Whether you’re planning on taking a break overseas, or visiting a city on the other end of the coast, saving for a vacation is serious business that requires planning. You can do it with the discipline approach of holding on to those tax returns, putting aside some money each month, or trying on one of the new fundraising sites that have cropped up online.
The possibilities are endless; but make no mistake – some are better than others. Below, you’ll see a handful of some of the best ways to be on the beaches of Hawaii or the historic parks of Milan in no time.
Make a Separate Bank Account for Your Vacation Funds
This one is all about planning and compartmentalization. If you don’t make the commitment, then all of your bills, daily life, unexpected expenditures and shopping escapades will eat up any extra cash you have, and you’ll have to wait years until your next vacation.
By opening up a dedicated vacation savings account, you can instruct your primary account to send automatic payments to it. The added benefit is, when you finally make it and start spending from that account, you get a strong idea of how much money you tend to spend on vacation – as well as what you tend to spend it on – for future planning and trips.
Use eBay to Turn Unused Commodities Into Cash
There has been plenty of surprising news regarding how much stuff the average household has that could net a nice figure on eBay. You undoubtedly have several things that you’ve yet to use, which could probably pay for a nice summer vacation if you made it a point to put them on eBay through the first half of the year.
Many people come away with literally thousands of dollars. Look at it this way: if you have something that you haven’t used in a year – like that old, still-working laptop – then you’ll almost certainly not miss it. Put it on eBay and shovel the money into your vacation account.
Set Up an Online Crowdfunding
There are fundraising websites that allows you to invite family and friends to contribute whatever small amount they can for your much-needed vacation. Of course, this works best if there’s some empathetic qualifier; but that’s not always the case.
You’d be surprised how many responses you can get – especially if you’re not known for taking vacations regularly, have a tendency to keep in touch with people, or are known as a busy single mother or single father. Be sure to post the best pictures you can find to encourage more donations.
Get a Second, Very Part-Time Job
If you can find something that you love doing, which pays you maybe $15 an hour for 3 hours a day, you can rack up $315 per week. Do this for half the year, and you’ll have a cool $7,560 in a separate account!
Rationalize the extra work with the idea that very soon, you’ll be on a worry-free vacation where the stress can melt into the deep blue sea and golden sands…
Last But Not Least – Discipline!
This entails cutting costs in your everyday life. How often do you eat out? You’ll have to sacrifice this – perhaps by cutting it in half, or getting rid of this altogether for the time being. It really adds up to a lot, and the money could be going into your vacation savings account. The reward at the end is worth it, and you’ll be ready to start saving for your next vacation shortly thereafter.
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Photo credits: Featured Photo by Images Money.
