How To Not Go Broke Booking Your Next Vacation

Foreign. This is Busy Getting Better, the podcast for women who are committed to prioritizing their own personal growth. I'm your host, Madison J. A mindset and money coach, a first generation wealth builder and a woman on a mission to help you master your finances and live your best life. Money is not all we are covering though, because in order to live your best life you have to become your best self. So we are diving deep into all things personal development and bringing you the mindset shifts, money, tips and inspiration. You need to go out there, be bold and build the life you can't stop daydreaming about. It's time to get busy babe. Busy getting better. What is up you guys? Welcome back to the podcast. Today's episode is going to be all of my favorite tips and tricks and hacks for not going broke while you are booking vacation and traveling and being on vacation. And this is definitely an episode that you are going to love if you are a type A planner, because that is what I am. And so all of these tricks and tips and all of the things that I personally utilize in order to make sure that I'm staying on budget, I'm staying on track with how much I want to spend and I'm planning accordingly for the trips that I'm going on are definitely for the planners out there. If you are the kind of person that is like, I'm going to book a trip today and I'm going to leave in two days and I'm going to go to Europe and we're just like booking and traveling on vibes first off, so much respect that would give me so much anxiety. But also maybe that strategy hasn't been working out well for you. Maybe you get on those trips or back from those trips and you're like, shit, I kind of spent a lot of money. So if that also is you, maybe you will enjoy some of these tips and tricks. I'm going to share with you all of the ways I plan for a vacation, some of the tools that I utilize in order to set myself up self up for success, my favorite credit card that I use, and yeah, all the little things that ultimately came up as I was going on my trip that I just went on and played a very vital role in just helping me stay on track with my spending. So let's get into it. My very first tip for you is going to be to book your trips and travel as far in advance as you can. Because what this allows you to do is to be able to obviously plan more accordingly, but be able to book things for your vacation in chunks. So instead of having to sit down and pay for your airline flights and your hotel and your excursions and anything and everything that you need to book on a trip in one sitting, that could very easily overload your credit card and that in turn, you know, maybe you're not able to pay off the full balance of your credit card and now you're carrying a balance over and you're encouraged ruining interest on your credit card, which is definitely not what we want. So I think the best way to go about it is to try and plan a trip, especially if you're going somewhere far, if you're going somewhere for a longer time, try and book it like at least six months in advance and try and sit down and maybe every month pick something that you're going to book. So first up, you know, sit down and book all of the airline flights for your trip in one month. Now you have an opportunity to book those far enough advance that you are going to get better deals on your flights. And also now you can pay off the flights that month and then next month sit down and now book your hotel stay, and now you can pay that off that month and now the next month sit down and now you can book your excursions. What this is going to do, like I said, it slows down the spend. So you're not just for fronting a crap ton of money up front for the trip and you're able to slowly book it and pay it off. And then once you've got the flights booked, you've got the hotel books, you've got the excursion sorted out, now you're able to really figure out like, okay, now what's a good spending budget for me on this vacation? How much do I think I'm going to need based on how many days we're staying in each place, what we're going to be doing in the different areas. Like I said, definitely a type A planning approach. Because if you're just like, I'm just booking and we're just going off vibes, you can definitely still come up with, you know, a good budget or a good daily spending number that you want to try and adhere to. Um, but obviously having a little bit more of it planned out, kind of understanding what the excursions are and how you're going to be filling up your time is going to make that a lot easier. So after you have all of those sections booked now you can sit down and really figure out like, okay, how many days are we going to be there? Realistically, you know, how many meals are we going to have? Did we end up booking a hotel that came with free breakfast? Are we going to wake up early enough to take advantage of that based on what we're doing? And is that how we want to spend, you know, our time or our money? Is that a way that we could save money on the trip by taking advantage of those free breakfasts? So now you can start to really figure out, like, okay, what are, what's the average day gonna look like? And I'm definitely not somebody who likes to nickel and dime on vacation. I have historically always, for better or for worse, lived by this motto, you can always make more money, but you can never make more memories. And I really live in this vibe on vacation. I don't wanna be sitting there nickel