gives you some ideas. Now I'd like to hear more about how other people pay for travel. Maybe I can learn how to squeak out a few more dollars!

OaktownTraveler

I don't save for travel. Yes, this is a huge blessing!

I have never used FF miles or credit cards related to that. I do use credit cards, cash, and ATM while traveling at home and abroad.
The credit cards are paid monthly as well. If used for travel the credit cards are paid off in full before the first suitcase is un-packed. I like to wait and verify charges. Hubby says dispute them if you need to later, but I am paying this now...he even calls for the balance...and adds a few more hundreds for charges not yet posted!

I/we travel LOTS on a combination of 1/2 day trips to trips that last for months.

I am blessed to have funds available to do what I want as relates to travel and most everything EXCEPT retirement and investments...

Now, I do HAVE to save for retirement and I save for my own investments. Those are the only things that I save for. Eventhough our pensions and other retirement investments are strong I am still building more for that on the side. I have a couple of decades before I retire...

I do begin to "put money away" for travel things IF I am going to be gone for more than 30 days straight which happens once a year.

Travel "things" are not air, hotel, meals, transportation or excursions. Travel things are anticipated shopping for my things, usually large purchases, and a cushion to buffer my hubbys frugal ways while on travel...

Oaktown Traveler

travellyn

6 months to 2 years for big trips like Europe or Hawaii. No time at all for a quick weekend driving trip.

GenXer

I don't save for either my long or short trips and I don't consider myself blessed. I just work (think) hard looking for ways to make more money.
I usually take 2 long vacations and 2 short ones a year.
I pay the entire trip with my credit card and pay off the entire balance once I come back.

GenXer

One more thing, I do save for my short and long term future, and I invest in Real Estate and in the stock market regularly. But I don't use that money for my trips.

GoTravel

I just build it into my monthly budget. If I know I'll need X amount for an upcoming trip, I'll cut back on other things.

Austin

We save first then decide if we have $$ to go anywhere... We are constantly saving.