How / When Do You Pay For Your Vacation?

[belle&sebastiansmom]

How do you pay for vacations?

Save up every dime and don't book until all monetary aspects of the trip are covered?

Book the trip well in advance (especially if you get a good deal) and save the money in the months leading up to the vacation so that if will all or mostly be paid off by the time you go? Heck, you may have a little to pay when you return, but at least you got a good trip out of it!

Put it on a credit card and worry about paying for it later? Be spontaneous!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We usually charge it to our AMEX to get the coverage protections offered with our level of card and earn the associated credits then just pay it off when we get the bill next month.

I guess you could say we save in advance, but its not really an intentional saving, rather, just part of our normal routine. We don't really set ourselves a fixed budget, we usually have a general idea of what we're willing/going to spend but it's not finite.

 

[mickeyboat]

We usually charge it to our AMEX to get the coverage protections offered with our level of card and earn the associated credits then just pay it off when we get the bill next month.

I guess you could say we save in advance, but its not really an intentional saving, rather, just part of our normal routine. We don't really set ourselves a fixed budget, we usually have a general idea of what we're willing/going to spend but it's not finite.

Us, too. for most things. We don't save for it, but we figure out about how much we are willing to spend and put it on our credit card to pay off the next month.

We have been going to the same resort for several summers now, and for that we pay a 30% deposit in February and send payments throughout the Spring so that it is almost paid off when we go.

Denae

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

I always pay cash, I pay the deposit then call with the total amount a few months out, so I own no one! I like it that way....I use the card just for tow payments, my debit card! I hate and will not pay interest!

 

[KAMLEM]

We put it on our Disney VISA to get the rewards dollars then pay it off immediately, so basically it's like paying cash.

 

[KramBerries]

We keep out liquid savings fairly well stocked for emergencies and big ticket purchases. When it comes time to take a vacation, I pull money back out of that savings to cover and cashflow problems. I don't have a special vacation savings.

As for the actual transactions, they are almost all done via credit cards which are all paid off automatically every month. I prefer to use credit cards because they are convenient, offer fraud protection, and they give me free float. My credit card companies do take a cut, but they force the merchants to spread that cost across all buyers, not just credit card users, so there is not cost to me to use them.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We usually book a trip 12+ months in advance. I pay the required deposit with my Disney Visa and then pay off the charge right away. I then figure out what amount I need to put away each payday to cover the balance of the package and put it in savings every payday (I have a separate "vacation" savings account). I usually pay off the balance a couple weeks before the 45-day due date (just to be safe) with my Disney Visa and pay that charge right away using the money from savings. That way I have no credit card balance and I have the Disney Reward Dollars to use on the trip.

Each payday I also put extra money in savings to cover other expenses of the trip such as airfare or gas, event tickets, spending money, etc.

 

[Piecey]

I charge it.. we pay our cards monthly so if we don't have enough in our bill account to pay for the charges, I pull the money from our vacation account.

The last few vacations we have gone on, though, we haven't had to actually use "vacation" money. We've just been able to pull it from our paychecks. Probably not any more, though.. I'm a SAHM now.

 

[lspst8]

My husband and I have a "vacation fund" savings account set up at ING. A certain amount of money goes in each month, so we have the money in advance of the trip.

I'm actually calling this afternoon to book a beach house in the Outer Banks for May. I'll charge it, but then transfer the money to my checking account so I can pay the credit card in full when the bill comes.

 

[NY Disney fan]

We put it on our Disney VISA to get the rewards dollars then pay it off immediately, so basically it's like paying cash.

Me too. Disney Visa points and then use tax refund or just pay cash as I go.

 

[OK!]

I usually don't book until I have $$ in hand. I just found out about the possibility of a trip to DLR in May and was so excited that I raced out to Walgreens and bought a $100 Disney gift card, thinking I was being smart by having my 1-day park hopper paid for. Of course, I read about 2 hours later than you can also use unused WDW park hoppers there (and I've got a boatload that surfaced after I renewed my AP). So now I guess all of my souvenirs are paid for in advance.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

We have done many things, but prefer to pay for our vacations with my annual bonus...

 

[Pakey]

Part of my compensation package includes a vacation fund at work. We use that for our annual "special" vacation (this year is Egypt). We just pull out of savings for our Disney vacations.

 

[MIGrandma]

We try to put everything we can on the credit card (to get points) but then we pay it off when the bill comes after we get back. We do take some cash for little things, but mostly use the credit card. We always have the money to pay for it though, or we wouldn't go.

If it's a cruise we pay the deposit when we book, usually a year in advance, and then pay the balance off with credit card about a week before the final payment is due, but then again pay off the card when the bill comes.

 

[disykat]

Another vote for paying cash (actually on credit card to get mileage but paid in full each month) or not doing it. I've never gone on a vacation I didn't already have money saved for.

For many years most vacations were spent camping or visiting family. Then for quite a few years we had reasonably nice annual vacation. (though we've always remained budget travelers by preference - the priciest thing we've ever done is when we did DCL) Now, the kids are almost in college so we're back to a tighter budget for a few years. Between the budget and their schedules, vacations will probably be things like a weekend at the beach. When the kids are on their own we anticipate traveling more.

We love to vacation, but make our plans according to the amount of money we have already available. We also tried to balance between visiting extended family and getting our kids out to see the country. (As you can see by my signature, I've only been to Disney 6 times in my life, and my kids have been twice - but we've all been in at least 25 states)

 

[kacaju]

I have an old fashion vacation club account at my bank. I have money directly deposited from our checking account when dh gets paid. The money comes due in March and then it goes into a saving account until we go on vacation