If you’re planning on going on holiday, but are pretty tight with your money this year – don’t worry, it happens. You shouldn’t let this put a dampener on your time, or make you question even going. There are plenty of tips out there on how you can budget your money while you’re away, and they’re so simple, you will be kicking yourself as to why you never thought of them before. Here are the top 4 best ways.

Budgeting

You should all know the importance of making a budget; it’s what makes you aware of how much money you are likely to spend, and if you actually have that. If you find that there are too many things you want to do and it’ll end up costing far too much, then you will have to sacrifice something. That could mean removing an activity or two, not eating out every night or maybe even changing the hotel for one without the ocean view.

Prepaid travel card

These are pretty much like a debit card in which you withdraw money as you wish, but when there’s no more on the card – you can’t take out any more. This is great because you can’t risk overspending while you’re away, so this is where creating a budget comes in use before you leave for your vacation. Then you just load up your prepaid travel money card and use it wisely. This not only gives you tight control over what you spend, but it also gives you peace of mind because you know you’re not going to end up in trouble once you return home.  

Book in advance

If you leave your bookings until the last minute, the prices will be ridiculous compared to if you book a couple of months (or even more) in advance – especially if you’re going away in the ‘summer vacation’ period, as that is when everyone plans to go on holiday. So if possible, try choosing dates that aren’t popular.

The same goes for booking a hotel. Do it all online instead of when you arrive at your destination. Most airline companies even do deals with hotels and lodges nowadays, so it’s worth looking at.

Leave the toiletries at home

You may think you’re saving money by bringing them with you, but in fact, you’re not. Toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner and always ready or available at hotels free of charge. Plus, leaving them at home will also slightly reduce the weight of your luggage, as well as leaving you with more space, and we all know how valuable that is to us. Not only that but you’ll be reserving what you have at home, instead of using it all up when you don’t need to. And if anything runs out while you’re there – ask at the reception desk! A lot of people don’t do this because they think it looks rude – but they are there to be used.

If you keep note of these 4 tricks, you will already be on the right track to enjoying a break from reality, without having to worry about your financial situation every day!

Bon voyage!