I am organized that I plan for things ahead of time. Months and sometimes years ahead of time. Depending on what I am planning for, be it a three week vacation or quitting my job and taking three months off to see the world.
My next big adventure is taking two, possibly, three weeks off from work next year to take my niece to Europe as a graduation present. Mind you, I have to plan this far ahead because I am not paying for one person, but two. So it takes planning and research to know where we are going, how long we will be in each city, how we will get to each place. You get the gist. Transportation, food, hostels, entrance fees, day trips, spending money. Knowing how much I ‘think’ everything will cost will help me know how much to save for a trip of this magnitude.
Budget, for me, is the key to my success in saving for this trip. For any trip I have ever taken. It helps to know the cost of the trip before hand so I can start saving now. So I won’t have to wait until the trip is upon us to start saving. I am not one of those people who can start saving months before the trip in hopes I will have enough for it. I am not one to put most of my trip on a credit card. I like to have as much paid for before I go anywhere.
Plan, research …… for any trip is what helps me not go overbudget. All the trips I have ever taken I end up bringing money home with me. And that is doing everything I want to do on my trips.
I have researched and planned for three weeks as well as two weeks. Depending on how long my boss will let me take off from work to take my niece to Europe. If three weeks, then it’s Dublin (4 days), Paris (4 days), Rome (4 days), Athens (3 days) and Munich (5 days) with a couple of days trips from Munich. If two weeks, then it’s Dublin (4 days), Paris (5 days) and Rome (5 days) with possible day trips from Paris and Rome.
Organization and budget is key to me being able to travel. To continue to travel. Organization since I need to know how long I am travelling for and a general idea of the places I want to see. Budget or the need to stay on budget and save in order to take these trips. Knowing I may need to cut back on some things in order to put money back and stay on target with reaching my goal of having enough money saved for this trip and any trip I take in the future.
Planning …… Research ……. Organization …….. Budget (knowing I can have fun everywhere I go without spending all of my money to do it).
We all have different ways we go about planning and saving for our trips. No way is right or wrong. Just different and they work for each of us. Have fun planning your travels whether they are for a few weeks, months or years.
Happy Travels!
