How to plan for the perfect vacation! (Part 1)

A lot of people work with vacation days in mind.  They eagerly check the days that are left and breathe a sigh of relief when the day finally arrives! The vacation that they have in mind often is not a reality due to a lack of proper planning.

What plans do you need to have in place before the vacation?

Prepare

The first thing to do is to decide if you are going to have a stay at home vacation or if you want to travel.  Whereas travelling might seem more exciting, it is more expensive and not everyone can avail themselves of this type of vacation. Let’s examine the two options for a vacation.

Travel

It’s best to buy tickets when its not high season. That means avoiding travelling during the holidays.  Unfortunately the holidays are usually the time everyone has their vacation.  Still if you can travel outside of holidays even a month or two then that would reduce the cost of the ticket.

Sometimes airlines have promotions so it’s a good idea to check various airlines before settling on one in particular. There are also credit cards that give their customers points that can be used to purchase tickets.

Customers would amass points from making purchases and then transfer them to the airline ticket. The taxes for these tickets are not included so that would be an additional cost.

Travelling also incurs additional costs which include transportation, food and other activities. These expenses have to be factored in the final cost when planning to travel for your vacation.

Stay at home Vacation

Of course the cheapest option is to stay home for your vacation. You can invite friends and family over to enjoy an evening of games and food. Or you can check out the parties being held in your area.  This type of vacation can also include short day or overnight trips to stay with family and friends.

This type of vacation can easily be afforded on any budget. It only involves ensuring that you plan activities and check to ensure that your family and friends will be around for the dates you have selected.

At some parties, you have to pay to enter, so ensure that you put aside enough money to cover entrance cost as well as to purchase drinks.

The budget for the vacation whether you travel or stay at home should never be an afterthought, it should be put aside long before you need it.

Check on part 2 for further information on planning the perfect vacation!

What’s your take? Drop a line below!

Teri Ann Paisley

Gleaner Online Writer

Tags: budget, Travel, vacation