Vacations are a great way to relax and recharge, but let’s be honest—they can also be expensive. If you don’t set up a vacation budget beforehand, the cost of your trip can quickly spiral out of control.

Fortunately, creating a vacation budget is not hard.

Here's how to Budget for a Vacation

Figure out Your Vacation Costs

The first step is setting up a vacation budget is to determine the total cost of the trip. Identify the major expenses of the trip, such as flights or rental cars, accommodations, and meals. You’ll also want to think about your other vacation goals, such as going to a museum or a theme park.

Once you have all the expenses listed, add them up to get to total cost of your vacation. From there, you can decide whether this budget is realistic based on your income and expenses.

Get started setting your vacation budget!

Look for Discounts

If the total cost of your vacation budget is more than you’re comfortable with, you can start looking for ways to reduce costs. Start with searching for discounts and deals on traveling, since this can be one of your biggest vacation expenses. You might be able to save money by booking flights the off-season, for instance, and you could also see what rewards programs are available on the airline of your choice.

In order to save costs on accommodations, look for alternative options, such as rentals from Airbnb or Vrbo. If you like the great outdoors, you might even consider setting up a tent at a campground. You can also look for budget-friendly activities and excursions, such as hiking or visiting free museums, and save money on meals and snacks by bringing your own food or cooking instead of eating out.

Tracking Expenses on Your Vacation

Once you’ve made your vacation budget, you’ll need to make sure to stick to it while you’re on your trip. Keep a record of expenses during the vacation to help you stay on track and avoid overspending.

Admittedly, keeping track of your expenses while on vacation isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a fun time. However, you can use budgeting apps or tools, like the My Money or My Cards features in the First Alliance mobile app, to make the process easier.

If you do find yourself overspending, don’t panic. Take a look at your overall budget and adjust it to fit your situation. For instance, you might be able to compensate for overspending on an activity by cooking for yourself instead of eating out at a restaurant one night. Or you might just be comfortable increasing your budget by the amount you overspent and putting the expense on a rewards credit card to help lessen the expense slightly.

Questions about how to use our mobile app? Ask us!

Create Your Vacation Budget with First Alliance Credit Union

If you’re going on a trip, you’ll want to prepare a vacation budget beforehand to help you have a good time without racking up a lot of debt. Take the time to figure out how much your trip will cost beforehand, and look for ways to reduce costs if your initial total is too high. While you’re on the trip, be sure to track your expenses so you don’t overspend.

You can also get help planning for your vacation when you become a member of First Alliance Credit Union. In addition to using our free downloadable vacation budget to make the planning process easier, you can also set up a separate traditional savings account to help you save money for your trip. You can even use our mobile app to keep track of all your expenses while you’re on your vacation.