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Hi, I’m Faye, a full-time working mom of two teenagers and a traveler on a budget.

What if you could take a family trip without accumulating debt?

Interested?

I’ve been one of those who charged a vacation to Disneyland, which took two years to pay off at an interest rate of 23%, not a fun aftermath of a great vacation.

Through trial and error and practice, I know it’s possible to travel without debt.

Having a Travel account and putting money in monthly is a start to paying out of pocket along with the three tools I can’t wait to share with you.

I’ve got tips on how, but first, the hard facts. The information is from Credit Karma’s article, Half of Millennials, Gen Z, on travel debt.

Here’s an example of how it’s possible to travel without acquiring debt.

One of my favorite trips was spontaneously taking the kids (two) to NYC for three days for under $1000!

Included in that amount were airfare from Expedia.com (not using miles), transportation, Vrbo in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, and all meals, activities, and shopping.

Did I mention that most of the trip was paid for before we landed?

Imagine waking up and grabbing fresh bagel sandwiches and hot coffee at the local deli on your way to Central Park to eat breakfast for under $20 (3 of us).

Later that evening, take a walk to Rockefeller Center with a hot cocoa in your hand and stroll to see the ice skaters, ending up at the Lego store for the rest of the night.

Okay, maybe not the last part unless you’re obsessed with Legos like us.

The souvenirs, street art, and extras were bought with our allowances. More on this money-saving tip later.

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3 Little-Secrets to Help Pay As You Go:

Creating a Daily Budget
Travel Allowances
Brainstorming

Let’s get to the how.

Are you ready?

Where’s your next trip going to be?

Create a Budget

The first tip to travel within your means is to make a budget for the trip, including daily budgets for planned activities and places (from the brainstorming session).

This budget needs to include your travel days.

Begin with your accommodations, check Vrbo for home rental options for more space and a kitchen, or Hotels.com for hotel discounts from 10%-40% off or more on regular rates, depending on the location and time of travel.

Expedia specializes in travel bundles, which include more than one travel service: flights, accommodations, car rentals, or all three Expedia.com offers discounts of 10% or more, often saving more with a bundle.

Now the big-ticket expenses are planned, start on the daily budget, meals, and allowances for the vacation.

TIP: Leave a cushion amount per day for unexpected costs. I recommend a minimum of $300 per trip.

See it as an “unplanned fund” for travel.

Include this amount in your total budget and use it for unexpected expenses like checking a bag on your flight home or during a walk to town began to rain so you called a taxi; it’s for these unexpected yet expected things that go outside of the plan but tend to happen within the trip.

Daily Budget Example

A daily budget is the key to the overall trip budget.

Plan with purchased attractions ahead of time from websites like SightseeingPass.com or Groupon.com.

Let’s use the three-day NYC trip as an example. Below are the expenses for a full day in Chinatown with a budget of $100.

Daily budgets can be simple or more in-depth. The point is to stick to the daily budget either spontaneously or planned.

Example of our daily budget for a planned trip to Chinatown in NYC.

2. Travel Allowance

To give each family member, including adults, a travel allowance is beneficial when budgeting.

Adults getting an allowance helps with extreme spending or stingy behavior and keeps the trip flowing within a healthy, ideally, fun budget.

What is a fun budget?

One where everyone gets to enjoy the vacation on their terms.

Everyone is responsible for their money once the allowance has been determined and handed out. The sense of freedom to engage in the destination makes for a more enjoyable time.

My kids love it, as it allows them to have their own spending money, and it keeps them from asking for everything they see (why I like it).

Allowance teaches the value of money, and by giving it to them to self-manage, they learn more quickly and set goals.

Lastly, they experience how to make financial decisions by making mistakes and learning from them.

For more benefits on giving your family allowance, Homey’s article, 10 Benefits of Allowance, is a good place to start.

Next, to avoid impulsive purchases, ask three questions:

Do you want to look around more and then come back?

How much money will you have left?

Is there anything else you want to buy?

Encourage them to stop and think before spending all their allowance on I Love New York snow globes for the neighbors back home.

To be clear, this does not mean to interfere.

Let them choose, making it a more empowering experience for them.

With younger kids, rather than a money allowance, give them an item allowance.

For example, they can buy three things that fit into their suitcase.

This option keeps the $500 six-foot teddy bear from being an option.

The sooner the kids know about the trip, the more time they have to make extra money.

How Kids Can Make Extra Money:

Yard Sale
Yard Work - Mow Lawns, Weed the Garden, Sweep the Driveway
Wash the Car
Wash and Fold the Laundry
Babysit
Walk Dogs
Pet sit
Lemonade Stand
Bake Sale
House Work - Clean the Fridge, wash the windows, clean/ organize the cabinets and drawers

This money can be a part of their predetermined trip allowance.

3. Brainstorming

Involving the whole family in the planning can be fun and money-saving.

My kids watched videos on how to get around like locals, lowkey places locals go, how to eat for under $10 a day, and searched for the best outlet malls for road trips.

Rules to Family Brainstorming:

One person speaks at a time (talking stick).
No judging (commentary has no place when sharing ideas).
Think big and outside the box (Nothing is off the table).
Post ideas so everyone can see.

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P.S. There’s no spam here, only amazing humans who love to travel and live well!

For more brainstorming tips, I recommend reading Ideo U’s blog, 7 Simple Rules of Brainstorming.

Engaging the family makes your budget planning easier.

Once the ideas are shared and selected, pick as many as you can fit within the timeframe and trip budget.

TIP: If the kids are younger, involve them by playing a game of “Would You Rather.”

Give them two choices, Would you rather see the zoo animals or go on a boat ride?

You get the idea. Let them in on the action.

Another part of budgeting is finding deals. I love that word, DEALS!

Check on flights and accommodations on Expedia or Travelocity.

Be ready to act fast!

If you need to use your credit card (for points or less hassle) do it and make a payment immediately.

Also, consider getting a credit card with a good travel rewards program like American Airlines.

Brainstorming, research, and planning can save you enough to make it possible to pay for your next trip out-of-pocket.

Cheers to your Happy Travels and a Happy Wallet.