How to prepare your bank account for holidays

How to prepare your bank account for holidays - Going on vacation doesn’t have to put you in debt! If you plan ahead, you won’t immediately undo all the relaxation of your trip as soon as you touch back down. It’s also really important to invest in your holidays, because you’re simultaneously investing in your own health and happiness. And it's easier than it seems!

Click through for 25 simple ways to meet your dream vacation goals.

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Get the numbers - Jennifer Barrett, Editor in Chief of Grow, told Bustle that millennials spend an average of US$1,373 on summer vacations. That might mean you should have at least US$1,000 saved up to ensure you won’t be stressed out while on vacation.

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Do some math - A good way to organize your savings plan is to estimate how much you’ll need for your holidays, then divide that by the number of weeks between now and then. If you want to make things even more simple, calculate how much that would be per day.

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Make a separate savings account - If you’re just eyeballing your money in one account or putting all your savings, both long- and short-term into one account, it can be difficult to see your success and it can be easy to undershoot. Plus, having a savings account open all the time will encourage you to take advantage of exciting opportunities without compromising your goals.

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Name your savings account after your vacation - Giving your account a name that resonates with you will help you remember why you’re making sacrifices, and it will hopefully stop you from withdrawing from the account (or at least make you think twice).

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Work saving into your routine - Take a hard look at how you spend your money, whether it’s cutting out that expensive coffee or choosing to pack lunches instead of buying them every day. One small change could mean hundreds in your vacation fund.

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Ask yourself a question before you spend - Before you buy an expensive cocktail, or a nice meal out, or another shirt, ask yourself if you’d rather be drinking that cocktail on a beach, or eating authentic foreign cuisine in another country, or buying a stylish souvenir. You’ll get yourself into the habit of thinking forward, and you’ll stoke the excitement for your trip!

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Take some of the responsibility off your hands - Instead of making yourself remember to put away that money every day/week/month, set up an automatic transfer. That way you won’t be able to fudge the numbers.

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Don’t ignore the extra/hidden costs - Beyond getting to where you want to go, make sure you try to factor in costs for transportation when you’re there, accommodations, meals, activities, and even things as small as different tipping rates. A good rule of thumb for saving up is to add 10-15% above what you think you need.

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Be strategic about travels - For your own enjoyment, and for the sake of your bank account, research when off-season is for the places you want to go, and you’ll end up saving on flight tickets and accommodation. You should also book as early as you can!

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Research transit options from the airport - Airport transfer services will charge exorbitant amounts of money to get you where you need to be, capitalizing on the blurry-eyed, disoriented travelers who haven’t done their research. Instead of taking a big financial hit right away with a taxi or private car, look at trains, buses, and shared-ride vans.

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To buddy, or not to buddy? - When you’re budgeting, figure out if you’ll be sharing the expenses with anyone else. An Airbnb might not be a good option by yourself at, say, US$50 a night, but if you travel with someone else, US$25 a night is often more affordable than a hostel.

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Travel smart with the family - If a family vacation is in order, skip the expensive theme park holiday and consider going to a location the whole family will enjoy for a cheaper price. It’ll be a more wholesome experience for everyone, and much more valuable in the end.

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Talk to people about your plans - The more you put it out there, the less likely you are to get caught up in an expensive last-minute trip that dips into your savings.

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Get other people on board with saving - Trying to save up all by yourself is hard, especially when everyone wants to go out for drinks, brunches, or movies. But, if you’ve surrounded yourself with people who care about you, they’ll understand if you want to make food at home or do more low-cost activities.

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Use a budgeting app - There are so many apps that help balance your summer savings with more long-term saving, i.e. Wela, which gives you a daily spending limit that is based on all of your financial goals.

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Consider pausing monthly subscriptions -

Maybe your Netflix account is too dear, but what about your cable, or your landline (you have a cell phone for that), your data plan, or that gym membership you haven’t used? You can always pay drop-in fees at the gym, and there’s free Wi-Fi all over these days.

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Sell your unnecessary belongings - So you’ve watched the Marie Kondo magic of tidying up, now get rid of everything that no longer sparks joy! Host a yard sale, take your clothes to a consignment shop, or list your unwanted items on eBay. It’s a good lesson in learning to value experiences over material objects.

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Enter the gig economy - Making money on the side is a great way to save up because it’s immediately separate from your regular income, and it’s much easier to put it straight into your savings. You can drive for Uber or sign up for sites like TaskRabbit, which allow you to use your free time and handy skills to make extra money on your own schedule.

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Use travel rewards credit cards - Credit cards and summer vacation usually aren’t a good thing, but in the months leading up to your vacation, using a card that gives you travel rewards could actually help you save a lot of money in a short amount of time!

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Be mindful of currency exchange rates - Foreign exchange rates fluctuate, and therefore so can the amount of money you’ll need. You should also talk to your bank about what the cheapest option is for you to exchange money, so you avoid getting ripped off at the airport.

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Decide what “vacation” means to you - While the term often conjures Instagram pictures of exotic scenes in faraway locations, your summer vacation doesn’t have to be like everyone else’s, and it can definitely mean staying close to home. You can visit the nearby places you still haven’t seen because you were busy traveling elsewhere. It could save you hundreds!

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Be realistic - Sometimes a trip to the other side of the world just isn’t feasible this year, but there’s no reason you can’t have a fulfilling, restorative vacation. Consider going camping, for which you may already have all the basics you’ll need. You would only need to pay for a bit of land and a lot of s’mores ingredients.

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Get your data plan in order - You don’t want to be that traveler that comes home to a monstrous phone bill because of overseas and excessive usage fees. Find a plan that gives you enough roaming data (you’ll likely need more than you use regularly), whether that’s from a company at home or wherever you’re going.

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Before you go, let your credit card company know - If anything unexpected happens and you need to use your credit card, there’s nothing worse than having it be declined. By letting your bank know where you're traveling in advance, you can save precious time avoiding the fraud alert.

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Reap the rewards -

After you’ve successfully saved up for and enjoyed a stress-free trip, it makes it a million times easier to do it again and again.

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