If you like to travel, you’ll know that it can sometimes be prohibitively expensive to do so. Studies suggest that the average holiday for a family of four across a two-week period is a jaw-dropping £4792, and it’s not hard to see how that number could increase if you travel for longer or go with more people.
With that in mind, then, the need to find adequate sources of financing for your holiday should be obvious. There’s nothing worse than booking a holiday only to realise you’re not going to be able to stretch to paying for it financially, so don’t let this be the stumbling block that stops you from enjoying your time away. Here are 8 tips for financing your next holiday, whenever and wherever it may be.
1. Get finance and pay it back later
Taking out a loan can be a good way to get the money you need. If you’re financially stable and you know you can commit to regular and substantial repayments, then there’s no reason not to think about taking out a loan. The time frame doesn’t matter, either; although many loans require notice before the funds can be deposited in your account, there are also quick loans out there that will give you cash on a shorter timescale, so you can get on with what really matters.
2. Break into your savings piggy bank
Unless you’re saving for a highly specific event – attending university, for example, or a wedding – dipping into your savings can be a great way to fund a holiday. Having backup savings is always a good idea, but if you’ve been saving for a lot of your life, then you may find that the amount required to pay for a great holiday doesn’t even dent your total. You shouldn’t take this option if there’s something you think you’ll need the money for in future, but otherwise, don’t forget your savings accounts exist!
3. Sell stuff you’re not using
Here’s a fun fact for you: a lot of us own a lot of stuff we’re not using. The average home in the US contains 300,000 items, and at any time, the vast majority of those items could be going unused. If your home is similar – wherever you’re from – then it might be time to conduct a thorough audit of your possessions and sell stuff you don’t need. You’d be surprised at the price some of your things could fetch; you could be unknowingly keeping collector’s items that could bring in a small fortune!
4. Ask your fellow travellers to contribute
It’s not fair to shoulder all, or even most, of the burden of paying for a holiday on your own. If you’re travelling with anyone else, it’s only fair to ask them to contribute their share. It can be a difficult conversation to have, so make sure you approach the subject with tact and subtlety. Ask if the other travellers wouldn’t mind putting something towards the holiday fund. If you need to, you can divide expenses in a more novel way; someone could pay for all of the meals, for example, or for your accommodation.
5. Use a credit card
Using a credit card probably isn’t the best option if you’re close to your limit, but if you’ve got one that’s gone largely untouched, then this could be the perfect opportunity to inaugurate it. A credit card could be the ideal way to soak up the costs of your holiday; you can worry about making repayments when you return, safe in the knowledge that your expenses have been paid and that you don’t need to concern yourself with it for the meantime. You can even use the card to make purchases in some places!
6. Start planning early
This isn’t so much a source of financing as a way to try and minimise holiday costs. As we’ve said, holidays can be prohibitively expensive, so it’s a good idea to get ahead of the curve early and try and find as many discounts as you can. Booking far ahead of time is a good way to alleviate some of the expenses, as is travelling out of season. You may also find that avoiding conventional tourist spots and trying to find somewhere more off the beaten track will benefit you financially.
7. Don’t just finance the holiday itself
Sometimes, you can get so lost in the minutiae of financing a holiday that you forget it’s also important to have enough money to enjoy yourself while you’re there. Make sure to bring adequate funding for whatever activities you want to undertake on your trip, be that visiting restaurants, paying for certain experiences, or basics like travel. You should also keep a fund for unexpected events; if you need to buy more clothing, a new phone charger, or anything else you need to replace, you don’t want to be caught short.
8. Allocate funds to different areas of the trip
One way you can effectively budget for your holiday is to make sure that a certain amount of money is allocated to each area of spending. Think about all the ways in which you’re going to spend money while on holiday and draw up categories. Allocate money to each category depending on what priority you think it has. At the end, you should have a fairly comprehensive idea of how much you’re going to need for your holiday and how you’re going to spend it.
