In the current scenario, thinking of holidays may not be a great thing to do. However, PLANNING beforehand is always good because, not everything ‘adventurous’ may turn out to be fun during a holiday.
What’s the biggest hurdle for planning any holiday? Apart from your friends’ or family members’ availability and last minute cancellations, of course. It happens to be money. How much to spend, where and when to spend, and the sorts. Right?
Let us share some useful tips here about planning your expenses for a holiday so that you don’t have to regret looking at your bank balance once you return home!
And yes, there is this new element that can help you flex your budget a bit. You will understand it better if you read the entire blog. You will understand its significance at the end of this blog.
Here we go with the pro tips on budgeting!
- Keep a limit on your spending
No matter how great the urge is to collect a few souvenirs or some stuff in the local market, you need to keep in mind that you need enough to return home, don’t you think?
- Prioritize what you want to spend on
It feels great to prepare a must-do list for your holiday, we agree. But it’s best if you limit your purchases on things that are unique to that place or culture. Spend on creating memories, less on material stuff.
- A list of extras
No matter how well you think you have planned your expenses, almost all the time, you will exceed the budget. Therefore, of the total budget you have set aside for the expenses, keep a small portion meant for those ‘extras’.
- The expenses before you leave for the holiday
It’s only natural that one would want to look their best during a holiday. But at what cost? You don’t need a new set of everything you need for a holiday that won’t normally last more than a week.
- The MUST-DOs before you start planning for a holiday
Savings and coupon collection. Even before you start to plan for your holiday, make sure you start saving enough money for it so that the holiday doesn’t affect your day-to-day expenses. And coupons are a great way to cut down on your certain expenses like hotel stays, flight tickets, and other expenses, like food, that take up the biggest chunks in your budget.
- Hotel booking
When you finalize the place where you want to visit, you certainly must check the convenience factors like the place of stay, it’s proximity to the places where you wish to visit, the affordability of stay and of course, the food.
- Set a limit for every person’s expenses
Let us warn in advance! This one might cause some tensions and arguments but it can only help you manage better for any spontaneous ‘extras’ that are just unmissable for your buddy or spouse or family members.
- Keep a track of your spending
It only makes sense to keep a track on things so that you know if you are likely to exceed the budget or not. Right? (Only if you want to return home comfortably!)
These tips are good and applicable for those who plan, or at least think that they should plan things before boarding the flight to their dream holiday. But what about the ones who have planned everything and because of a situation that’s beyond their control, fall short of funds to enjoy their holiday?
They have the ‘buy now, pay later’ option. In this case, shop now or holiday now, pay later!
What’s this BNPL thing?
Before you forget about the tips and go on a shopping spree, be aware that BNPL service is for the smart ones. Various pay later apps like ZeroPay come in handy when you are planning your dream vacation.
Do use a BNPL service but, a big BUT, you can make use of it in the best way possible only if you use it when it is absolutely unavoidable to exceed your budget. You ought to have a plan to use a BNPL service like the ones that ZeroPay provides – coupons on dinners at top end restaurants, coupons for luxury hotel stays and the likes. Essentially, it will be to book a hotel now and then pay later!
So the first step to ensure a smooth sailing holiday without worrying about money is to plan your expenses and stick to that plan. Let us repeat it here – use a BNPL service as a last resort and don’t make it your primary source of funds for a holiday.
You need to create memorable and beautiful moments on a holiday! Make the holiday count and plan well so that you don’t have to count the money left in your wallet!
Read Tip #5 again! Thank us later!
