Whether your dream for the summer is to build sandcastles with your kids on the beach, go camping with friends in the woods, or to skip all the lines at your favorite amusement park (hello, VIP wristbands!), we have three tips to help you save for your ultimate summer vacation.
Winter is a great time to evaluate your progress because you have a few months ahead to work on your summer savings goal. Plus, who doesn’t want to think about a warm vacation in the cold of winter?
The Bank of Missouri’s got you covered with three ideas to help your summer trip become reality.
Tip 1: Create a budget
If you have an income and you spend money, you need to have a spending plan. Otherwise, you may end up living paycheck to paycheck and not really knowing where your money goes.
Knowing how much money is coming in and going out is key to reaching savings goals. Start by looking at how much money is coming in. Let’s say you’re using March, April and May to plan for summer spending. Write down your estimated income for each month. Next, estimate your bills for each of those months, including recurring payments and expected one-time expenses.
Now you’re ready to create an extra category for “Summer Vacation.” Subtract your bills from your income and see what you have left over. If you’re confident you can put that leftover amount in savings, then here’s a tip: automate it. The Bank of Missouri has great options for opening savings accounts. Open a new one today and designate a predetermined dollar amount to be deposited into your “Summer Vacation” savings account every time you get paid. If you automate it into a savings account as though it’s a bill to be paid, it will be there waiting for summertime.
Tip 2: Trim your budget down
Okay, so you’ve set up a new savings account. You’ve also set up automatic deposits each time you get paid. Way to go! But what if you only have, say, $50 in excess each month? If you’ve only got March, April, and May to save for the summer, you can’t get very far if you’ve only saved $150 for your vacation.
Here’s where your creativity comes into play: comb through your budget and see what you can live without for a few months in order to make your vacation a reality. Could you live without cable or streaming services and only watch DVDs until after your amazing vacation is over? Could you pack your lunch every day for work instead of eating out? Could you make your coffee at home instead of swinging through the drive-thru? Make it a game by trying to find say, an extra $200 a month to save. Or can you find even an extra $500 a month? Ask yourself, “What am I willing to sacrifice now to have the vacation I want this summer?”
Consider also doing a spending freeze. This is where you stop spending any money at all, except for necessary bills that are on autopay. Take it one day at a time, and mark your calendar each day you successfully didn’t buy a single item online or in town — that constant visual reminder can be motivating. Celebrate each X, and try to see how many X’s you can get in a row! Can you X out a whole week? Can you X out two weeks every month? Don’t even buy groceries or consumables these days, if you can. Eat things you have in the house already. Get creative and have fun with it!
Tip 3: Get a side hustle
If you have any skills that could potentially help pad your summer savings account even more, then consider letting that be known on social media. Are you good at hand lettering? Great — script some cute quotes, frame them inexpensively and sell them. Could you clean houses or babysit on Saturdays if it meant you’d get an extra $200 a month ($50 each Saturday)? Would you consider mowing other people’s lawns or helping your neighbors finish their basement? Could you start selling antiques or collectibles that are perhaps just collecting dust in your house? Have fun as you brainstorm ways to make some extra summer money.
Bonus Tip: There are ways to stretch your dollars further on your vacation as well. If you have family in other parts of the country, consider house swapping and each doing day trips from the other’s house. Challenge yourself to include a certain number of free and low-cost attractions. When you make it a fun game to find 1-2 per day, you’ll find options from scenic walks to free outdoor concerts.
There you have it. Three fun ways to help you plan for your ultimate summer vacay. You work hard all year, so make your money work hard for you. And remember, we at The Bank of Missouri are always here to serve you and help you make financial goals a reality. Happy budgeting, saving and planning!