As a kid, going on vacation was like waking up on Christmas morning to an endless supply of Christmas presents. My only worry for vacationing was making sure I would be able to see and do everything on my list. As a child you don't think of all the expenses that go into planning a vacation. Now that I am older and traveling on my own, it has become evident that going on a vacation isn't as much like Christmas as I used to think it was. Planning a budget for a vacation sounds like an easy job, but there are so many things that go into one budget. First off, you have to decide what type of vacation you will be going on. Will it be relaxing, adventurous, or somewhere in the middle? Depending on the type of vacation your planning, your initial budget will change. The destination and accomodations you choose are just the start of your budget planning. Other things to consider are extra hotel expenses(i.e. internet use, telephone use, room service), transportation(gas money, airfare, etc.), appropiate clothing for your location, food, entertainment, and souvenirs. These are pretty obvious costs. Some hidden costs that we often forget about are things such as; tips, tolls, parking fees, etc. One more thing that just came to mind is one should always have emergency money that they can turn to in case of an accident, car trouble, or what ever the emergency may be. If you carefully plan a budget then you should be in good shape. If not, you must realize that money outside of your budget could be spent. So going back to the initial post, is a vacation really a vacation after all of the budgeting and stressing over how much to spend or how much not to spend? Ponder that.
This blog really hit home for me. I loved going on vacation as a kid is was all play time! But now it is a constant worry about, are we on budget, is the house okay, is the car okay, is everyone having a good time. I do have a relaxing time on vacation and mostly it is fun but as an adult you can never really just let it all go. I think in the long run vacations are worth it IF you plan ahead and try to anticipate some of the hidden costs and problems you may run into. I think traveling is one of the best parts of childhood and I wouldn't want to deprive my kids of it, so I say, plan ahead and vacation well!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading each parrt to the post I really liked our idea with the cons to going on a vacation because a vacation is really not what it is made up to be. Many times planning and spending will overwhelm and make the vacation work before it even starts. I really believe in this blog and I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteBudgeting for a vacation can be a very tedious task. I remember my family would either have to save for the whole year, or just not go on vacation. This is why I feel that it's important to be aware of all of your options. Firstly, a vacation doesn't necessarily have to be a huge elaborate thing. We don't always have to travel to Europe or go on a Caribbean cruise. I read a post awhile ago about going on simple little trips to relieve stress. A vacation could be like a day at the beach, with family and friends. You can pack a picnic and have a wonderfully relaxing and fun day without having to spend a lot of money. Also, there are many vacation spots that might not be as popular, but definitely cheaper than some other ones. For example, my family and I traveled to the Wisconsin Dells, and we payed for it as a packaged deal so it was a relatively cheap and extremely fun trip to take. If you are careful enough in your planning, and especially try to avoid needing a travel agent, budgeting a vacation can be much less painful.
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