With 61% of Americans reportedly planning on traveling in the next four months, chances are that you’ve at least thought about getting away in the near future. As you’re planning your next vacation, there are several considerations you can’t ignore, according to financial experts.
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Here are 10 things you should consider before taking your next vacation.
All the Travel-Related Expenses
A common mistake people make when planning a vacation is thinking only about their major expenses, such as the flight or their accommodations, while ignoring the minor costs that can add up quickly.
“Start by estimating all of your expenses, and cover all the bases — travel, accommodation, meals, souvenirs, and of course activities/excursions,” said Erika Kullberg, personal finance expert and founder of Erika.com. “And don’t forget to factor in travel insurance, tips, and daily transportation to and from your accommodation once you’re there.”
While your flight or lodging will eat up most of your travel budget, you can’t forget about dining out and daily expenses. Kullberg added, “If you’re not already familiar, budgeting apps are a great resource for building, tracking, and sticking to any kind of budget.”
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Your Savings Goals
“If you have a good budget set up, you should be able to easily determine exactly how much you can afford to spend on this trip without negatively impacting your savings goals,” noted Todd Stearn, founder and CEO of The Money Manual.
As exciting as it is to plan a vacation, you don’t want to fall behind on your financial goals because you got carried away on a trip. You don’t want those travel memories to be tainted by an expensive credit card bill.
“Do your best to plan in advance and give yourself at least six months to build up savings for your trip,” shared Kullberg. “A dedicated savings account can be helpful here. It’s also smart to try and cut back on discretionary spending as much as possible in the months leading up to your departure.”
If you plan your travel expenses in advance, you can ensure that the trip doesn’t prevent you from reaching your other goals.
Your Vacation Time
You want to ensure that you have enough paid time off for your vacation so that you don’t have to worry about your income significantly dropping during your trip.
“Hopefully, you have plenty of PTO coming, but if any of your time off will be unpaid, be sure to factor that into your budgeting,” said Stearn.
If you have to take unpaid vacation time, this loss in income could throw off your budget when you get home, so be aware of that.
Credit Card Points
Do you have any rewards credit cards that earn you points toward things like air travel, hotel or gas? “Check your points balance and figure out if planning your trip around whatever your points will cover could make your vacation dollars go farther,” shared Stearn.
You never know when your credit card points could be beneficial and help you cover some of the major expenses of your vacation.
Affordable Destinations
As tempting as it may be to visit the trendy destinations that you see all over social media, you can just as easily have an enjoyable trip by seeking out affordable destinations near you.
“Try doing an online search for recent lists of the cheapest places to travel,” remarked Stearn. “And unless you have enough credit card points to completely cover air travel or gas, trying not to travel too far from home can mean big savings, too.”
Potential Rental Scams
You’ll want to take extra caution when you’re booking a home or accommodation for your vacation. As crucial as budgeting for a trip is, it’s also vital that you don’t get scammed out of your savings.
“Scammers try to mimic or impersonate popular travel websites by recreating familiar branding, logos, or company verbiage,” noted Darius Kingsley, head of consumer banking practices at Chase Bank. “When booking a rental home for a vacation, always pay through the service’s official website. Keep all your communication with the host contained within the booking site or app, so you have a full record, and the booking company can help if needed. Always book with a credit card in case a dispute arises.”
How To Spot Unrealistic Offers
Again, vacation season tends to bring out the scammers, and with so many rental options available online, you may not even realize that it’s a part of a scheme.
“Fraudsters will often try to capture unwitting consumers’ information via too-good-to-be-true travel offers and deals,” according to Kingsley. “If something looks or sounds suspicious, or too good to be true, take a moment to reflect and consider its legitimacy.”
Security of Travel Websites
As you book your travel accommodations, you want to ensure that you use secure portals to avoid scams.
“For an extra layer of protection, consumers can also consider booking their travel through trusted sites, like airlines, hotels and even their bank,” shared Kingsley.
Protection of Your Financial Information
When speaking about protecting your finances, Kingsley added that you should be mindful of using open Wi-Fi to log into secure banking accounts. You want to protect all of your financial information when you travel so that you don’t have to worry about reporting credit card fraud on the road.
Hidden Costs of Travel
The final consideration before taking that vacation is to be mindful of hidden costs that can come up when you travel.
“Don’t forget to think about exchange rates, ATM access, and international debit charges if you’re traveling abroad,” commented Kullberg. “Make sure that you’ll have easy access to your money and that you’re not going to be overcharged for using your card on vacation.”
You should factor in all possible travel-related expenses in advance so that you don’t return home with a hefty credit card bill and regret.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Financial Experts Suggest 10 Things To Consider Before Taking That Vacation
