Want to Take More Vacations in 2024? Here's How to Make It Happen Without Debt
Did you know traveling comes with health benefits? Read on for tips to make your next adventure more affordable in the new year.
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Taking a vacation not only gives you the chance to relax and unwind, but it can also have health benefits, including improving your immune system. Unfortunately, it can be expensive to get away.
If you're hoping to take more vacations in 2024 and want to do so without credit card debt, there are ways to make that happen. Just follow these simple tips to fund your trips without hitting your personal finances too hard.
1. Choose affordable destinations
Picking less expensive places to go can make a huge difference in how often you're able to vacation. Last summer, my family and I went on 12 different camping trips -- almost all of which were within five hours of our house in our RV. We got to see a ton of amazing places in the United States, all for less than what it would have cost to splurge on a fancy week-long trip in Europe that included airline tickets and luxury hotels.
2. Look for discount opportunities
Taking advantage of discounts is another great way to take more trips, since the less your vacation costs, the more money you have to spend to go see another destination.
We booked some hotel rooms while properties were running Black Friday specials, saving over 30% in some cases. We also took advantage of discounts that campgrounds offered for camping during the week or at the beginning of the season, which saved us about 25% compared with full price. And we purchased discounted theme park tickets from a local grocery store at a 10% discount.
3. Cut back in other areas
If travel is important to you, cutting back on other spending can free up more money for you to go on vacations in 2024.
For example, we don't really care about clothing in our house, so I buy my kids used clothing at consignment sales and save about 40% to 60% compared with buying brand-new items. And since I work from home, I keep my clothes forever since I don't need to be fancy (I'm still wearing some shirts from college!).
Take a look at where you're spending money that's not adding as much to your life as an extra vacation would. You may decide you'd rather give up eating lunch out at work every day, or that you can make coffee at home and redirect the money from your morning latte right into your vacation fund.
4. Start a travel savings account
To make travel a priority -- and make sure you have the funds to do it -- start a dedicated savings account where you can transfer money each month to fund your vacations. Make contributing to it a line item in your budget and make sure you're putting at least some cash into it on a regular basis. If you get a windfall like a cash gift or a bonus at work, put that into your travel savings account, too. Or if you manage to slash your grocery or dining out or other spending in a particular month by being especially frugal, you can move that into your travel savings as well.
5. Get the right travel credit card
Finally, getting a good travel credit card can help you to earn rewards that pay for some of the cost of your vacations -- or that make your vacations a little cheaper. We have an American Airlines credit card that gives us a free checked bag, which saves us $30 per person, per trip. We also got bonus rewards for booking flights with American and for using our credit card, and we ended up earning enough miles to pay for one entire free trip.
You should make sure that your travel card is well matched to the travel you like to do. For example, we fly a lot, so an American Airlines card made sense for us. There are many airline credit cards available offering a whole range of travel perks, so check out the options from your preferred airline. If you like to take road trips, consider a card offering bonus cash back or other rewards on gas. Or if you stay in hotels, a hotel-branded card could get you perks like discounted rooms and early check-in.
If you follow these five tips, ideally you can find affordable vacation destinations, have plenty of money to visit, and have a travel card that helps you cut costs so you'll be able to afford an extra vacation or two (or more) in 2024.
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