In last week's post, I shared a great way to ensure you are continuously investing in your vacation. If you missed it, make sure you go back and check it out. There are some great tips and resources there, and I hope they inspired you to sit down, create your budget and designate a special vacation savings account.
This email is for my families with kids! But I am sure you can gain something from it if you don't have kids in your household.
Now that you have an account set up, how do you get a little extra moo-lah in there?
You are already a busy person! Between work, family, and household chores, your days go by fast and are jammed packed; you don’t have time for a side hustle.
But you can get the kids involved!!
And believe me, when the kids are excited to help you work towards a vacation to Walt Disney World or Ireland or wherever their little heart's desire to go, you will find any resistance diminished.
More importantly, there will be fewer meltdowns when you don’t get the latest toy when you go into Target for ‘just one thing’.
Your kids’ ages make a difference in how involved they can be, but most kids get excited about saving. Plus, it is a life skill that will help them forever. #bonusmompoints
Challenge your budget - Give yourself (and the kids) an allowance for cash expenditures (i.e., groceries, gas, meals out, entertainment, etc.) and make a game of seeing how much of your allotted budget you do NOT spend. Anything left over at the end of the week (or month) goes into the vacation fund.
Bank $5 bills - This is one of my favorite ways to save for a vacation. I try to pay with cash wherever I can, and every time a $5 bill comes in, it goes into a separate envelope to be put into the vacation account.
Make it a game - Get everyone to turn out the lights when no one is in the room and turn off TVs and computer equipment when they’re not in use. Then, keep a tally of who turned it off. These measures may only save you a buck or two a month on your utility bills, but it all adds up. To drive home the savings, make a big deal about adding $2-$5 into the vacation savings account.
Keep Track - Make a large telethon-style vacation savings tracker and put it in your command center where everyone can see it. As the account fills, mark your progress so the kids can see how well you all are doing and get excited about doing even more. Include those small savings (like turning off the lights) as an encouragement to do even more.
Let Them Contribute - Have your kids find ways to contribute to the fund while teaching them money and business skills. If you have elementary school kids, set up a lemonade or baked goods stand for an afternoon or weekend morning. Older kids can start an odd-jobs, yard work, or babysitting businesses. Teach them about budgeting by contributing some of their earnings to tithing (or charity), their college fund, some towards the family vacation, and the rest can be pocket money.
So tell me, which savings idea will your kids love the most? I want to know, so click reply and let me know.