You are planning your summer vacation and feeling a little poorer than you would like. You don’t want to miss out on fun activities, but you don’t want to max out your credit cards to go on a dream vacation. Instead, enlist some of the following money-saving techniques to help you plan for a better summer vacation.
Create a Separate Savings Account
When you leave saved money in your checking account, you must constantly fight the impulse to spend it. Create a separate savings account – or a jar for holding loose cash – for your summer vacation fund.
By restricting access to your savings, you will have to think harder before you make any withdrawals. Plus, you won’t see the money in your checking account and use the money for your personal spending pleasure.
Cook at Home More Often
Eating out is a huge expense that most of us indulge in perhaps too often. Yes, getting takeout after a long day at work is convenient, but it’s also expensive.
Here’s what you should do: Plan your week’s food in advance and head to the store with a specific list. Then, prepare your food for the week on Saturday or Sunday and divide your meals into portions inside resealable containers.
Focus on Lowering Energy Bills
Energy bills account for spending in most people’s budgets, but we rarely think about them when we want to save money.
During the winter, you lose much money heating a poorly insulated house. Do an energy audit to find out if your home loses heat in areas such as around windows, doors, or electrical outlets. Take energy-saving steps during the winter, such as insulating sources of heat loss to save money.
Snap Up a Side Hustle
All types of side hustles are available these days, from driving for ride-sharing services to getting paid to use certain search engines. Choose a side hustle that won’t cause you extra stress, then put aside the money you make from these jobs for vacation. Better yet, set money goals for yourself each month.
Downgrade Subscription Services
Cable, gym memberships, internet, movie channels, and internet radio: All these subscription services add up every month.
Take stock of how much you use certain services. Can you cancel cable and use an internet entertainment service instead? Once you downgrade, calculate how much money you are saving. Put away that much money every month to save for summer vacation so that you don’t spend the money elsewhere.
Sell Some Belongings
Make some extra cash for summer vacation by selling some of your old belongings. Take your old clothing to a thrift store that buys clothes. List furniture on online sites. As soon as you have the money in hand, put it into your savings account for vacation so that you can’t spend what you earned.
Implement the above vacation-saving solutions in your everyday life. The next time you’re planning a vacation, you will already have money to spare. You will also end up with extra cash that you can use when someone invites you to go on an impromptu trip.
Image via Flickr by avlxyz
Disclosure: This article is provided by a guest author.