1. Use Cash When Possible

I know that we live in a day in age where everything is electronic or plastic when you pay. One thing we have found though is that using cash helps us know exactly where we are with our budget in the middle of vacation. When we can’t use cash, we get receipts and have a certain amount of money set aside in our account for those anticipated electronic purchases.

Otherwise we strive to use cash to pay for our food, gas (where available), spending, campfire wood, ice, admissions… If nothing else, set aside cash to use for spending on food and souvenirs, as these are the things that are easy to get out of control in keeping the vacation budget in line.

2. Fill Envelopes

One of my nerdy, satisfying things to do when working on fulfilling the vacation budget is to fill envelopes as I get available cash. I start by taking small envelopes, writing the budget item on the front, then how much will be in that line. For example, I will write “eating out” on the front of one, then in the bottom corner write “$150” so I know how much is needed in there by the time we leave.

There is nothing more satisfying than topping one of those off with the amount of cash needed, then moving on to the next envelope to fill. These envelopes go with us on our trip and are a part of keeping us in our budget lines. We wouldn’t dip into our “campfire wood” envelope for “eating out,” unless of course we no longer need campfire wood during our trip.

This method has helped us immensely in knowing how much money we have throughout the trip without worrying about what is in the account or adding up receipts.

3. Plan for Anything in your Vacation Budget

And I mean anything! I literally create a miscellaneous envelope with at least $100 in case some unexpected expense comes up. One time we got to our campsite and attempted to blow up our air mattress and found it had a hole. That was a very inconvenient thing to happen, but didn’t affect the rest of our vacation budget because we had set aside extra funds to run to a local store and buy a replacement, rather than sleeping on the ground that night.

Think of any and every possible expense that will likely come up on your vacation, as well as set aside some funds for those unexpected things that you won’t think of.

4. Book When There Are Deals

Finding deals up front mean you have more money to spend on other fun things like treats and souvenirs! Look for ways to book ahead of time when there are deals, low season rates, and coupons. Doing research ahead of time on where you want to stay and do can help you keep a lookout for when those deals pop up.

Explore your options as well. As we are planning our trip to Disney, we thought we HAD to stay in a hotel to get the full experience. While it may be true for some, for us, saving money was the biggest priority. As we explored other options, we realized we can book on VRBO or AirBnB to get an entire house/apartment/condo/etc. where we can cook rather than buy food all the time, and have more privacy. Plus it came out cheaper.

It’s all about what your priorities are when planning your vacation, but consider your options for sure in everything to help in saving for that vacation budget.

5. Be Free to Enjoy

Unless you’re loaded and have unlimited funds, laying out your budget ahead of time will help you breathe easy while on your trip, and you’ll even find ways to splurge. Because you planned ahead, you won’t have to stress about receipts, account levels, and making sure everyone is fed while also trying to enjoy vacation yourself.

There is so much adventure to being spontaneous on your vacation, but there is so much freedom in planning certain things. Your vacation budget should never be one of those spontaneous things. In fact, setting it ahead of time will give you more freedom to be spontaneous.

For more planning tips, check out my post about some of the first steps I take when starting to plan our vacations here!