Planning a vacation? Here is how you should manage your money
1 min read . Updated: 26 Oct 2021, 07:20 PM IST
Premium- It is very important to ensure that you have a planned budget for the trip
- From flight tickets to hotel booking, you can get great deals and save a lot of money if you plan your trip ahead.
It is very easy to get carried away when you are on a vacation. Moreover, our irrational self might go to great lengths to justify unnecessary expenses. “Therefore it is very important to ensure that you have a planned budget for the trip," said Chenthil Iyer, Sebi registered investment advisor and chief strategist at Horus Financial Consultants.
Here are a few things that you should make note of while making plans for vacation:
Keep a buffer: You may keep 20-25% of the total budget as a buffer to take care of any unplanned expenses. Loading that much money into a travel card would ensure that you are alerted about the status of your budgeted expenses versus actual incurred, Iyer said
Plan ahead: From flight tickets to hotel booking, you can get great deals and save a lot of money if you plan your trip ahead.
“Also, check currency transfer rates and charges before converting the money. Even in this case, you can avail better deals if you keep this thing done beforehand" said Shweta Jain, certified financial planner, founder, Investography, and author, My Conversations with Money.
Carry little cash: Carrying too much cash while travelling is inviting trouble. Instead, carry a little amount for emergencies and rest can be put in a prepaid card. Keep some in the wallet and some in the luggage (in case you lose the wallet), Jain pointed out.
Never borrow and travel: It's easy to buy into the sales talk of a bank who will fund you for your travel which needs to be repaid in 'easy' installments. However it would be the biggest source of guilt for you in the future. Not only that a loan makes the travel more expensive due to the interest component, it also makes you spend the money that you don't have, Iyer added.
The primary purpose of a vacation is to create happy memories and not to create a permanent reminder of your financial mistakes.
