How to budget for a Holiday

Let me ask you a question, If I may? Do you find holidays romantic? Now I am not talking boy girl romance here, I am just talking about the giddy feeling of excitement about everything  from when you to book one, and even the anticipation after you have booked it? I know I do, I know also in the past those feelings have coloured my better judgements .  Now it gets better, I am not talking about our almost obligatory 2 weeks sojourn in foreign lands where we down tools  and just chill out and pretend we don’t have a care in the world, , I am talking about the extra ones, the ones where your friend’s daughter is getting married in some far away exotic land or your besto ( as we fondly call them otherwise known as your BFF) is having her 50th birthday bash in Mauritius.

Are you playing now and paying later?

Now here is the real question? Do you really consider the impact of these on your budget? Or do you apply that rule, you know the one that says You Only Live Once, despite the raging overdraft,  the promise of new front room furniture, you know those  things you said you were going to do or get in your new year’s resolutions?  That my friend is not how to budget for a holiday!   I know, party pooper right? Its just that thing though  its so exciting and we must be there, we love our friend/ sister/ brother  it would be rude not to.  This is where you can potentially end up on the back foot.

But can I really say no?

Like everything else in life we must act with purpose and intention and our attitude to our finances is not excluded from this.  I have done it before, got all excited , booked the holiday, then moaned for ages thet I was broke and that I wanted a new car etc.  Why did I not think of that when I was booking that holiday? Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that going on that holiday was the sole cause of the poor state of my finances at the time, what I am saying is that it was a lack of planning, lack of consideration of my goals for that year and my budget.  Destination birthday parties and weddings are all the rage these days the fad is not going anywhere, so how do I budget for that type of holiday.  Well I know my friends, I know their ages, and I know which ones of them are likely to want to go to abroad for the celebrations, ( not all ) but mostly and the ones that I would actually consider going for.

Things to consider

1. Your purpose yes, you make money to give yourself options etc, not just to make a living. What are your plans, how would this impact them?
2. How much notice was given. ( ok, yes for example I know my BFF was gonna be 50 6months after me, so I was prepared for it) I was not prepared however for another friend who out of the blue was going to Bennidorm . My point here is that you have time to save, and the flights etc will be cheaper  if you book in advance.
3. What other things have cropped up in the immediate past that have impacted your budget, e.g. broken down car,  central heating, important things like that
4. Make a budget for it, save for it, and stick to it.

I would love to hear about all your random holidays and the impact it has had on your budget.  Do let me know in the comments below.

Whatever you do, be kind to yourself and have a fabulous day.

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