Creative Vacation Financing

Ok, if you're like me, you don't have an endless supply of money coming in that you can just throw away on a vacation. So I decided after the success of our last big vacation that I would continue with what I like to call, "Creative Vacation Financing".

I talked about using Groupons for vacation. There are many great reasons why you should do this.

#1: Know what you're doing!
How many times have you gone somewhere on vacation or even a weekend trip with no plan in mind? What usually ends up happening? You get there, unload the car and then what?
"What do you want to do?" "I don't know, what do you want to do?" "Well, I don't know what there is to do here or what place there are to eat!"
You want to AVOID this AT ALL COSTS!!! This can lead to arguments and potentially ruin your trip! By having a plan and pre-purchasing deals for activities and meals, this can eliminate these problems from arising.

#2: Try new places!
I don't know about you, but I LOVE to try new places. You go on vacation to get away from your everyday life....why would you want to end up at those same places you go to all the time? Getting this online deals can open you up to a whole new world of places! Skip the big chains and check out some Mom & Pops!

#3 You can do more!
If you have a budget for what you can spend on your vacation, this is the thing for you! Most deals are a 50% discount, some are even more than that! This means with the same budget, you are able to do twice as many things as you would if you waited til you got to your destination and paid full price.


#4 It's already paid for!
THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE!
When you pre-purchase those deals, you pay for them then. This allows you to have a portion of your vacation aready paid for before you even leave your driveway. This is my Creative Vacation Financing. Most people have a hard time saving up money for vacation. You have a very small amount of money left over from each paycheck and you put it in your savings, but then something comes along and you have to spend it. Then what do you do?
Most people will waste $25 a week by eating out or buying snacks or items they really don't need simply because the money is available right then. What I propose you do instead of "banking" the money, is go ahead and buy those deals for things you will want to do on your vacation!
Look at this as a different form of "banking". You are pre-paying for things and then setting them aside just like you would a savings account. OH, and by the way, did I mention that you DOUBLE your investment? With the deals being a 50% discount, you are going to DOUBLE what you put in! If I purchase a deal for $10 on a meal, but I receive a $20 voucher, I just DOUBLED my money that I "banked" for this trip. I don't know of any savings account that will double your money.

Now, there are things that you need to keep in mind if you are going to try this method of vacationing.

#1: Are your dates set in stone?
If you do not know exactly when you are going on vacation, I would not suggest this for you. Each individual deal has it's own expiration date and terms and conditions. If you don't know for certain when you are going, you could lose money on deals expiring before you can use them.

#2: Is your location set in stone?
Again, this is pretty much the same concept as #1. If you don't know for certain where you are traveling to, you can't possibly purchase deals for that area.

#3: Are you flexible?
Are you the type of person that falls apart when you have set backs, or do you bounce back? When you purchase these deals, you need to know that you may have to rearrange things based on traffic, weather or other outside influences.

#4: Are you organized?
I'm not gonna lie to you and say this is the easiest thing in the world to do. Yes, it can be easy if it's a short trip or you only purchase a handful of deals. However, if you are going to maximize your dollar and time and purchase several deals for a long trip, you need to be at least a little organized.

#5: Are you decent at using a Map?
Now, when I say map...I'm talking digital age map... Mapquest, bing, googlemaps, etc. You need to be able to look up each deal on a map and determine if it will fit within your driving radius. Is the town near another town that I will be in? You don't want to make things harder on yourself just to get a "great deal".

#6: Do you have some form of GPS?
You can print out your directions ahead of time by using one of the map softwares listed above, but what happens when you get lost or take a wrong turn? What if there is a detour due to road contruction or weather? This is when it comes in handy to have that nice GPS. When you are in an unfamiliar area, you need to prepare to get lost. We do not have a standalone one, only the googlemaps app on our phones.