3 Ways You Can Finally Pay for That Vacation

Like most people, you probably have elaborate fantasies that involve quitting your job to explore the world as a professional traveler. The only problem is you don’t have the money to finance a trip like this. Most Americans wouldn’t be able to afford an unexpected expense of $400 without borrowing money or selling something.

Chances are, even a short vacation will cost more than that, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay grounded whenever you feel the urge to get away. Today, let’s take a look at how you can manage your money, so you can take a long-awaited vacation once and for all!

1. Save for your vacation like it’s the holidays

No, we don’t mean a holiday in the sun. Rather, it’s the winter holidays we’re talking about. These bad boys come every year without fail.

In all likelihood, you put away some of your cash towards these holidays throughout the year, so you can splurge on your friends and family.

You should start treating your vacation exactly like the winter holidays. In other words, it should be something you budget for year-round.

Create a specialized savings account solely for travel and contribute some money every month to this account. It doesn’t have to be much — even $50 a month will eventually add up to $600 a year!

Look to the rest of your budget to see if you can contribute even more. By eliminating small splurges you make throughout the week, you’ll be able to save up more cash to put towards the bigger splurge of a vacation.

2. Take advantage of travel rewards

Even if you commit to saving throughout the year, most of your money will go towards paying bills and other essential expenses. There’s no way around it; it’s just a part of being an adult. You can, however, start leveraging these purchases to your advantage.

Credit cards with cashback and travel reward points can be a useful addition to your wallet. If you use them often enough, you’ll be able to accumulate points you can redeem as airfare, rental cars, or gift cards to use while abroad.

Make sure you only use these cards when you know you can pay them off every month. Not only will this prevent you from accruing interest and finance charges, but you’ll also develop a positive payment history that will help improve your credit.

Good credit opens a lot of financial doors for you, making it easier to get premium travel credit cards for a holiday or a personal loan in an emergency.

Not sure what your credit score is? You can get a free credit report here.

Don’t panic if your credit is lower than you thought. You can still use credit cards and get a loan even with bad credit. There are online options like lines of credit and installment loans that work with any credit status.

3. Try house sitting

Next to flights, the cost of a hotel or Airbnb is one of the biggest expenses you’ll encounter on your trip. It’s probably one of the most annoying expenses as well, considering you’re already paying for rent back home.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can spend a full vacation at a comfortable place without paying rent, utilities, or cleaning fees. The trick is in house-sitting.

House-sitting is one of the biggest trends in the travel community — especially amongst the digital nomads of the world. You can join this group by signing up with these house-sitting services. For a small yearly fee, you’ll be able to create a verified account and search for house-sitting opportunities in the areas of the world you’ll be.

You don’t have to spend your time pining for a trip abroad, fully expecting you’ll never have the money to get away. You’d be surprised by how much you can save when you make a deliberate choice to cut down on your spending. With the added help of cashback and free accommodations, you’ll have the money you need to take your long-awaited vacation in no time.