{"id":352451,"date":"2014-12-08T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2014-12-08T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/?p=352451"},"modified":"2022-03-29T21:09:47","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T03:09:47","slug":"how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"shutterstock_108302825\"<\/p>\n

Just about everyone enjoys traveling on vacation. But one thing that\u2019s not enjoyable about vacations is paying off the credit card debts that any kind of travel, whether international, or domestic, racks up on your credit cards. If you can\u2019t pay off the balance in full, you will be paying for that vacation for some time to come in the form of interest and possibly lower credit scores. Thirty percent of your credit score is affected by your credit card balances, with steep drops in scores showing usage above 30% of the credit limits. You can avoid credit card shock by taking a few simple steps that won\u2019t make your vacation any less enjoyable, but will<\/em> keep you from using up all of the available credit on your cards.<\/p>\n

Plan Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the simplest things you can do to keep your vacation expenses down is to plan ahead. If you already know where<\/em> you\u2019re going on your vacation, and when<\/em> it will occur, then book your flight and your hotel as far in advance as you possibly can. Airfares and sometimes hotels get more expensive the closer you get to your departure date.<\/p>\n

Holiday Travel<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a very good idea to avoid traveling around major holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving; those particular holidays are when demand for airline seats is highest, and therefore, the airlines charge their highest fares. SmarterTravel.Com<\/a> can help you track down the best airfares and the cheapest lodgings.<\/p>\n

The same goes for hotel accommodations: if you can make your trip to a popular vacation spot during the off-season, you\u2019ll most likely have an easier time getting a room, and the room rates will be lower. The weather might not be as ideal as it would be during prime vacation season, but you\u2019ll have to deal with smaller crowds, and you may be able to score other deals such as cheaper meals and lower costs for tours and other popular attractions.<\/p>\n

Pack Carefully<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t over pack. Most airlines charge $25 or more per checked in bag each way, and you will be charged extra for overweight bags (most overweight charges occur after 50 pounds.) If you check in two bags, this adds up to $100 extra per round trip. It\u2019s the policy on all major airlines to allow one carry-on bag for free, and one personal item like a purse or briefcase. \u00a0See if you can get away with carry-on baggage alone, especially for short trips.<\/p>\n

In addition to baggage fees, careful packing can save you money: forgetting items can cause you to buy extras of things you already own at home (often at outrageous prices), like shampoo, sunglasses, and sun screen.<\/p>\n

Find the Best Prices for Your Accommodations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

High prices for hotel rooms can quickly annihilate your travel budget if you stay in pricey hotels located in city centers or the most popular destinations. If you want to have an affordable vacation, then shift your paradigm to allow for accommodation alternatives. Think about hostels that take in adults or families, college dormitories are sometimes available for rental during the summer, bed-and-breakfast establishments can be surprisingly affordable, or try housing swaps or renting an apartment if you\u2019re planning to stay anywhere for more than a week. If you want to keep your vacation costs down, it\u2019s important to think outside of the box and consider alternatives to conventional (and increasingly expensive) hotel rooms. Craigslist often offers some great homes for rent in the U.S and there are other great home swapping websites for foreign destinations. Homeaway.com offers great homes for rent in many countries, including the U.S.<\/p>\n

Public Transportation Is the Best Deal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When you arrive at your destination, don\u2019t take a taxi to your hotel. Taxis are expensive, wherever you are. Instead, check on what public transportation is available. In Europe, Japan, Scandinavia and other places, public transportation is mostly state of the art, so you can get to your lodgings easily, and at low cost by taking a train, bus, or subway. If you\u2019re planning on staying for a week, consider getting a weekly pass for the local public transit system.<\/p>\n

Try Buying Food Locally and Eating In<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you dine out for every meal while vacationing can really add up, especially if you\u2019re traveling with a family of four or more. If you\u2019re renting an apartment or staying at a hostel, there will usually be a refrigerator and a kitchen that you can use. Take advantage of that and prepare some of your meals there. It can be fun shopping for fresh produce at local markets, and will give you more of a flavor (no pun intended) of local life. Packing a picnic lunch for your day\u2019s sightseeing can also add to the fun and will ensure that you and your traveling companions are eating healthy, instead of scarfing down overpriced fast food at tourist attractions. It can also be helpful if you\u2019re traveling with small children who are picky eaters and don\u2019t like the local cuisine. You\u2019ll also be surprised at just how much money you can save by employing this one simple trick.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Waste Money on Souvenirs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Another big drain on vacation funds that can lead to overspending is buying souvenirs, things like t-shirts, coffee mugs, toys for the kids, and other items that may be fun to buy on impulse, but will probably wind up just gathering dust in your home once you return. Remember that for most people, having experiences is far more valuable than buying things<\/em>. You\u2019ll be enjoying your memories of your trip far longer than you will that souvenir ashtray from Aruba. It can be tough if you\u2019re traveling with children, especially younger children, who want a toy or T-shirt to help them remember their trip. In that case, get the child to agree ahead of time to only getting one special souvenir. And if the adults simply must get a souvenir, buy a refrigerator magnet or a Christmas ornament, something you\u2019ll actually use that won\u2019t be expensive.<\/p>\n

