5 Tips To Help You Save For That Family Holiday

Last year our finances we really a mess so I started to blog about things like Budgeting, Systems to help manage your money, even Ways to deal with financial stresses.

By focusing on our financial situation and by writing about it and reaching out to others I was able to make the decision to do things to gain control of our finances and this then led to me being able to save enough money to take my family on a one week holiday for hubby's 50th birthday this year....you can read about part 1 of that trip here and part 2 here.

So today I am going to share with you 5 tips to help you save for a great family holiday!

1.  Reduce Weekly Spending
Sometimes this is easier said than done but if you really commit to it you will find some areas where you can reduce spending.
For me I focused on cutting back some grocery expenditure, planning meals in advance to avoid overspending at the supermarket and to avoid last minute takeaway.
Think about what you are buying.  I would buy some things out of habit, for example a bottle of coke, but I didn't NEED it, it was just habit.  Try to break some of these habits.

2.  Review Your Other Expenses
By this I mean review things such as health insurance, vehicle insurance, electricity providers etc..  There may be savings to be had by changing to another company where you can still get the same or very similar policies.

3. Start Saving
Okay so you've reduced spending but now we need to make sure that you are saving that extra money!
My recommendation is to put that money somewhere where you can't touch it easily, such as a bank account with no cards attached etc..
That way you won't be tempted to just take out $20 for this or $50 for that.
Don't forget that small change can add up too so keep a jar handy for all of your coins

4.  Set Yourself a Goal
I find it more motivating to keep saving if there is a goal to work towards.  Our family holiday was my goal and it kept me going.
Sometimes when you want to buy something you will need to weigh up whether or not your money would be better off put into your savings account and towards your goal.

5. Shop Around For Holiday Deals
This is really important.
Shop around for the best airfares, check that you are not flying in a peak time if possible.
Some accommodation places will offer stay 2 nights get the 3rd for free, use this to your advantage!
Vehicle hire is sometimes cheaper early in the week so check and see and if so then factor that in as well.

There are many online websites, blogs and resources to help you with your savings journey. One such resource is Credit Card Insider which is very useful if you have a credit card. This site tells you all about how paying a credit card works, debit cards vs credit cards etc...
So there you have five tips to help you get on track to save for a family holiday too!