Holidays are breaks that all of us take at some point during the year whether to take a break from work or celebrate a special occasion overall. Holidays can be hit or miss experiences depending on the way that they are planned , their overall cost and organisation required should be key indicators of what kind of trip it will be.
In the past in some of my holidays I have fallen into the trap about getting complacent about the overall cost as well as the organisation of the holiday. Although this is a common mistake that can be made it is one of the worst that you can make. This is an easy trap a lot of us can fall into as holidays often make us lapse into a sense of relaxation and lead to us spending a little more than we normally would due to the overall feeling of being on holiday.
There are a number of different this can happen from splashing out at a restaurant to failing to do enough research on where to stay or finding out when flights are at their cheapest.
How To Budget For A Holiday
Budgeting for a holiday although a tedious task in some senses is probably one of the best things you can do in preparation for it overall. Lets face it overspending on a holiday can be a real issue when we arrive home and realise that half that months budget has been blown out of the water as a result of the holiday.
Iv’ve found one of the most useful things that I have done in preparation for a holiday is taking notes of different flight prices at different times of the year. Most of the websites I used were flight comparison websites alongside individual airlines in order to find the best deals. One of the main reasons why planing flights in advance is important is that the closer to the date the flights are booked the more expensive they are likely to be . furthermore demand for flight can fluctuate leading to a sudden increase or drop in demand for the flights overall.
Another way you can budget for a holiday is meal prep and planning what you are going to eat each day on holiday. Food abroad is actually one of the biggest expenses most of us run up when we are on holiday. Hotels as well as restaurants in popular tourist destinations lick their lips at the thought of more tourists coming through the doors as they know they will have money to spend which is part of the reason why dishes may be more expensive than the average restaurant in a less popular tourist region or destination.
Overall Conclusions And Points Of Action
There are a number of different points of action that you can take to improve your holiday experience overall and ensure that you can holiday for the best value possible. Here are some of the points that I found were really useful on my travels:
- Speak to the locals. Often the local people have a great knowledge of the area and will be happy to give you information about the best supermarkets , cafes, parks etc
- Ensure that you have a set budget for your holiday and try not to exceed it
- Plan your trip well in advance in order to get the best possible value for money overall.
