How to Budget for Travel
If you are preparing to travel immediately it is understandable. The end of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the gradual reduction in border closures worldwide and flight ticket prices are coming down fast. You may have plans to leave Australia in a month or a year. In any case, you are probably wondering how to plan fiscally and logistically for your holiday. Planning ahead, budgeting, buying tickets sooner rather than later and staying at affordable accommodation are all means to an end: namely, a good-value overseas holiday. We discuss these and other strategies below.
Plan Ahead for Your Travel
When you have decided upon your destination, it’s a good idea to do a little digging to discover precisely what you will do during your stay. Check out cities on Wikipedia, tourism on travel websites and hashtags on social media. When you have decided what your preferred destinations are you can begin to research the cost of living amongst other expenses like interstate travel, accommodation and entertainment. Then, continue to prepare by researching flights to understand what you will need to pay upfront to put your holiday officially in motion.
How to Budget for Travel
After you have done your due diligence visa vis-à-vis research and planning, it is time to start a budget to ensure you stay within your financial limits whilst traveling. Work out what you are earning after the cost of living expenses and calculate how much you can save each month. When you have this value, you can begin planning in earnest by figuring out when exactly you want to leave and how much you will have saved at this time. Subtract the price of flight tickets from the total nest egg and what remains is your available spending money. Depending on how much you earn and the cost of living in your country of choice you will, at this point, comprehend how long you can stay there during your holiday.
Do I Buy Flight Tickets Early?
General advice says to buy flight tickets earlier rather than later. The basic economic principle of supply and demand applies: when flight tickets are more available they are cheaper. In opposition to this, after tickets begin to sell out, they become more desirable and therefore expensive. Some flight companies do have last-minute sales to fill up seats shortly before departure, however, if you miss these you risk the necessity of paying a fortune to get to your destination on your preferred date.
Affordable Accommodation Overseas
If you need to, you can, in most cases, arrange cheaper accommodation than is charged by luxury hotels and resorts. House stays, backpacker’s lodgings and campervanning are affordable alternatives to staying at four-or-five-star accommodation during your travel. Simply Google these terms with a city operator included and you will find a plethora of options available to you during your stay.
Contact Pillar Financial
Call our friendly team on 1300 730 309 or reach out via our contact page to ask what we can do for you as you begin your journey towards saving for your next overseas holiday.
