By Josuha F.
When you're trying to save money on your vacation, it can seem very hard not to get caught up in the frenzy of charging everything to your credit card while you spend massive amounts of money at restaurants, and retailers. Not only are you paying for overprices goods and services because you're on vacation, but you have to pay interest on top of that because you're using your credit card. You might be asking the question what things I can do to budget better on a vacation so I don't blow the house and wind up with a lot of debt. I'm going to teach you a few things you can do when you're on vacation to save money so you end up with an enjoyable experience and don't leave with an empty wallet.
Don't Use Credit Cards
While many people who go on vacation just charge most of their expenses on their credit cards, the golden rule of thumb for me is to pay cash only. When you choose to use your credit cards you have to pay interest on that money you spend. So if you're paying 10% interest on say a 1500$ vacation, you are paying an extra 150$ in interest to the credit card company. When you go on vacation, set a budget of how much money you are going to spend while you're on vacation. Set aside money in your budget for seeing all the attractions the area has to offer. Before you go plan out your whole vacation in advance so you know exactly how much money you will need, and how much you will spend. This will keep you from being ripped off as tourist attractions often make their money from guest who don't know what they want to do. Just remember as long as you set, a budget, and pay in cash you should save yourself hundreds If not thousands of dollars.
Bring Your Own Food
When you're on vacation, many people love eating out every night at 4 star quality restaurants, which has 4 star quality prices. If you're going to eat out at a restaurant only eat out a number of limited times. For instance only eat out for dinner, and bring your own food for breakfast and lunch. This will save you from racking up hundreds of extra dollars in cost to buffets, and restaurants. If you are flying to your destination then make sure you go the TSA own website and find out the rules for what you can bring on board with you. You want to see if its ok if you can bring on certain foods and drinks with you without setting off any alarms to security. Just don't bring a bunch of food on board with you expecting no problems from the TSA Agents.
While remembering a budget in mind, make sure you always have a fun and relaxing vacation. Just make sure that that vacation doesn't blow a hole in your pocket the size of our federal budget deficit.