Make the Most of Your Vacation Budget

Ah, Paris in springtime, the cool Pacific Northwest in summer, and vibrant Vermont in fall.

If you’d love to take your dream vacation or enjoy multiple excursions this year, use this guide to help determine what you can afford and how to get the biggest bang for your buck.

Allocate funds

One of the first steps of travel budgeting is identifying where you can pull cash from, which involves evaluating your general budget and current spending habits. For instance, if you use the 50/30/20 rule—where you designate 50 percent of your after-tax income for needs like housing and food, 30 percent for wants, and 20 percent for savings or debt payments—your travel budget could come out of that “wants” portion. As for how much you should set aside, many people spend about 5 to 10 percent of their yearly net income on their vacations, but there’s no hard-and-fast rule. Weigh your priorities and other spending desires; after all, you might want to reserve some fun money for other interests like entertainment and shopping so you can sprinkle in local fun while anticipating your vacation.

Stash your cash

Once you know what’s feasible to put toward your travels, consider opening a separate bank account to save your funds in. Doing so will help prevent you from using these savings for bills and other expenses; it will also make clear exactly how much you have available to spend while on vacation. If you typically charge your travels on your credit card, this will better ensure you don’t overextend your budget and take on too much debt, which could potentially damage your credit score and impede your chances of traveling in subsequent years. Just be sure to pay your balance off right away to dodge extra fees that could eat into your vacation funds.

Establish your goals

After your financial strategy is in place, you can set your travel priorities for the year. Do you want to go on one big vacation, jet to a dream destination or two, or travel many times throughout the year? Knowing your objectives will help you determine how to best use your vacation savings. For instance, if you only want one major trip this year, you can allocate your entire budget toward it. But if you’d rather enjoy several different getaways, you may need to make price-cutting decisions about locations and dates so you can stretch your funds as much as possible.

Cut back

If you feel that your travel budget is too restrictive for your vacation goals, look for ways to augment it by limiting other areas of your spending. Perhaps you could brew your own morning coffee and pack your lunch, cancel one of your streaming services, or work out at home instead of at the gym. Tightening your purse strings even just a little can add up—for example, if you spend $15 less a day, you can save about $450 extra a month. Considering that the average American forks out almost $13 per food-delivery order in fees alone, you might not find it too hard to restrict your spending in other areas to beef up your vacation funds.

Look for deals

As you plan, consider creative ways to cut costs to better meet your travel goals. For instance, you could make economical road trips to less expensive small-town or rural destinations, skip traveling weekends or during other peak travel periods, and avoid last-minute premiums by booking in advance. Try sites like Kayak and Airbnb to find deals on destinations, hotels and rentals, and airfare, and don’t forget to factor in extras like event tickets, cab fares, and tips, which may impact what activities you decide to do.

Consider travel insurance

Travel insurance may be a worthwhile expense if your itinerary involves several prepaid and nonrefundable expenses because it can help you recoup at least some of your losses should your plans fall through. Expect it to cost up to 6 percent of your trip’s price tag.

No matter how tight your budget may seem, your travel plans don’t necessarily have to be out of reach. By keeping a watchful eye on your spending, researching ways to stretch your vacation dollars, and making creative choices about where and when you travel, you can make your dreams a reality.