Are you dreaming up a vacation, but you’re worried about how to afford it? What if we told you that you could start saving travel right now? Well, you can, and here’s how.
Assess Your Monthly Expenditures
The amounts of money that are automatically debited from our accounts are often forgotten about. Go through your monthly statement, and see what you can cut back on. It is common that expenses such as gym memberships, magazine subscriptions, music streaming services, or even cable can cost you a large amount of your monthly allowances. Cancel some of these services or re-negotiate costs.
Create a Budget
Start with the most important categories first: mortgage/rent, groceries, gas, utilities, credit card bills, etc. With the money that you have left at the end of the month, decide where it is allocated, and do not budge. You can re-evaluate at a later date if you find that you have less/more money than necessary. The money that is extra in each category now goes straight into savings.
Set Up Automatic Transfers
If you have a direct deposit set up with your employer, change the way it is being deposited into your account. For example, automatically set your direct deposit up so a certain percentage or amount is put into your savings account instead of your checking. You will be saving money each paycheck without even trying.
Cut Out Convenience
Your morning coffee runs always seem like a small expense at the time, but let’s break it down. Spending $3.50 on coffee Monday thru Friday morning totals to $17.50 a week. That is $70 a month. If you often eat lunch out, cut that cost as well. Bring coffee and lunch from home, and you will be able to put those amounts straight into your vacation fund instead.
If you don’t have a savings account already, get in touch with your local banker today.