13 Brilliant Money-Saving Ideas for How to Save for a Vacation (2024)

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf ofEbates. All opinions are 100% mine.

People may choose not to travel for a variety of reasons, but one of the most common reasons is money. I recently posted what I figured to be what the average vacation costs a family of four for one week…$4000. That’s a pretty big chunk of money for most people. So, I wanted to post some thoughts on how to save for a vacation. Use my travel budget vacation cost worksheet to estimate what your trip will cost.

SAVE MORE MONEY

Here are some of my best tips for how we save more money for vacations. These ideas will help you stash away money so you can enjoy your vacation without stressing over the cost.

52 Week Savings Challenge

Have you guys heard of the 52 week money savings challenge? The idea is that you save up $1,378 after one year of putting away money each week. They recommend starting with Week 1 at $1; Week 2 is $2… I actually like the idea of doing it in reverse because Christmas is always an expensive time of the year for us. So, save $52 week 1, $51 week 2…

Sell Stuff

Sell, sell, sell! We’ve had some great luck adding to our income by selling stuff we would have donated or no longer use. Just this month we sold a winter coat and a box of girls’ clothing for $60. Have you upgraded any electronics and the old ones are just sitting there? Sell them! We love using eBay, Facebook Buy/Sell Groups, and Craigslist to get things out of our home and money into our pockets!

Get Deals When You Shop

One of my favorite ways to save money is using Ebates to get cashback on stuff I’m already buying. I’m doing some back to school shopping and just earned $6 cashback when I bought shoes for Lizzy. I have the Ebates button installed as an extension so I’m automatically shown when I can be earning cashback and if there are coupons available. There are cashback offers for so many popular stores and even travel brands like Expedia, Marriott, and Alamo. I’ve been using Ebates since 2011 and I’ve saved over $1,000 from using it, on stuff I was buying already. It truly is a way to save more!

Side Jobs

Do you have a talent that you can “offer” friends or family? This could be a way to have a second job but on your own terms. Offer up your talents and see if anyone needs some helping hands. You can even explain that you’re saving for a vacation. Just make sure you don’t spend money to make money unless it’s guaranteed. This can be a great way for kids to save for treats and souvenirs on vacation!

LOWER YOUR COSTS

One of the easiest steps for how to save for a vacation is to lower the cost of your trip. If you need less money for the vacation, you’ll need to save up less. Obvious, I know.

Driving vs Flying

Driving typically costs less than flying, check out my post on how to decide to fly or drive. Remember, driving long distances means an increase in car wear, more stops (i.e. more places to spend money), and possible hotel stopovers.

Hotels or Rentals

Vacation rentals are a great option for many families. They often cost less than a hotel and provide more space. You can also save by preparing your own food, and you won’t have extra charges for things like parking, high speed internet, tipping, or resort fees. If you are booking hotels, you can get 10% cash back when booking accommodations on Thursdays through Ebates Travel Thursdays.

Food & Dining

Food is one area that we like to save money. During travels, consider packing your own snacks & food so you’re not tempted to buy en route. We like to find hotels that offer complimentary breakfast so we remove that expense for each day of our trip. We’ve also packed in our own water and snacks to most attractions (be mindful of attraction policies).

Pick Activities with Care

Look for free or low cost activities. Don’t go to an attraction every day, and find ways to experience the city/destination for free. We love driving to a local park or beach on our trips. We also typically spend a day at the hotel enjoying the pool or walking around.

Trip Length

Shorten your trip length. If you stay less than a week, you can reduce the accommodation and food costs for your trip. Hotel and food costs are where we spend a lot, so shortening your trip means lowering those costs.

LOWER YOUR EXPENSES

In order to save for vacation, lowering what you’re spending during daily life can make a big impact. Save for your vacation by thinking carefully about what you’re spending money on. That money can be put towards vacation savings.

Cut the Cable

Have you heard how many people are getting rid of cable and or phone lines to save on their monthly bills? It’s not that much of a stretch anymore because of things like cell phones, Netflix, Hulu, and live streaming. You could save around $80 a month, which adds up to $960 after a year.

Shop Smarter

We recently had our insurance policies reviewed and it saved us about $200. We also like to check eBay and Amazon for purchasing our household products. Things like light bulbs, water filters, batteries, cat litter, even toilet paper, are typically cheaper online. Also, consider the DIY approach to maintenance. Paul recently fixed our washing machine thanks to a YouTube video instead of calling Sears for service.

Eat at Home

Eating out can cost a family a lot. We rarely leave a restaurant without paying $40+. Even fast food can cost our family $20+. If you’re a family who likes to eat out, just taking out one of these a week can save about $120 a month. That’s a cool $1,440.

Buy Less

Avoid impulse buys. Do you like to pick up things while you’re shopping that weren’t on your list and aren’t really needed? For example, that cute purse or that great toy that’s half off? Even spending $50 a month on non-essentials adds up to $600 in a year. Remember, no matter what percentage off the item is you can always choose to save 100%! Also, if you’re saving for a special trip, consider putting a photo in your wallet or with your credit card/cash so you remember when you pull out the money, it could be going towards that vacation.

There’s my list of ideas for how to save for vacation! Hope these tips can help you figure out how you can save more money and stress less about paying for a vacation. Do you have any ideas I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear them!