The Buyt Desk
Most of us have at least one dream destination where we want to go and live for a few days. Some live their dream with all their efforts, while some juggles managing expenses and never save enough to make their dream come true.
If you fall into the people of the second category, this article is to help you.
What explanation do you give when asked about your dream holiday?
Short of finance! Isn’t it? Does planning finance for a dream holiday that difficult? The answer is ‘No’. Financial planning for a holiday can leverage you to save enough to enjoy a holiday every year.
Planning finance for a holiday does not mean cutting expenses or curbing the urge to buy something. It means utilizing the finances the right way. Here are the tips and tricks to execute that.
Start Early to Save More – If your dream holiday destination is within the country, your expenses will be less. If it is a foreign location, it would be high. Keep this fact in mind before you start the plan to save. You can start with a small saving every month. Keeping a small amount aside every month would avert the expense shock that leads to the plan cancellation.
To gain interest in contribution, you can park your money at places that offer a good return, such as RD, FD, equity-linked funds, etc., instead of keeping it in the saving account. All these options will let your money grow and give you more cash for your holiday to make it more memorable.
The advantage of parking money in assets is that it leverages you to adjust your amount according to your comfort. Sometimes, if you have more money, you can add that to your holiday kitty and make it bigger.
Plan the Holiday – Suppose you gave two years to your dream holiday and saved accordingly. That does not mean you should wait until the last moment for flight and hotel bookings. A significant amount of the holiday goes into flight/train fare and hotel charges. You can save considerably on these expenses if you plan your holiday two to three months early because both offer early-bird discounts.
It becomes paramount when your holiday destination is a foreign land because, in that case, you spend in dollars or other higher currency but have saved in rupees. If you plan, you get lots of options in accommodation which saves cost. Most hotels give early-bird discounts in foreign.
Also, you can consider options like booking an apartment instead of multiple rooms in a hotel. It also reduces the cost of travel expenses in totality.
A holiday gives you time to spend with your family, friends and most importantly with yourself. It is the time when you put a pause on your fast pace life. Therefore, the holiday should always be on your wish list.
You can use the same trick to plan short and domestic holidays without taking unnecessary stress.