and diming like, okay, this dinner was, you know, 17 dol and this lunch was $7 and adding up all of these little things. So I like to come up with like a really loose budget of like, what do we think an average day is gonna cost? If I were to factor in the amount of meals we're gonna have and where we're heading and then crank it up a little bit, like, definitely head into vacation with an overly priced budget. Not like feeling like I'm gonna be the version of myself that is like very, very tight with my credit card. Because I just know that that is not me on vacation. And I think that's probably not most of us. Most of us, when we finally get on a vacation, it's like, oh, I deserve to enjoy this and not feel so stressed in the moment. So take whatever you're expecting to pay every single day and like, definitely crank it up. That way you give yourself room for the opportunity to experience whatever you want and not be stressed in the moment. And you're not going to be mad at yourself if you end up spending less than what you wanted to spend or while on vacation. So there's really no downfall here. You're planning for the worst in regards to how much you might spend and you're hoping for the best in regards to how much you end up spending. So I always, you know, overestimate a daily budget, a weekly budget, however long you're going to be on vacation for food and experiences and drinks and whatever goes into that. That way you're just pleasantly surprised or you're just well prepared for how much money you end up spending on vacation. Because again, nobody likes to go on vacation and be like ordering a side salad and a water and like, really you know, checking their bank account every single second to make sure that they're staying on top of their budget. That is such a vibe killer. That's not what we're going for here. But we want to be prepared and we obviously want to make sure that we're not just like swiping the card left and right, going on a crazy spending spree that we did not prepare for. And ultimately you are regretting once you get home and open up the bank account. So two sides of the same coin there, and we're here to find a good, happy, healthy balance here. I think another really good trick that I like to do on vacation on this note is have like a check in point halfway through where you do add up all of your expenses. Like if you are changing locations on a longer trip or if you're just like halfway through the vacation, sit down, take, you know, 10, 15 minutes and just go through all the charges that you have and just do a quick mental add up, like, are you on track? Are you about halfway through your budget? If you're over halfway, how much you kind of wanted to spend on the trip, like, did you already have a lot of the excursions and a lot of the stuff that you were going to be spending money on? And so it doesn't really matter, just have like a good check in point, because if not, and you're like, oh, I've kind of been going a little crazy here. Now you can adjust accordingly or just be a little bit more aware as you're heading into the back of the trip first. Like I said, just kind of not waiting, not checking in and then figuring out at home that you spent an extra thousand dollars and you're pissed at yourself. So I like to have a little midway loose check in again, I'm not nickel and diming. I'm not getting like super crazy with anything but just like a pulse check on, like, okay, how have we been doing? Are we vibing too hard or are we doing well? So that would be some ways to just kind of like chunk up your spending and make sure that you are spreading out the booking portion of your vacation and then coming up with like a really loose, you know, daily spending goal and overall budget for the trip and then making sure you're just loosely checking in throughout the rest of your time that you're on vacation just to make sure that you're not. Don't have a rude awakening when you get out of there. Okay. One of my other tips that I love to implement, and this is especially if you know you're going on vacation. I think for most of us, like we're doing some sort of travel every single year. Most of us are going on some sort of vacation, some sort of weekend girls getaway, some sort of, maybe it is a big extravagant trip. Whatever it is, I think for the most part it's pretty common that most of us go on some sort of travel every single year. And so I think the best way to prepare yourself for this is to have a high yield savings account specifically dedicated to travel funds. So every time you get paid, it's really great to get into the habit of splitting up your paycheck into different buckets. So some of it automatically, if you're in W2 employee already gets pulled out of your income to go to taxes. If you are 1099, if you're in the entrepreneurial world, you should be taking out x percent of your money every single time you get paid and putting it in a high yield savings account for taxes. I think you should be doing the same thing for the things that you know you spend money on every single year. So creating a specific high yield savings account just for travel. So taking out whatever the percent is for you, that would make sense. Maybe it's 5%, 10%, 15%. I don't know, maybe you travel like half the year. Maybe it should be 50% of your income. You know, you create whatever makes sense for you, but put a little bit of your funds away into an account specifically for travel. That, that way when your vacations come up, you already have money that not only is