The header photo was taken from the deck of my home south of Fairplay, Colorado at Campground of the Rockies elevation 9,500 ft.

Vacations should not just happen and we charge everything to credit cards and pay the expenses over time for the next few months or a year. That is not budgeting for a vacation. After a family has filed their income tax and has a pretty good idea how their savings and bank accounts stand ,it may be a good time to forecast and begin a vacation plan.

Several posts ago I went over the budget categories and one of them was setting aside money on a monthly basis for a future vacation or getaways. Look at how much you have accumulated and you have on hand as a result of that budget.

Determine the trend in gasoline and airfare prices and see if one month might be better than another one. For example if the price per gallon of gasoline is going up every week and summer is just around the corner maybe an earlier vacation would be more economical. Fall Vacations are sometimes cheaper than Summer vacations when it comes to transportation and lodging. Food costs do not seem to vary too much from month to month , so fuel and lodging is probably the area where time consideration should be explored.

Walmart has coolers that plug into the cigarette lighter in your car, SUV, or pickup, that keep the contents at 40 degrees. A good food budgeting idea is to buy packaged items such as meats, cheese, and bread for sandwiches, also soft drinks can also be stored in the cooler. It also saves the cost of ice and and not as messy as buying bags of ice for a cooler.

Side trips and admission to theme parks can many times be purchased at a discount on line. Search for the attractions you are considering for your vacation on line and see if they have discount coupons that can be printed or special times that save on ticket costs.

A well planned road trip can save a family time and money. Select the dates you plan to travel and where you plan to stay. Are there friends or relatives that you could stay with some of the nights? If not, search the hotels and motels for each city where you plan to stay and see which ones meet your needs. If you have a motor home or a camper purchasing a Good Sam Membership or KOA Kampground discount card can save you money on each stay. When you pick motels, ask if they have a continental breakfast or full breakfast? Not having to buy breakfast can save quite a bit of money. Having a continental breakfast furnished by the hotel should be considered comparing costs to hotels that do not provide a continental breakfast. Ask if there is a discount for staying three or more days? Ask about room tax and fees? In Las Vegas they have a very high room tax fee that can be as much as $50 a night for many hotels on the strip.

After you have computed the approximate number of gallons of gasoline you will need ,or your air fare, then compute your lodging costs for the nights you are not staying with friend and relatives. Add the cost of entertainment, such horseback riding, theme parks , swimming parks, ocean parks, national parks, state parks. Compute the estimated cost for food purchased and for costs eating in restaurants. What is the Total Cost? Can you afford them amount without spacing it out on a credit card in future months?

If the cost exceeds your budget then look at what you can do to bring the costs in line with your budget. Possibly several mini vacations might be the solution to get costs in line with your budget and cash flow?

HAVE A GREAT VACATION THIS YEAR!