Do you want to travel more, but it's hard to find the money? Many Americans would consider themselves in this same position. But you can successfully save for vacations and enjoy the downtime you really want. Here are five simple tricks to achieve this.
1. Open a Dedicated Account. Trying to save money in an all-in-one bank account is hard. While you may plan to use it to go to France in the summer, your homeowners' insurance and broken transmission tend to use up that money first. One good solution, then, is to break up your savings goals and move the vacation fund out of reach for normal, everyday living expenses.
2. Leverage Automated Tools. Today's savers have a variety of automatic tools at their disposal. Does your employer offer direct deposit? Ask if you can have a portion deposited directly in the vacation savings account. If not, use the financial institution's own automatic recurring transfer tools. And participate in apps that automatically move money to savings accounts during transactions.
3. Make Earmarked Side Money. Travelers on a tight budget should go beyond relying on automatic tools. Look for ways to make a little money on the side — even small amounts — that you can put directly in that personal savings account. This could be anything out of the ordinary — returned items you bought, cash for your birthday, cash rewards from a credit card, or delivering food on a few Saturdays.
4. Set Financial Goals. Goals are an excellent way of motivating yourself. Financial goals should include short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. For example, you could make the goal of putting aside $50 per week into that bank account. Add a medium-range goal of reaching $500 or $1,000. Then, make a long-term goal of building up enough for one full vacation.
5. Do Your Research. Traveling can be expensive, but it can also be inexpensive. The trick to saving up enough for your vacation is knowing what you actually need. Start working on a realistic travel budget based on real costs. Look for ways to reduce some expenses and note where you want to splurge a little. You may find that it's not as hard as you feared to reach the needed amount.
Want more ideas for making personal savings work for you? No matter how you want to travel or when the best place to begin is by consulting with a personal banker at your financial institution today. With their tools and your own resourcefulness, you'll be hopping on that plane to your favorite destination before you know it.
