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Friday 24 august 2018
How to plan a debt-free vacation

By SEAN PYLES 4. WATCH HOTELS LIKE A
Associated Press HAWK
Whether you're planning a Lodging is one of the most
trip to a country across the costly parts of a vacation.
globe or packing the car Shop strategically to lower
for a weekend road trip to your hotel costs, includ-
a local campground, you ing monitoring prices and
can have a debt-free va- booking rooms during off-
cation with some careful peak periods.
planning. Cheung recommends
It's easy to see how a va- booking your reservation,
cation can blow up even but waiting to pay. That
the most carefully planned way you can continue to
budget: In NerdWallet's monitor hotel prices and
2018 Summer Spending change your booking ac-
Report, parents surveyed cordingly.
by Harris Poll planned to "Sometimes prices will drop
charge an average of by just $10 or $20, but some-
$1,019 to credit cards for times it's pretty drastic,"
summer vacations. Cheung says. "I once had a
To ease the stress of a va- hotel for $250 a night, then
cation on your budget, it dropped to $160 a night."
start with a clear idea of You also can check prices
your trip's scope — identify- at the hotel where you've
ing expenses from the time made your initial reserva-
you leave your home to the tion and price-compare
moment you return — and with hotel price aggregator
create a realistic spending sites to see if you're getting
limit. Then get creative to the best deal.
trim costs along the way. 5. USE APPS TO FIND CHEAP
1. SAVE OVER TIME FLIGHTS
Play the long game when In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo, tourists climb a temple at the archeological site of Coba, in Mexico's Price-tracking apps and
planning and saving for a Yucatan Peninsula. Associated Press websites can do the work
vacation. Put a portion of of price hunting for you.
every paycheck aside to regularly so you can have to every museum or restau- and blogger at As the Joe With the smartphone app
build up a reserve of cash that weekend getaway rant you want; work to find Flies. Hopper, for example, you
for your trip. without having to pull out a compromise that makes "Everything starts out with a can enter the general pa-
Even saving $25 or $50 a your credit card. both of you happy. commitment to not having rameters of your itinerary,
month will help make your 2. MAKE A FRIENDLY BUD- If you run the numbers and any credit card debt," says and it will track prices over
trip more affordable. Make GET find you can't swing that va- Cheung. "With that princi- time and alert you when
sure the amount you're Think of your budget as an- cation without overspend- ple in place, that opens up the cheapest flight is avail-
setting aside will provide other companion on your ing, think about shelving the possibility to earn credit able. The more flexible your
you with enough vacation trip. the trip for a few months card rewards without go- travel dates, the easier it
cash, too. Just as with any travel bud- and saving more money in ing into debt or paying in- will be for you to find a low
Consider opening a sepa- dy, make sure you and your the meantime. terest." price. Google Flights pro-
rate savings account and budget set good expecta- 3. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR You can also use a rewards vides a similar service.
automating regular trans- tions for each other. Make CREDIT CARDS card to cut your travel costs One drawback to these
fers to help you save with- a spending plan. Account Have a travel credit card or . Your card may get you services: They don't include
out thinking about it. for everything from flights a cash-back card sitting in free rental car insurance, prices for every airline. So
If you're more of an impul- and lodging to entertain- your wallet? You can take or baggage fees or foreign monitor a few sources to
sive traveler, work to con- ment and shopping. Your advantage of it before and transaction fees waived. get the best price.q
tribute to this travel fund budget might not take you during your trip. If you don't
have one yet and your trip
is six months or more away,
consider looking into cards
with a sign-up bonus that
could cover flights or lodg-
ing.
Card in hand, spend smart.
Say you have a card that
gives you cash back on
groceries; determine what
you spend on groceries an-
nually and earmark those
rewards points for your va-
cation budget.
The key is having a plan This Dec. 18, 2010 file photo shows hundreds of cave formations
In this July 31, 2018, file photo tourists crowd around the Charg- to pay off your charges that decorate the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
ing Bull statue in New York's financial district to take photos. every month, advises Joe near Carlsbad, N.M..
Associated Press Cheung, a travel hacker Associated Press