How To Plan A Family Vacation On A Tight Budget
Planning a family vacation is truly something that everyone should look forward to, but unfortunately, so many people shy away from making those plans because they feel as though they don’t have the money means or the budget to make it become a reality. The truth is, it’s absolutely possible to take a family vacation even when you are on a tight budget! With a little planning, preparation and patience, you can make your dream family vacation turn into.
How to plan a family vacation on a tight budget
1. Compare pricing
It takes patience and research to find a price that is going to be budget-friendly when planning a vacation. Thanks to the internet, the options on how to search and monitor have become easier! With travel sites constantly updating their sales and deep discount pages for travel plans, if you are patient enough there is a strong possibility that you will be able to book an amazing vacation, even if you have a tight budget.
2. Communicate the budget with the rest of the family
Just because you have a budget in mind doesn’t mean that the rest of your family does. If you are spending a ton of time planning ahead and finding ways to make a vacation work, then it’s just as important to make certain that everyone else in your family knows that budget gameplan as well. Why go to all that hard work of spending your time searching for the best deals if no one else is going to be on the lookout for other deals as well? Talk to your family members about the budget that you are working with to make this vacation a reality so that they feel as though they are part of the planning and searching as well.
3. Pack your own food and snacks
Stopping and eating at restaurants while on vacation is a HUGE money waster! For a family of four, it’s easy $40 or more every time you sit down to eat somewhere. Instead, why not pack a cooler (or two!) full of snacks and healthy food items from the grocery store? You’ll be amazed at the amount of food that you can buy for your family for $100 versus the two meals that that would cover when eating at a restaurant. And if you don’t want to or you can’t pack the coolers with you before you go, just plan on taking them empty and stocking them fully when you arrive at your destination. Pack along smaller coolers as well so that you can take food and snacks when you are out and about exploring the town. You’ll be amazed at the amount of money that you’ll save!
4. If you can’t afford to travel during the peak time, think about traveling during the off-season
If your bottom line is that you are just wanting to take a family vacation, but you aren’t picky about when it happens, then wait a bit after the peak travel times of the year and see what options pop up for off-season travel. Companies and destinations offer steep discounts to try to get people to come to their locations when the rush of “travel season” is over. You may be able to score a super amazing vacation for a fraction of what it would have cost during the peak time!
5. Don’t overbook you and your family!
So many times people try to cram as much as possible into the vacation time and purchase too many options and activities right out of the gate. Why not wait a bit and see how the tempo of the vacation goes? If you find that your crew needs a few more activities added, you can always add them on at a later point in time. Don’t stack up your days to be overly crowded and exhaust everyone because that won’t be fun either. Plus, if you wait and don’t buy everything at once, you may find that you’ll save even more money by not purchasing those extra items that no one truly has time to do.
Money saving travel tips
1. Airline ticket
Plan in advance. Regularly visit discount websites to see if there are better deals. Different time and different day have different airline ticket prices. Make sure you always buy round-trip tickets with the same airport for departure and return flights.
2. Travel light
Pack one carry-on bag per person. Airlines charge a fee these days to have a luggage on board. By traveling light, you can save a significant amount of money for a family of 4. If you travel for a long period of time, consider doing your laundry while traveling. The cost of laundry is far less than a luggage fee.
3. Make your own meals
No matter where you are traveling, there’s always a grocery store. Consider making your own meals can save you a ton of money. When you’re planning for your vacation, carefully research to see if your hotel offers rooms with a kitchenette. Renting Airbnb is a good option where you have a choice to rent an entire house or a basement with a kitchen. With a family of 4, you can save money on food budget while traveling.
4. Eat more at lunch
If you’re going out for meals, getting a feast at lunch and eat light dinner can save you money. Generally, a dinner costs more than a lunch. You tend to spend more on drinks and dessert at dinner as well. By heavy eating at lunch and have a light dinner can save money on a food budget, especially for a family of 4.
5. Maybe cheaper to rent a car seat than to carry
If you have a young child and are renting a car, renting a car seat from the rental company may be cheaper than paying a luggage fee. Research and do the math to see which option gives you a more travel budget friendly.
6. Hotel
In addition to your room charge, you may not notice that you not only pay for a room charge for your hotel stay but you also pay for a zillion types of tax and more.
Room charge (Rate/night)
Hotel tax (room sales tax)
Occupancy tax
City/Local tax
Internet service (if you’re not a member of that hotel chain, you may get charged)
Newspaper (seriously?)
Anything else!?!
What about staying at Airbnb instead? With access to a full kitchen, you are not only paying those taxes and fees but also can save money by cooking your own meals. Consider your options wisely. Do the math and compare prices.
7. Airport parking
If you are traveling to an airport with your personal car and need to park your car somewhere. Instead of paying a fortune for an airport parking or an off-airport parking. Check out cheap airport parking.
8. Reward points
Even if you’re not a frequent traveler, sign up for every reward programs if there’s one. It’s free to join anyway so why not? You never know, eventually, you’ll have enough points you can get something for free.
9. Membership discount
Don’t forget membership discounts; senior, government, students, military, your insurance company, or even your bank or your credit card company. Majority of museums, state/national parks, botanical gardens honor discount from various membership and/or intuitions. Do your research ahead of time to see if any of your memberships/intuitions offer any discount on admission fees.
10. Discounted gift card
Buy discounted gift cards from a big box store. There is a big selection of restaurants, theme park admissions to hotels. With little planning and buying discounted gift cards, it can save you a ton of money alone. If you don’t have a big box store membership, don’t worry. You just need to know someone who does.
By following a few of these simple budget-saving tips above, it is absolutely possible to plan a family vacation even when you are working with a tight budget!
What do you do to save money when traveling?
