5 Tips for Booking a Vacation and Reaching your Savings Goals
The warm summer months are just around the corner, and it’s never too early to start planning your vacation! Not sure where to start? Here are 5 tips to help you find your dream vacation and stay on budget.
1. Pick a Destination: The first step is to decide where you want to go. This will determine the length of your trip, how much you spend, and what activities are available. There are so many great destinations, but here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Seattle – Located in Washington State, Seattle is a popular destination known for its cultural attractions, outdoor recreation opportunities, and thriving food scene. With iconic landmarks like Pike Place Market and the Space Needle, there are plenty of things to do in Seattle.
Austin – Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the World™, with at least 250 music venues! Whether you’re looking for country music or rock concerts, there’s something for everyone in this Texas town. If you’re an active person who loves water sports or hiking, Austin is also the place for you.
San Francisco – San Francisco has something for everyone! From Fisherman’s Wharf and Chinatown to the Golden Gate Bridge
In this article, 5 Tips for Booking a Vacation and Reaching Your Savings Goals, I provide some advice for budget travelers looking to book a vacation and still reach their savings goals. You can’t have the best of both worlds but you can certainly find a balance.
There are definitely pros and cons to booking a vacation. For starters, you’ll need to spend money in order to make money. But if you book correctly, you could be saving over $1,000! Here are some tips on how to book that won’t break your bank:
If you’ve been reading Scott’s Cheap Flights for a while, you probably have a savings goal in mind. Maybe you want to pay off debt, go on a big trip, or save up for a down payment on your first house.
And here’s the thing: travel can help get you there! The empty spaces in your calendar are prime opportunities to take advantage of cheap flights and fly somewhere exciting.
Here are my top 5 tips to help you book your dream vacation AND reach your savings goals.
It’s that time of year again, when we start thinking about spring break and summer vacations. But instead of just daydreaming about your next getaway, we want to help you make those dreams a reality. Our top 5 tips will help you save money on airfare and still reach your savings goals.
1. Book Early
The best way to save on airfare is to book early — 60-90 days in advance is ideal. There are exceptions to this rule, but it’s best to get in the habit of booking early so you don’t miss out on deals. We’ll cover some exceptions later!
2. Avoid Weekends
The most expensive days to fly are Fridays and Sundays, so avoid these if possible. If you have a flexible schedule, try flying mid-week for the best prices.
3. Stay Flexible
If you’re able to stay flexible with your travel plans, you can find great deals anywhere in the world! You can use our Everywhere deal alerts or set up your own alert for any destination that interests you by simply using the “Monthly” option on our Deal Alerts page (see screenshot below). This will send you all available deals from your home airport(s) throughout each month — it’s a great
Whether you are looking for a week long vacation to relax or a quick weekend getaway to see the sights, it is important to plan your trip and research various options. All vacations are different and this is true with the prices of your vacation and airfare. Here are 5 tips to help you save on your next vacation:
* Look ahead. Airlines usually post discounted fares 2-3 months in advance of travel dates. They want to promote these deals early so that customers like you will begin to book their flights. If you know when you would like to leave, look ahead and check out what kind of deals airlines are promoting for that time period.
* Subscribe for cheap flight alerts. There are many websites out there that provide subscription based email alerts for cheap flights. These sites will search for fares that meet your criteria and send you an email notification whenever they find a cheap flight deal for your desired destination.
* Sign up for airline emails. Many airlines also provide email subscriptions that let customers know about new promotions and discounts via email notifications. This can be helpful because most airlines only post these deals on their websites, not necessarily through other travel booking sites.
* Be flexible with dates and times. There are many tools out there that can show you the cheapest dates or
Planning a Vacation on a Budget
Let’s face it—we all want to go to Paris (or Hawaii, or Canada, or wherever your dream destination may be), but not everyone has the finances to make such a trip happen. If you’re like me and find yourself somewhere between “broke college student” and “I can afford to travel but I don’t have unlimited funds,” then this list is for you.
I recently took a vacation to Europe with my best friends, and we managed to get there for under $1000 each (round-trip airfare included). It took some planning, but we made it work, and so can you! Here are 5 tips that will help you plan your dream vacation without breaking the bank.
Tip
The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) reports that “only about half of Americans make financial resolutions, and only about 8% actually accomplish them.” One of the best ways to improve your chances is to make sure you have a plan in place and you’re holding yourself accountable.
So how do we create an actionable plan? I’ve found that setting small, achievable goals helps me to stay on track. Those small wins can add up quickly if you keep at it. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Create a budget for travel.
2. Use credit cards with a rewards programs to pay for travel expenses.
3. Save money on your food bill by using grocery store apps like Ibotta, or shopping at wholesale stores like Costco or Sam’s Club when you’re stocking up on road trip snacks or vacation groceries.
4. Use your tax refund wisely by putting it right into your travel fund!
5. Get creative by looking for new ways to earn a little extra cash while staying focused on your savings goal! You can sell old clothes, electronics or other items you no longer need on eBay or Poshmark, take part in