Now things are opening up again, many of us are thinking about getting away for a holiday. Here are some tips to help you budget for your trip whether you’re going solo, with friends or family.
Set your holiday money aside
You might have already been able to save money over the past months, but now things like restaurants, pubs, cinemas and theatres are open again, your savings could have started to take a hit.
If you want to go away, it’s a good idea to keep some savings specifically for your holiday. Our saving Spaces feature, where you can set money aside from your main account in a virtual piggybank, can help you do just that.
Simply set up a saving Space, label it ‘Holiday fund’ (or whatever you like) and add in that photo of Brighton, Edinburgh, the Yorkshire Dales or perhaps somewhere overseas, as inspiration. Having the money separate from your main account should mean you’re less likely to dip into it for other things.
How much will you spend on holiday?
So you’ve saved some money for a holiday, great job! Now you need to work on the details. Talk through the trip with anyone else you’re going with, and do some planning and research into what you want to do and places to stay. Make a list of the possible expenses, such as train tickets, car hire, accommodation, meals out, excursions and travel insurance.
Going through your holiday plans can give an idea of where you can afford to go, for how long, and the kinds of things you’ll be able to do when you get there. It’s also a great chance to look for any online discounts for booking tickets in advance. Make sure you only book tickets from trustworthy websites - the Trustpilot site can be worth a visit to help you decide on that.
If you have kids, why not go through the holiday plans with them? You could use your chats about holiday activities as teaching moments around money.
Give yourself a daily spending limit
Once you have a trip budget, work out how much money there is to spend each day.
Of course the daily spend can be flexible – one day you might be going for a long walk and picnicking by the beach and the next day, exploring a new village or town, going to a waterpark or eating out. But having a rough idea before you go away can help you stick to your overall budget and not overspend.
If you have children and they have Starling Kite, a debit card for kids, you could choose to allocate them some holiday spending money though the Starling app.
Write a packing list
Hands up if you’ve ever got to wherever you’re staying and had to buy a new phone charger, sun cream or shampoo? Making a list of everything you need to take away on holiday can help save you having to buy duplicates of stuff you accidentally leave behind. A bit of forward planning can help prevent those emergency buys from eating into your holiday budget.
Track your spending
With the Starling app’s Spending Insights feature, you can easily keep track of all your holiday spending, whether it’s fish and chips on the seafront or adventure park tickets. The app shows you how much you’ve spent, where and on what, so you’ll know if you’re on budget.