If your family is anything like mine, going on a family vacation this summer can seem like a far fetched dream. Trying to find ways to save for a family vacation might seem daunting! My husband and I have already decided it is not an option we ARE going on a vacation this year. We are trying to plan a much needed trip to Indiana to visit my family. Its hard to believe I haven’t seen my mom in over a year.
Start with a goal, the BIG goal of going on vacation we are having to set smaller goals to save the money to be able to afford it.
We plan on driving so I went to Fuel Cost Calculator and picked the city closest to me now and closest to where we are traveling to, to try to estimate how much we will be spending in gas. We have the advantage of staying with family so no need to figure in hotel costs.
1. Save ALL your change. If I find change or any money in the washer or dryer it goes up in the vacation fund. Any lose change I find around the house also goes in the vacation fund. I’ve also started cleaning the change out of my wallet and the bottom of my purse once a month and adding that to our fund.
2. Meal plan. Plan meals for a week or two. Get your grocery list together and be strict on yourself…DO NOT get anything not on your list.
I recently did the Freezer friendly crock pot meals post. For that I made 24 different meals. On my shopping trip I had a HUGE list. I ended up spending around $280 and had enough for those 24 meals plus some extra meals for days I wanted to cook. I would say for the $280 I was able to get enough for about 32 meals. Just planning a head watching for sales and using coupons can help a ton! Meal planning also helps cut back on those fast food or pizza delivery nights.
3. Pack lunches. My husband takes left overs to work for his lunch every day. This saves us around $6 a day, which very quickly adds up. Also, eat breakfast at home. A few months ago I made some freezer friendly breakfast burritos. They are great to just heat up in the morning and eat on the way out the door.
4. Have a ‘Pantry Week’ For one week each month, from now until your trip, stay out of the grocery store. Most families have enough staples in their cupboards then they realize.
5. Have a garage sale. Go though your house and start gathering up all the things you no longer use or need. If you don’t think you have enough for a garage sale try organizing one with some friends.
6. Avoid buying new things such as clothing. If your in need of some new clothes for summer first check out yard sales and stores like Goodwill to see what kind of deals you can score!
It’s great to get everyone involved in the vacation savings plan. Make a savings wall chart and weekly track your progress toward your trip savings with colorful markers or stickers. Set some milestones along the way. For example, once you’ve hit one quarter of your trip costs have a special movie night. Get a Redbox movie and some make some mircowave popcorn. My kids like to turn all the lights off and make it feel more like a movie theater. 🙂
Put these Ways to Save for a Family Vacation into action and get saving!
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