5 Simple Ways to Fund Your Family Vacation

It’s summer and time to get the family out and traveling. You’ve got big vacation plans, but there is only one thing in the way. How are you going to pay for it all? Well, when it comes to funding the family vacation, fortunately you have a lot of options.

The thing is, you want the money to be one of the last things you worry about. Here are five simple ways to fund your family vacation.

Use Your Vacation Fund

Depending on where you work or on your bank, you probably have the option of a vacation fund, one you can direct deposit money into without even seeing it in your paycheck. This is a great way to save for your family vacation and fund it without borrowing or going into debt.

The best way to do this is to estimate early the cost of your vacation and divide that cost by the number of months or paydays you have to save. If you put the amount you need in the bank automatically and do not touch it all year, you will have plenty for your trip by the time summer rolls around.

Take Out a Loan

While this is not always the best way to fund a vacation, it can work if you pay the loan off quickly and only take the amount you need for your trip. If you have left over funds, you can always pay off that portion of the loan early. There are different types of loans so do your research to find the best type for you.

The danger with this is that a personal loan can come with a higher interest rate and therefore a higher cost overall for the loan. This means you vacation actually cost you a lot more than if you paid cash. This is why it is essential that you pay off any personal loan you use for a vacation as quickly as possible.

Use Your Credit Cards

This is also similar to a personal loan in that you want to pay these off as quickly as possible. Defaulting on a credit card is credit suicide. However, using your credit cards does provide a certain level security you don’t get when using cash or your debit card. If you are the victim of fraud, at least the thief is not in your bank account, and you can cancel and replace cards easily.

The other advantage with credit cards is that you can pay them off early or take longer if you choose to take a vacation you would not normally be able to afford. The other exception to the rule is if you have credit cards with a zero-interest period. This is like getting to use another person’s money for free, just be sure that you pay the card off before the free interest period is over.

Credit cards can work as a way to fund your vacation or supplement other funding you might have already.

Use Rewards Points

Of course, an even better way to fund your vacation is to get as much as possible free. If you have airline, rental car, or hotel reward points from other travel or a credit card that offers rewards, you can often get airline tickets or even hotel stays at huge discounts or even free.

This is something to consider when applying for credit cards or deciding which ones to use for a large purchase. Often the one with the most beneficial rewards program wins.

Use Memberships You Already Have

Do you have a Costco or Sam’s Club membership? Maybe you are a member of another organization that offers travel discounts or you can get them through your employer. These programs will probably not fund your whole vacation, but you can get significant discounts on things you are going to do on vacation anyway. Some will also offer travel services like travel agents or other services that will save you money on your vacation.

Review a Package

Another less common but simple way to fund your trip is to review a package. Whether it is a couple’s vacation or a family trip, you can get a great deal on some resort or all-inclusive packages by agreeing to review them and give honest feedback to the organizer, the places you stay, and the restaurants where you eat in some cases.

This is another method that will offer you discounts, but combined with other things you are doing, it is a good way to fund your vacation and save some money along the way.

Paying for a summer vacation can be challenging and so can staying in budget. But using these five simple ways you can save money or even fund your entire trip.