Tips To Save For A Vacation

Growing up, we went on a family vacation every year. Usually, we would spend a week at the beach relaxing and having a great time. When I got married and had my son I couldn't wait to start taking vacations. I had so many places I wanted to take my son.

Unfortunately, we didn't have any money for a vacation. We very quickly realized that we needed to get creative if we wanted to travel. We have spent plenty of vacations shacking up with my parents at the beach. It's made for very inexpensive vacations. We also have since learned so many tips to save for a vacation. My husband sold his motorcycle and I babysat to save some money to take our son to Disney. It's not always easy saving for a vacation, but with some work you can be enjoy a relaxing vacation.  If you dreaming of a summer vacation at the beach, but not sure how to pay for it, check out these tips you can use to easily save for a vacation this year.

Start a Vacation Account

If you can plan ahead enough this is by far the easiest way to save. We have auto-deduct on my husband's paycheck. The auto-deduct puts a set amount of money each week in our vacation account. We don't even have to think about saving money for vacation, it is already in the account. You don't have to put aside a lot of money each week. Even $10 a week will add up to over $500 a year.

Sell Some Stuff

It's garage sale season, so clean out your house and find some stuff you no longer use to sell. I am always amazed at what I can find that we no longer need. A good garage sale can easily make a couple of hundred dollars. If you don't want to have a garage sale, try selling on craigslist or a Facebook page. I have made hundreds selling our stuff on a local Facebook page. A couple hundred dollars extra from selling things will help your vacation fund.

Create A Change Jar

My husband has saved his change for a year now. He recently took it to the bank and had over $200 in change! I couldn't believe it. If fact, I was so impressed I started one for myself. It's so easy to just collect all your extra change in a jar and then cash it in to your vacation account. Check at your bank for a coin machine. Our local bank has one and it is free if you deposit the money into an account. It's so much cheaper than coinstar or taking the time to count all the coins.

Cut Your Expenses

Try to find a few ways to cut your expenses for a month or two. Skip going out to eat, get rid of cable, pack a lunch for work. You could easily save $50-$100 dollars a month just by packing a lunch. There are so many ways you can save some extra money to put into your vacation. With a few different ways of saving you can easily come up with a couple hundred dollars a month.

Look Into Rewards Programs

I love those reward programs that will offer you $500-$1000 to open a credit card. I will open one, jump through the hoops and then close the card. It's an easy way to make some extra cash. We have used credit card points or cash to help us pay for our trip to Jamaica. I don't recommend this one if you have a problem with credit card debt, but if you always pay off your card in time it is a great way to save.

Get a Side Job

This may be the most work of all of the ways to save, but can make saving for your vacation easy. Pick up a side job and save all the extra money for your vacation. You can dog walk, baby sit, delivery newspapers or pizzas. The list is endless.

With some work and frugal habits you can start saving toward the vacation you have been wanting to take. So stop dreaming and start saving! What tips do you have to save for a vacation?