set aside for it, so you don't have to go into credit card debt, you don't have to pull out of savings that isn't meant for this. This money was meant for you, it was meant for this trip, it was meant for your travels. And I think what this also does is psychologically allows you to spend money on your vacation without feeling guilty about it. If you have a thousand or a couple thousand dollars saved up in your high yield savings account and it is labeled, this is for when you get to go book your stuff, you're going to do it from a place of excitement because you've already called out what this money is for and you're going to be able to really enjoy it, you're able to go on this trip, buy that thing, have that experience, whatever it is, with specific money that you've already set aside for travel. So creating a high yield savings account specifically for travel funds is such a good hack for so many reasons. If you do not have a High Yield Savings Account set up at this point. I pause right here and go do it. It's so easy to set up. A High Yield Savings Account is essentially an account where you are making money on your money. It is hands down the easiest way to start making your money make money for you. All you have to do is move your money from wherever you're currently storing your savings account into a High Yield Savings Account. And if you don't have one and you don't have a regular savings account, no time like the present to set one up and start transferring over a little bit of your income into a High Yield Savings Account. I am going to link the one that I use in the show notes for you if you want to check it out. It's so easy to set up. It's just an app that you can download. It literally takes like less than two minutes and then you can transfer your funds over. I, I love what I use because it's just so easy. It's easy to see your money, it's easy to move, it's easy to manage all of that stuff. So for so many reasons, a High Yield Savings Account is such a good tool for you to have. I feel like that is like such a side tangent for another day, but open up one specifically for travel so you have funds ready to go and you have guilt free travel fun money set aside for you when you're ready to book that next vacation. Okay, next tip is going to be using the Google Flight calendar when you were booking your flight dates. I don't know if everyone does this or not, but it's such a simple way, especially if you have flexibility in the days that you're traveling to save a crap ton of money on your flights. Because just by simply adjusting maybe a day or two earlier or a day or two later for your flights could change like thousands of dollars of money that you're spending on your flights. For example, I was just booking my flight. I ended up using points to fly back home from Europe. But just by extending my travel by one day, I was able to book that first class flight that I was talking about for literally a third of the points just by flying home on a Monday instead of a Sunday. So make sure to hopefully allow some sort of flexibility in your travel days when you're going. I know sometimes we have to be there on a specific day and we have to come home on a specific day. We don't always have that luxury. But if you do just have a day or two of Flexibility in your travel. When you're booking your trips, please use the Google flight calendar and just see how you can save yourself so much money or so many points by just adjusting. It's such a simple tip. So, yeah, check that out. And obviously Google flight Calendar is great because you can just compare so many different airlines in the same. In the same section as well. So I think it's just a really great way to see, you know, some airlines, like, the same flight is just hundreds of dollars more for absolutely no reason other than they just have less availability, they have less flight paths that go there. So especially if you're traveling somewhere new, like, I feel like there's more flight options for certain airlines on the west coast versus the east coast versus obviously domestic, international. So just like always play around with the calendar view so you can see all of the different options for different days to save money and different airlines to save money. So that would be definitely a good hack. I. I don't even know when I started using Google Calendar. It's not something that I have always known about, but the flight calendar on there is so good. So definitely check that out. The next one. I feel like most of us probably already do this, but sometimes when you're, like, in travel mode or in booking mode, sometimes it's really easy to just, like, not add this little step in. But I think it's really important when you're traveling places to compare the prices of hotels. Airbnbs, VRBOs, like, look at all of your options. Sometimes I'm so shocked at the nightly rate of a hotel in comparison to something like an Airbnb. And again, sometimes it just makes more sense to do one or the other. But if you have the flexibility and you have the options, don't forget to look at all of them, because you might find a banging deal on one of them. When you were like, okay, we're staying in hotels the whole time, and all of a sudden you find a really dope Airbnb that just has an awesome nightly rate, and it's so much more affordable and you're able to save so much more money. So just make sure you're factoring in, like, all of the different things that you have to stay at. We have so many options nowadays. It used to just be