Smart Tips for Saving Money for Your Dream Vacation

People may choose not to travel for a variety of reasons, but one of the most common reasons is money. I recently posted what I figured to be the average vacation cost for a family of four for one week—₦3,000,000. That’s a pretty big chunk of money for most people. So, I wanted to share some thoughts on how to save for a vacation. Use my travel budget vacation cost worksheet to estimate what your trip will cost.

SAVE MORE MONEY
Here are some of my best tips for how we save more money for vacations. These ideas will help you stash away money so you can enjoy your vacation without stressing over the cost.

52 Week Savings Challenge
Have you heard of the 52-week money savings challenge? The idea is that you save up ₦1,000,000 after one year of putting away money each week. They recommend starting with Week 1 at ₦1,000; Week 2 is ₦2,000… I actually like the idea of doing it in reverse because December is always an expensive time of the year for us. So, save ₦52,000 week 1, ₦51,000 week 2…

Sell Stuff
Sell, sell, sell! We’ve had some great luck adding to our income by selling stuff we would have donated or no longer use. Just this month we sold a winter coat and a box of girls’ clothing for ₦30,000. Have you upgraded any electronics and the old ones are just sitting there? Sell them! We love using Jiji.ng, Jumia, and Facebook Buy/Sell Groups to get things out of our home and money into our pockets!

Get Deals When You Shop
One of my favorite ways to save money is using cashback apps like PayPorte and JumiaPay to get cashback on stuff I’m already buying. I’m doing some back-to-school shopping and just earned ₦3,000 cashback when I bought shoes for Lizzy. There are cashback offers for so many popular stores and even travel brands like Hotels.ng and Travelstart. I’ve been using these apps for years and I’ve saved over ₦500,000 from using them, on stuff I was buying already. It truly is a way to save more!

Side Jobs
Do you have a talent that you can “offer” friends or family? This could be a way to have a second job but on your own terms. Offer up your talents and see if anyone needs some helping hands. You can even explain that you’re saving for a vacation. Just make sure you don’t spend money to make money unless it’s guaranteed. This can be a great way for kids to save for treats and souvenirs on vacation!

LOWER YOUR COSTS
One of the easiest steps for how to save for a vacation is to lower the cost of your trip. If you need less money for the vacation, you’ll need to save up less. Obvious, I know.

Hotels or Rentals
Vacation rentals are a great option for many families. They often cost less than a hotel and provide more space. You can also save by preparing your own food, and you won’t have extra charges for things like parking, high-speed internet, tipping, or resort fees. If you are booking hotels, you can get 10% cashback when booking accommodations on Thursdays through TravelInn or Wakanow.

Hope these tips can help you figure out how you can save more money and stress less about paying for a vacation. Do you have any ideas I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear them!