Holidays cost a small fortune. I have just been looking ready for this summer and yet again I am staggered at the cost. My requirements are quite simple really – I want a clean hotel room with facilities for five of us. I want a decent pool and loungers and restaurants that serve a variety of good honest food and has ice-cream on tap for the children. Oh ok and a bar that serves me gin with a straw in!
It isn’t too demanding is it?
last year we had the holiday that dreams are made of. We flew to Florida for two weeks of fun with Mickey and crew and I knew it would be expensive. It is the holiday that you only do a few times if atall. The holiday was along time in the planning and was budgeted for. I think if you really want to splash out on this type of holidays preparation is the key. I don’t advocate buying any holiday on credit cards as for me paying it off afterwards would be stressful and no fun. We live our life by paying for things up front but I do actually book the holiday on a credit card to get the extra protection but it is paid off in full the following month.
To save for Florida (or any other big holiday) here are my tips.
1. Plan for it over a few years, decide when you want to go and watch the prices the year before so you know when best to book. For us this ensured that we waited until we were offered FREE Disney Dining for our onsite week.
2. Open or use a separate bank account for a holiday fund. Then put a set amount in every month.
3. If time allows even open an ISA like this one from legal and General or account that will give you more interest than current accounts.
4. Could you take on some extra shifts, over time or do something else to boost your income. I do exam marking which is all money towards holidays.
5. What is sitting unused that you could sell to generate some income – local selling sites or ebay will be good for that. I have recently sold two pushchairs as i know I won’t be needing those again!
6. What could you go without that would soon add money to your holiday fund. Maybe you could ditch the shop bought Saturday night takeaway and have a fake away version instead. This could easily save you £20 a week. that would soon add up, what about that coffee from Costa do you really need it??
7. Finally look at whether you can book the holiday separately to save money. We often avoid travel companies and book the hotel separately to flights. It is more work for you but can be a good way to save. Also booking online often results in savings compared to booking in a traditional travel agents.
What ways do you save for holidays?
Disclosure. This post is in association with Joe Blogs Blogger Network.
Oh Emma holiday prices are riddic aren’t they! We have got a separate Holiday bank account too! We have just emptied it though buying our flights to Sri Lanka in December. We try and put some in every month so that it’s always there for days out too if we need it.
We did similar for our big Japan trip a couple of years back, we knew it would be extortionate but we didn’t want to skimp so saved up properly beforehand. You have some great tips I haven’t thought about before though, so I will put them to use on our next big trip! 🙂
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We are savers chez-Saurus and part of the enjoyment of the holiday is knowing that hard work and sacrifice helped you afford it – you savour the holiday all the more for it!
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We visited Disneyland Paris last week and we said that next time wit will have to be Florida! We are also planning on spreading the cost over a couple of years. Thank you for the extra advice Emma x
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Writing about travel has been my way of funding our travels. We travel a lot and our trips aren’t always fully funded, so it is definitely a case of prioritising travel over other treats. We aren’t around much at weekends, so the kids don’t do many paid activities. And we barely drink these days – amazing what the wine fund can buy!
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Great tips! I am desperate for a beach holiday this year but sadly I think it will be a financial stretch too far. But I these are great tips and might mean we can sneak in a last minute one if we stick to them all !
Top tips Emma. I really need to start working out how to save money, but it’s just so time consuming!
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