Image by Andrew Stapleton: CC0 License
Let’s face it – money is the last thing you want to consider on vacation. You have enough of that stress back home!. When you go away, just for once, you’ll want to enjoy yourself without considering what’s happening at the bank. And yet, when it comes to it, our finances far too often get a look in on those sun-filled days.
The reality is that vacations are often the financial highlight of your year. They’re certainly the things that the majority of us save up for. As such, to assume that we can altogether stop worrying about finances here is naive. Worse, it could see us in the red when we get home.
This isn’t to say, of course, that you should spend your entire time away worrying. Life really is too short to seek desperate deals in the sun. Still, it is worth sparing some thought for your finances.
Most notably, you’ll want to keep spending down where possible, especially after the upfront expenses of things like flights and accommodation. Sadly, this isn’t always easy when the sun is shining and the drinks are flowing. But, there are ways to achieve it, and we’re going to look at them here.
Research exchange rates before you go
Exchange rates can be a traveler’s best friend and can lead to all manner of affordable goodies and drinks. But, they can also work the opposite way in some cases, leaving you paying far more than you realize for everything you encounter during your stay.
Hence why you should always start as you mean to go on by taking a proper look at exchange rates. You need to know, roughly, how many dollars you’re spending with each purchase. This way, you stand the best chance possible at avoiding insane costs at any stage of your trip.
This research also has the benefit of helping you to budget. For instance, if exchange rates are low, you’ll be able to get by with a lot less money than if they’re at the high end. This way, you can more accurately estimate how much you can expect to spend overall, and thus how much you should set aside for your vacation cause.
Do note, however, that exchange rates aren’t a set-in-stone thing. In fact, there’s every chance that this ever-shifting financial landscape could change, even in the few months leading up to your trip. As such, be sure to return here time and again so that you have the best possible understanding of what you can reasonably expect to spend.
Make cost-effective plans ahead of time
Planning in advance wherever possible is another fantastic way to keep costs down. After all, excursions, in particular, can break the bank if you book them once you’ve arrived. By comparison, making arrangements for days out, etc. before you leave means advance deals, and the opportunity to buy from the cheapest places.
Along the same lines, booking accommodation that comes complete with all-inclusive food/drink is another fantastic option. This way, you’ll be able to save yourself untold amounts of money during your trip itself. Done right, you could even find that this allows you to keep spending costs lower than you ever thought possible. And, all it requires is a little forethought.
Try to take all the cash you’ll need
These days, our relationship with cash handling is few and far between. Instead, the majority of us rely on our cards or even our phones to complete payments for us. There’s nothing wrong with this in your hometown, where you can rest pretty easy that you’ll avoid any excess charges, and where you can stroll to the bank at any time. But spending abroad is an entirely different ball game.
The most notable issue with spending on your card on a different country is that you never know what extra charges you can expect. Most often, though, you can bet that there will be some hiding in the small print. This could lead to significantly higher spending than you realize and financial trouble when you get home. Equally, in a more generalized sense, spending on your card means having less control of what your vacation is actually costing you. A few days into the trip, you may well find that you’ve entirely lost track of how much you’ve spent. And, that could spell real trouble back home.
Luckily, there is an easy alternative, and it comes in the form of exchanging cash before you head off. There are still plenty of exchange kiosks in most cities, and even at airports. Not only can these help you to grasp those all-important exchange rates, but they can also provide you with cash in hand that makes ‘accidental’ overspending a whole lot harder. Instead, you’ll be able to budget for each day and see exactly how much you’re spending at the time.
Make full use of internet banking
Image by Oleg Magni: CC0 License
If you do intend to use your card, either for all your spending or for any excess, then you should always make use of internet banking. Sure, there’s unlikely to be a local Chase bank that you can pop into to check your balance. But, the Chase mobile app could still see you keeping track of spending as well as you would back home. Here, you can check your balance, see a breakdown of any charges, and generally get a better grasp on vacation spending.
Even with more international banks like HSBC, downloading an app ahead of time can be useful. After all, while there may be branches in your location of choice, but there’s no guarantee you’ll have access to an interpreter. This could leave you unable to access your account for the duration of your stay, and that’s a sure path to overspending.
Do be careful, however, that you don’t use these apps while you’re out and about. High mobile roaming charges are yet another way to break the travel bank. Avoid these by only ever checking banking apps from the safety of your accommodation where wifi is guaranteed.
Avoid falling into the tourist trap
If you’re visiting a tourist-heavy area, it’s also vital that you avoid falling into the high-cost tourist trap. After all, tourism is a massive trade in countless countries, and many areas will come complete with higher costs to take advantage of that. While you may well want to visit these more tourist-oriented areas, then, you could benefit from saving your money for lesser-known locations.
Differences here are so rife that keeping your head about you in this way could see you saving as much as $5-10 or even more for every meal while you’re away. That’s a considerable amount of money over the course of even a week-long trip.
If in doubt, get Google maps out and do your research. Either that or get talking to people who can give you the lowdown. Most often, even tourist-heavy areas have backstreets where the locals congregate, well away from those extortionate alternatives.
Image by Goh Rhy Yan: CC0 License
A final word
Vacations aren’t cheap, nor are they supposed to be. These are, after all, the times of the year when we finally let our hair down and enjoy the benefits of all our hard work. But, you can bet you would soon regret that downtime if it left you struggling to clear debts for the rest of the year. So, be wise about money without ruining the fun by keeping these pointers in mind to ensure your finances don’t fly away on your next vacay.
