Well, school is out and summer is here. Time for summer vacation!
I used to have bittersweet thoughts about vacation. I absolutely loved going on them, but dreaded the credit card bill that would greet me after we got home. Even though we budgeted, we somehow spent the money before vacation!
About two years ago, I took the stress out of it. I opened a separate Money Market account that is just for vacation. The budgeted vacation money is now direct deposited into this account. That way we don’t have to worry about spending it on something else. Now, we are guaranteed to have money for vacation and I am guaranteed to be able to enjoy every last minute of it without worrying about the credit card bill.
So our upcoming cruise to the Bahamas is not only planned, it is also paid for before we even set sail. That’s a real vacation to me. One that when we revisit the pictures and memories, we’re no longer tormented about still paying for it. And that’s a whole lot more fun!
Do you have any tricks you use to make sure you enjoy vacation while not breaking the budget?
