We all need a vacation from time to time. And some of us could benefit from one several times a year. Dreaming about a vacation isn’t the problem – figuring out how to pay for it is.

I know what it feels like to look at your bank account and think there’s no way you can afford it...but maybe next year. It’s disheartening, especially when you already work as hard as you know how to do.

There is some good news, though. Nothing is impossible if you plan it out and take the steps necessary to make it happen – and we’re going to work on the first part of that here. We’re going to walk through the planning process of making a budget for traveling so that you can enjoy your time away.

How To Save On Vacation

It’s hard to start a budget for anything without somewhere to start. Write down a figure of how much you think you can afford and how much you’re willing to spend on vacation. This number varies among people, with some spending less than $1,000 and others spending several thousand.

Keep in mind that this number isn’t final yet. As you go through your planning, you might find that you can add more or need to shave a bit off. You just need a number to start with.

The following are just a few ways you can cut down in different categories.

Your preparation category is a great place to start cutting down as there are so many ways to do it. If you don’t have one yet, start by making your list of everything you’ll need to buy. Do the kids need new swimsuits? Do you have enough suitcases for the trip? Is your first aid kit stocked?

Take some time to make a comprehensive list, and then you can attack it with a vengeance with the following steps:

Transportation is the biggest category in most travel budgets. There are ways to cut it down, but it will require some additional research and calculations. Let’s take a look at the different options for transportation:

Sometimes, you can save a lot of money just by picking a different date. It’s no secret that airlines, hotels, and theme parks have higher prices at different times of the year – and often, different days of the week. We were able to save several hundred dollars on our lodging and rental car by putting our vacation off for two weeks and going Monday through Friday.

Every time you book something online, you'll likely see a calendar to choose your reservation dates. Play with that calendar a little bit to find the cheapest times to go.

One of the best ways to save money on traveling is to prioritize the things you really care about and let go of the rest. It doesn’t matter that Aunt Carol thinks the best thing since sliced bread is a certain museum in your destination city. Neither does it matter if “everyone” visits a specific restaurant when they travel there.

If those things don’t interest you, don’t do them. It’s your vacation. If all you want to do is a lounge on the beach and order room service, that’s all you need to do. Prioritizing what’s important to you is essential because it will ensure you put your money in the right place and prevent you from spending money on unnecessary things.

Think about it like this: Unless you’re traveling to a location specifically to try the food, how many times do you really need to eat at a restaurant? None, really.

What this means is that you can cut down on your food budget by planning to cook in your condo or even ordering a pizza that you can snack on for a couple of days. If, on the other hand, eating out is a priority, you can then cut down in other areas.

You don’t always have to pay to be entertained. Most tourist areas have free activities that you can visit if you just look for them. In some cases, this might be as simple as a park, but it could be much more. I’ve heard of pretty great free tours and other family activities.

On our last vacation, we wanted to take our kids to a water park. Oddly enough, they weren’t really interested in that. Instead, they wanted to go check out this candy store and collect seashells for a family project. Besides that, they really just wanted to swim in the ocean and the lazy river at our condo.

We let them each spend a few bucks at the candy store – nothing else took any money. And those are the things they remember the most.

Hotels can be great, but they can get expensive. This is especially true if you have many people traveling with you. They are also not the greatest option when you’re trying to save money in the food category.

Before booking a hotel room, check into condos and short-term home rentals. You can usually fit more people into them and you typically have access to a kitchen and laundry room. This alone saves a great deal of cash. It also saves space in your luggage, as you don’t have to pack as much if you’re able to keep your clothes clean there.

Additionally, there are many rentals that provide certain perks. The last condo we stayed in provided us with one free ticket a day for an activity of our choice. If you’re looking to enjoy some tourist activities, this can help you lower the cost.

While some vacations are intended specifically for getting out and exploring new places, many are for the main purpose of just getting away. Sometimes, you just need to escape the stress of your everyday life for a minute.

When this is the case, you don’t have to go far. In fact, you don’t have to go anywhere. You can turn off your phone and enjoy some quiet, lazy time at home.

If you really want to get out of the house, though, you can find somewhere nearby to travel. One year, we took a weekend to travel to a big city about two hours away. For a few hundred bucks, we stayed at a nice hotel with a heated pool, ate some great food, and visited the aquarium, the zoo, and a science center for the kids.

There was nothing extravagant about it, but we did escape for a while and enjoyed the time as a family. If you’re on a tight budget, consider a similar getaway.

Let’s talk about food a little more. This can be an expensive category, so it’s worth some thought, planning, and preparation.

If I’ve learned anything about going on vacation with my kids, it’s that food is not a priority for them. They hate the idea of having to stop playing long enough to eat. If I were to give them a choice, they would stay in the pool or the ocean from early in the morning until they fall over from exhaustion at night time.

Well, obviously, we can’t let that happen, but I do minimize the amount of time and money we spend on food with some simple steps. The first is a meal plan. It doesn’t involve anything too elaborate – just quick, cheap meals and snacks.

When we arrive at our destination, we make a quick run to the grocery store. Before starting the fun for the day, I’ll start a Crockpot of soup or something similar. We take a break at lunch to eat sandwiches, chips, and fruit. In the evenings, we come in from playing and dinner is waiting for us. It’s all simple and cheap. We save our food budget for the trip there and back, but it’s a fraction of what we would spend eating out.

You don’t have to follow these steps completely if you don’t want to. You can plan to eat out a couple of times and cook the rest of the week. The point is that by preparing food at your lodging during some of your vacations, you are making space in your food category to use on other items.

Another way to save is to use rewards you already have. Earlier, I mentioned gift cards from an app. These are great rewards, but they’re not the only ones. If you regularly use a credit card that gives points, you might be able to trade them in for airline points.

Before you jump on this bandwagon, though, you need to really check it out to determine if it’s worth it. Trading in points for $50 off one airline ticket at a major airport probably won’t help if you have to buy three more tickets at full price – but it could be. The point is that you’ll need to do the calculations to decide if this move is worth it. If not, leave those points where they’re at.

Also, check in with your employer and any organizations you’re involved with. Sometimes, they offer perks that you can use on vacation. You never know until you ask.

You might also consider inviting another friend or family along for the trip. More often than not, you can rent a larger condo for less if you split the cost. Just be sure that you’re inviting someone you want to be around. A vacation isn’t a vacation if you’re taking stress with you.

Revisit the Budget

After you have gone through these tips, you should have found at least a few ways to cut down. Take a look at your budget again to figure out if you’ve cut down enough. If not, take another go at it. And don’t be surprised if it takes you a few rounds.

If you’ve been through your budget several times and just can’t seem to get it right, it might be time to explore some extra funding options. Here are a few ideas to get started:

Conclusion

Your vacation doesn’t just have to be a dream. You can make it happen with some flexibility, some strategy, and some determination. Get started with your budget today and keep working on it until you have reached your destination.