hotels, and in some cities and in some situations, you might be like, okay, we're gonna go book an Airbnb, and you check it out, and it's astronomically higher than the price of a hotel rate. So it could be literally either way, depending on where you're going, what kind of events are going on around you, how big or small the city is, what the Airbnb or VRBO supply is. Some cities went like crazy in the Airbnb boom, and so there were so many Airbnbs, So those rates might be significantly more affordable because there's such a high supply and such a low demand. So you might be able to find a really great deal. So just make sure that you're kind of comparing and contrasting all of the different options for lodging, and just make sure that you're doing the one that, you know, obviously makes the most sense for you, but also can help you save more money. Okay, my next travel hack is to have a really great travel credit card. There are so many benefits to having a solid credit card. Now, I want to add the caveat that, like, you need to be making sure you're paying off your credit card every single month to the best of your ability. You don't want to just go get a travel credit card and book a whole bunch of stuff on there to try and rack up points for the sake of points. And then get yourself in a situation where you now have a credit card that's carrying a balance every single month and you're accruing interest on it. That's not the goal. So if you are someone that, like, you're like, no, I don't trust myself with a credit card or I'm not in a position where I want to take on more debt, definitely do not just go get a travel credit card to get the travel credit card for the benefit of points. Like, that does not. The benefit of the points is not going to outweigh the amount of interest that you're going to pay on that credit card. But if you are in a position where you can pay off the credit card, you are feeling good, you're feeling responsible, you're feeling ready to open a credit card. Oh, my goodness, it's such a hack. So I'm going to tell you a little bit about the credit card that I have that I love. There are so many out there. So this is not me just like, selling mine. Do your research. But this is the one that I have found that I think provides me the most benefits that I really enjoy. So if you're looking for one, I definitely encourage you to check out the one. You know, I'm gonna. I'm gonna drop the link for the one that I use in the Show Notes as well. We're gonna have a busy Show Notes section on this episode. But check out all of them. Like I said, make sure you're definitely doing your own research, your own due diligence. This is not. I'm not sponsored by this credit card. There's no. Nothing that, like, is making me say this other than, like, I love this credit card. So I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. I think it's phenomenal for travel for a couple of reasons. One, you can accrue points very easily on the card. And Chase is a. Has a transfer partnership with so many different flight companies, hotel companies, excursions. Like, you are just able to book a lot with the points with the Chase Sapphire in the portal, but also transfer to other partnerships. So Chase, I think, is a really great credit card to have. And the Chase Sapphire Reserve One specifically does come with a $500 annual fee, but you immediately get all of that money back if you use it the right way. So some of the things that you get with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you get 300 a year in travel credit. So you're gonna get charged. This is what happens to me every year. I get charged my 500 annual fee, and then I immediately get $300 credited back because I've spent over 300 on travel. Like, think about, you book one flight for $300 and you immediately get that credited back. So, so quickly, you're already down to just $200 annual fee just by spending $300 a year on travel stuff. The travel can be flights, it can be Ubers, lifts, hotels. Like, anything travel related gets you that credit back. So immediately, you're already getting, you know, a couple hundred dollars back. Plus, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, they reimbursed my Global Entry, which came with TSA Precheck. So I now have Global Entry and TSA Precheck, which I paid for and got recredited for. So that was a huge win. And if you travel often, like, I honestly, now that I have TSA Precheck, I'm a little mad. It took me so long to get it with how often I fly. I. And if you fly internationally, Global Entry is such a hookup. You literally cut the whole line when you're going through customs, and you don't have to take anything out of your bag. You don't have to, like, go have an interview with anyone. You just, like, walk up to these stands in the airports now. It scans your face, and they're like, cool, you good to go. Get on out of here. And you get to crash and beat the whole line. So, yeah, Global Entry is huge. If you're traveling international. Also benefits is I got access to, to Priority Pass, which Priority Pass gets you into. It's over like 1300 or 1500 airport lounges across the world. So anytime you're traveling, usually to get into these airport lounges, you need a first class ticket on a partnered airline that partners with whatever that lounges or it's credit card companies that gets you access to these different lounges or you get access via Priority Pass and Priority Pass gets you into a bunch of different lounges. So since I've had access to Priority Pass