Vacation Better: Savings and Planning

by Casey Messer

Organization is key when it comes to vacationing. Whether it is just a girls’ trip, a couple’s getaway, or an entire family vacation, planning will make for a stress free, well deserved time away. There are several costs associated with traveling away from home. Setting a savings strategy is important and will help you plan for every expense that comes up. Keep in mind there are also great deals available to help keep costs down!

When determining the cost of a vacation as well as calculating your total, there are several things to consider. The location, lodging and travel are all costs to be determined. Also ask yourself, what are you doing while there? What are you going to eat? What do you plan to buy? Answer all these questions with an amount and that total is a fair guide to your vacation total.

Now that you know how much your trip costs, its time to save for it. We all know that vacations can be expensive depending on where you are going and what you are doing. Having the cash to spend instead of paying for the trip with a credit card will allow a stress-free trip. To know how and when to save, take the total cost and divide it by the months or weeks you have until the trip. Don’t forget if other adults are joining you, splitting the costs can make a huge difference when saving.

When it comes to saving money, there are a million and one vacation deal websites and coupons to utilize. Places like Hotels.com. Trivago and more. These resources offer deals on rooms, lodging and other things like flight discounts. It is also a good idea to sign up for your favorite hotel’s rewards program. Not only will their mobile app sometimes let you check in early, but you will also accumulate points to use towards your next stay. Other places like Tripadvisor offer insights as well as discounts to your favorite vacation spots. My favorite part about these opportunities is that they offer a host of reviews good and bad so that you can make a just decision when booking a stay.

Overall, do your research. Take the time to make a good plan. Read blogs from others who have visited before you. There is nothing like taking the advice from someone else and it being the best decision you could’ve made. Start with an idea, turn it into a plan, then put it in action by saving to make the idea come to life.

Centric is not partnered with any of the mentioned resources. Each company named is simply shared from personal experience. You may visit their websites for more information regarding their services.

For more information about opening a new savings account, click here.

Resource Links:

Trivago: https://www.trivago.com/

Hotels.com https://www.hotels.com/

Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/

Groupon: https://www.groupon.com/

Kayak: https://www.kayak.com/

Booking.com: https://www.booking.com/

RetailMeNot: https://www.retailmenot.com/

AirBNB: https://www.airbnb.com/

VRBO: https://www.vrbo.com/

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