Plan your trip – the experience and the expenditure
Ask people what they actually enjoy spending money on and holidays and travel are near the top of the list. It’s part of a recent shift away from valuing experiences over stuff and for many reasons that can’t be a bad thing.
So we’re now pretty motivated to spend our money when the payoff connects us to new places, people, cuisines and cultures. Buying time out from real life in other parts of the country, continent, or world is money well spent.
The small but, not to put a dampener on things, the small but in the mix is to be sure planning your next trip includes the expenditure and not just the experience.
Because holidays can be a black hole for your finances if not approached with caution. Part of the vacay remit is to chill and de-stress, and that’s a lot easier on a budget.
Are you in the 50%
Loans, credit cards and bad planning do not a relaxing trip make.
We’ve lived in a Trip Adviser world for long enough to know how to plan a holiday, but as a whole we’re still not great at planning the financials of it.
A Starling Bank survey in December found that 50% of UK adults overspend when holidaying abroad, with a tenth (11%) of them going into debt as a result. Just one in six (16%) UK adults makes a holiday budget and sticks to it.
Unexpected charges, food, drinks and experience days forced UK travellers to part with an average of £668 more per head per week on holiday than they would’ve at home.
That’s not far off the cost of another holiday.
Actions, tips & pointers
Here’s three tips to help your holiday prep and ensure retuning home isn’t more depressing than it needs to be.
1. Plan in advance
Not only does this give you the best opportunity to look at all your options and get a good holiday deal, it means more time to save and pay for your travels.
2. Be realistic
You’ll probably have paid for travel and accommodation, but what about spending money? Read what fellow travellers say about costs on the ground and estimate the likely charges (bank fees, tips, hospitality, taxis) you’ll encounter while there. If you don’t budget or aren’t realistic you risk turning to the credit card or being sorely short ’til payday.
3. Automate
Once you’ve worked out what you need for your trip, all of it, divide this by the number of months you’ve got until you go. With that, set up a regular payment for that much from your current account and fill up your holiday pot.
The same principles can be applied to other one-off costs through the year. Ahead of Christmas, car insurance, new dishwashers and whatever else the steps above can help.
Expenditure and experience – perhaps they go in that order.