anytime I have a layover or I'm at an airport early before a flight, you just pop into the corresponding airport lounges that have access via Priority Pass and you get to bring a guest with you. So even if the person that you're traveling with doesn't have Priority Pass, they don't have a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, whatever it is, you get to go in and you get to take a guest with you. And you don't need to like, you don't need to have Chase Sapphire Reserve to get Priority Pass. I understand there are other ways to get it. I don't know. But free access via just being a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card member. So you see how these are really stacking up. There's a lot of other benefits that I've gotten through there. I had, I have a, a Lyft pink membership for free. So whenever I use lifts I get priority pickup and I get discounted rate ride rates just from being a Chase Sapphire Reserve member card. So there's, there's so many benefits and I know I'm actually not even utilizing all the benefits that the credit card has, but obviously I think one of the best ways to utilize a credit card like this is the points like, like I said, I got a whole first class business, Polaris United flight back from Europe, just strictly with points just from using this credit card on everyday purchases. So I think having a good travel credit card is such a hack. I know a lot of people love American Express. I know that there's a lot of good credit card there and a lot of good partnerships that they have. The one thing that I'll mention, if you are someone who travels abroad and I just ran into this when I was on my trip with my friend, she had an American Express card. A lot of places don't take American Express, especially outside of the United States because they need a specific chip reader in order to read the card. And also American Express has additional processing fees that the business has to pay. So everyone doesn't take American Express. So that was kind of a reason I didn't go that route and why I landed on the Chase Sapphire Reserve. But again, I know people that love it it. So do your own due diligence. But if you are a traveler, if you're looking to make, you know, benefits from credit card points, there's so much you could do here. And I feel like this could be an entirely different episode, specifically on just how to use credit card points to travel. So TBD on that. I think that will be something coming soon. But just know this is a great way to save money and to plan accordingly for your vacations. So. Okay. Another. Well, I kind of. This kind of plays into having the access to the priority pass. Being able to go into those lounges allows you to save money on airport food and drinks and water. Like you go into these lounges and I just stock up. I bring my refillable water bottle with me when I travel because most places have water stations. But also if you get into these lounges, they have water bottles, they have alcohol, the bar. If you want drinks before your flight, they also have food. So you can go in there and just stock up, refill your water bottle, stock up on drinks if you want, and snacks and anything that you want, which saves you a lot of money. Because obviously I think we all know that airport prices for food and for water and for anything are just astronomical. So being able to get into those lounges and stock up like that is another really great way to plan ahead and save money. And just another good benefit of getting access to those lounges. If you don't have access to the lounges, another really great way to make sure that you are saving money while traveling on food and snacks is to plan ahead for that as well. Like I said, you can still bring your refillable water. Obviously you have to empty it before going through security. But once you get to the other side, most airports nowadays have those water refill stations so you can go and refill your water. And instead of paying $7 for a water bottle in the little shops, you can also bring snacks with you. I feel like people don't know that they can bring snacks. So you can bring granola bars, you could bring jerky, you could bring fruit, snacks, like whatever you want that's closed and not a liquid you can pack in your bag. So especially for like long travel days, international flights, go to the grocery store and stock up on some of your favorite snacks. We did this on the trip we just went on. I brought a whole bunch of granola bars in for a late night snack or an early morning breakfast or just like a midday anything or traveling through the airports. Like, it's so nice to, to just have something that a, you know you like and you don't need to spend a million dollars on, that can go in your backpack or go in your bag and you can bring with you and just have with you as a quick snack where you're not like stuck in a pinch. And again, having to spend a lot of money on these airport treats that are just wildly overpriced. So planning ahead for that is a really great way. The other thing I want to mention is that when we go on trips, when we go on vacations, I think it's so easy to be like, I have to go pay to do all these excursions. I have to go do X, Y or Z. And I just want to encourage you to really pause when you're on vacation and find some things that you can do that are free. I think one of the most beautiful things that you get and gain from travel is the opportunity to experience a new culture and to see a new city and to scope out the vibes. Like, you