Plan A Budget\u2014Then Stick With It!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Smart travelers usually have a budget planned for their trip ahead of time, but it\u2019s also a good idea to establish a daily spending limit. Unless you\u2019re going on some kind of all-inclusive travel excursion, it may be a little harder to figure out how much you will need to spend per day. However, there is a free online travel budget application<\/a> available that can help you figure out what you will need to spend per day. If you keep within this limit, you should stay within your budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just about everyone enjoys traveling on vacation. But one thing that\u2019s not enjoyable about vacations is paying off the credit card debts that any kind of travel, whether international, or domestic, racks up on your credit cards. If you can\u2019t pay off the balance in full, you will be paying for that vacation for some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Avoid Overspending on Vacation - CreditRepair.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You can avoid credit card shock by taking a few simple steps that won\u2019t make your vacation any less enjoyable, but will keep you from using up all of the available credit on your cards.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You can avoid credit card shock by taking a few simple steps that won\u2019t make your vacation any less enjoyable, but will keep you from using up all of the available credit on your cards.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CreditRepair.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-08T13:00:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-30T03:09:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/shutterstock_108302825.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristy Welsh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"CreditRepair.com\",\"description\":\"We are the credit repair experts\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/shutterstock_108302825.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/shutterstock_108302825.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/\",\"name\":\"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation - CreditRepair.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-08T13:00:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-30T03:09:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9d17553fca137ac7dd52fdddee3e39d4\"},\"description\":\"You can avoid credit card shock by taking a few simple steps that won\u2019t make your vacation any less enjoyable, but will keep you from using up all of the available credit on your cards.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9d17553fca137ac7dd52fdddee3e39d4\",\"name\":\"Kristy Welsh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa70ee711288ab00d6b5c0cf27ce8c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa70ee711288ab00d6b5c0cf27ce8c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kristy Welsh\"},\"description\":\"So how is geeky Kristy Welsh (former rocket scientist and current software guru) also a credit expert? After being laid off from her career in Aerospace engineering, Welsh served a short stint as a mortgage professional in the early 90s. It was there she first learned how to fix people\u2019s credit in order to get her loans funded. When the Internet, recession and bankruptcy came knocking on her door all at about the same time, she learned web programming, database design and a lot more about credit and debt. As a hobby, and to fill a need in the credit knowledge deficit of the average person, Welsh founded CreditInfoCenter.com in 1997. From daily research and correspondence with the credit and debt challenged, Welsh turned the original 9-page site into a personal finance information powerhouse. In 2001, Welsh published Good Credit is Sexy, a tongue in cheek guide to restoring credit. The book is now in its 4th edition. In November 2013, Welsh retired from CreditInfoCenter.com and was subsequently approached by CreditRepair.com to continue her conversation with the American public regarding all things credit and debt.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/experts\/kristy-welsh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation - CreditRepair.com","description":"You can avoid credit card shock by taking a few simple steps that won\u2019t make your vacation any less enjoyable, but will keep you from using up all of the available credit on your cards.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation","og_description":"You can avoid credit card shock by taking a few simple steps that won\u2019t make your vacation any less enjoyable, but will keep you from using up all of the available credit on your cards.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/","og_site_name":"CreditRepair.com","article_published_time":"2014-12-08T13:00:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-03-30T03:09:47+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/shutterstock_108302825.jpg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kristy Welsh","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/","name":"CreditRepair.com","description":"We are the credit repair experts","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/shutterstock_108302825.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/shutterstock_108302825.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/","name":"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation - CreditRepair.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2014-12-08T13:00:31+00:00","dateModified":"2022-03-30T03:09:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9d17553fca137ac7dd52fdddee3e39d4"},"description":"You can avoid credit card shock by taking a few simple steps that won\u2019t make your vacation any less enjoyable, but will keep you from using up all of the available credit on your cards.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/finance\/how-to-avoid-overspending-on-vacation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Avoid Overspending on Vacation"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9d17553fca137ac7dd52fdddee3e39d4","name":"Kristy Welsh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa70ee711288ab00d6b5c0cf27ce8c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dfa70ee711288ab00d6b5c0cf27ce8c7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kristy Welsh"},"description":"So how is geeky Kristy Welsh (former rocket scientist and current software guru) also a credit expert? After being laid off from her career in Aerospace engineering, Welsh served a short stint as a mortgage professional in the early 90s. It was there she first learned how to fix people\u2019s credit in order to get her loans funded. When the Internet, recession and bankruptcy came knocking on her door all at about the same time, she learned web programming, database design and a lot more about credit and debt. As a hobby, and to fill a need in the credit knowledge deficit of the average person, Welsh founded CreditInfoCenter.com in 1997. From daily research and correspondence with the credit and debt challenged, Welsh turned the original 9-page site into a personal finance information powerhouse. In 2001, Welsh published Good Credit is Sexy, a tongue in cheek guide to restoring credit. The book is now in its 4th edition. In November 2013, Welsh retired from CreditInfoCenter.com and was subsequently approached by CreditRepair.com to continue her conversation with the American public regarding all things credit and debt.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.creditrepair.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/experts\/kristy-welsh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352451"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352451"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354072,"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352451\/revisions\/354072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.creditrepair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}