How to Budget For Your Next Family Holiday

It’s easy to overspend when you’re planning your holidays!

Pool, Swimming, Swimming Pool, Relaxing, Relaxation

When you’re planning a family holiday, it can feel all too easy to spend, spend, spend. After all, these are the only two weeks of the year when you can well and truly get away, and the temptation to indulge a little only makes you human. This means buying better flights, better accommodation, more meals out, more souvenirs, more drinks and more clothes and accessories.

But, is it all this ‘stuff’ which makes us happy?

According to an article in the Telegraph, spending money on a family holiday is one of the best ways to spend your hard-earned cash. It says “Research… repeatedly indicates that, despite the fact that we go on buying more stuff, adults really regard experiences like travel as far more fulfilling.” It goes on to say that “what children really value about holidays is the rare possibility they create for prolonged periods of playfulness with their parents.”

So, it seems that setting aside time and money for a family holiday really is important, for family time and mental health.

Of course, not everyone has the money to indulge in the very best family trip. And this is where creating the right budget plan is a good idea.

A budget plan, actioned as early on in the year as possible, means you can set aside the right amount of money for a family holiday without the guilt, or without having to rely on credit that takes you the rest of the year to pay back.

A budget plan can be as simple or as complex as you like, but in general should identify what money you have going spare each week, what sacrifices you might need to make (e.g. giving up that morning coffee can save a lot each week!) You don’t have to create it yourself if you’re not too good on a computer, either. You can find some free templates online to help. For instance, online loan provider Wonga have a budget template on their website that you can download for free, this allows you to manage your finances and ensures you’re not living above your means in your day to day life. It is broken into categories, which is then broken down into individual rows on the budget template with their ‘projected cost.’ This allows you to forecast your monthly expenses. You can then update the ‘actual cost’ to calculate the ‘difference’. This is a highly visual and practical way of seeing how much money you can save for a holiday, and how many months you need to save for.

By being well prepared for your family holiday costs, you can enjoy an even better time away. You won’t need to worry about overspending, or have that nagging guilty feeling at the back of your mind as you keep handing over your credit card to pay for things when away.

It is important to note that you don’t have to have the most expensive trip to enjoy time with your family, either. You can choose to have a shorter trip, a trip out of peak season, or even a different type of trip (camping instead of a hotel, Airbnb instead of a large complex,) for instance.

To read more on topics like this, check out the travel blog category.

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