don't need to pay for a bunch of stuff. When you go to new places. You can just spend some time walking around, exploring the city, checking out the parks. Maybe there are free walking tours where you're going. Maybe there's free museums you can walk around and check out. Maybe yeah, there's parks to explore. Like, there's so much to do. Maybe there's a beach you can go lay at. There's so much you can do that is free. And I think sometimes when we go on vacation, we get trapped in this. Like, gotta do more, gotta see more, gotta see it all. Most of the time you go on vacation to explore somewhere new. Like, there's no way you're gonna see the entire city. There's no way you're gonna experience all that that new place that you're visiting has to offer. So try and find some activities that are free that just allow you to explore and experience. Experience and get integrated and get grounded in this new environment that you're in and just slow down a little bit and find ways to be present and to enjoy the happiness of just experiencing a new place, just experiencing a new city and new people. My personal favorite free thing to do when traveling is to just sit down and people watch. I don't know about you, but people watching is such a fun Activity. But excuse me, especially in new cities, like you get to experience seeing how other people live their lives. Like what are fashion trends? What? I don't know, like there's just, it's an endless list of possibilities, but just sitting down, slowing down and just soaking in the energy and the vibe of the new city that you're in, enjoying people watching and just embracing it and living in the fact that you're somewhere new and you get to travel. And I know we all love to travel, but it is a luxury. It is something that is not a must, right? It's not a need, it's a want. And so just don't feel like you have to succumb to the pressure of experiencing all that there is to experience when you're on vacation. The experience is in the travel, it's in the exploration, it's in the seeing new things. And so find free excursions, find free ways to explore the city and find more cost effective things that you can do. Not everything needs to be like crazy bougie. And even though I love bougie, don't get me wrong, not everything needs to be that. Sometimes it's nice to just slow down and soak it in and enjoy the city that you're in. And my final tip for you was given to me from somebody whose entire job is to book travel for people. If you know somebody that is a registered travel agent, meet up with them, connect with them when you are booking your trip. And if you don't find somebody, and if you need somebody, let me know because I got somebody for you. But what happens when you utilize a registered travel agent to book trips, to book vacations, to book hotel stays, they usually can get either a better price for you or they can get free stuff added into your stay. And the reason is, is that if you are booking directly with a hotel, they are going to capture all of the money from you up front. If you're booking through a third party website like Expedia or something along those lines, especially at like hotels, a lot of the portion of the sale goes to that third party booking site. And so the hotel doesn't necessarily have extras to give you. If you're booking through a third party registered travel agent, on the other hand, the way that they're compensated is very different. The hotel pays them a very nominal fee. But because they are doing business with a travel agent who in their mind is somebody who's going to be repeat business for them, somebody who's going to continue to funnel more customers to them if their customers have a good experience, they're gonna have more leeway to give those travel agents additional add ons or additional deals for their customers. So that was such a hack. I actually have not done this yet and I'm so excited that I now have this information because the next trip that I'm gonna go on, you best believe I'm going to go through a travel agent and make sure that I'm getting the most bang for my buck. I didn't understand really how travel agents worked and how they were compensated. And so if you did not either, now you know that the hotels actually pay those travel agents a small fee for bringing them business and they can likely get you some additional add ins. Maybe it's you know, drink or food stay, maybe it's spa stay, maybe it's a discounted rate, who the heck knows. But it's worth working with them and it's worth asking. So that is my final tip and trick for you. I hope something out of this makes traveling and booking vacation more enjoyable, less stressful, more affordable and helps you just plan for a more enjoyable vacation that you can really live in. And hopefully it provides you an opportunity to have a little bit less stress and stay out of debt as you are able to exploring the world, going on vacation and living your best life. So until next time, I'll see you later babes. Hey, before you go, I just want to go ahead and say thank you for spending a little bit of your time with me today and also congratulations for finding a chunk of time to carve out and focus on you and moving the needle and becoming a better version of yourself. If there is anybody that you think could benefit from this podcast, please share it with a friend, share it with a family member, feel free to share it on your socials and help me spread the word about busy getting better. Thank you so much and I will see you on the next episode.