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Save for a holiday
Step 1: Work out a ballpark travel budget
Blame it on our isolation, but West Aussies love to travel. So where do you want to go? If you work out a ballpark budget, you’ll get a realistic idea of how long you can afford to travel for, and in what style. Costs to consider include:
- Airfares or transport costs
- Accommodation
- Daily meals
- Daily getting around – buses, trains, car hire etc
- Entry fees to sights and activities
- Entertainment costs
- Shopping and souvenirs
- Tipping (mandatory in the USA)
- Visa and passport charges
- Travel insurance
- Phone cards or mobile roaming
- Extra money in case of emergencies
Step 2: Save as much as you can
Find where you can save
You’ll treasure your holiday even more if you’re not paying it off for years to come. Doing a budget will help you identify where you can make savings. A few little sacrifices here soon add up to you having a great time over there.
Supersize your savings
While you’re on a spending diet, you want to fatten up your savings as quickly as possible. That’s where we can help. P&N Bank offers special savings accounts with irresistible interest rates to help you get up, up and away sooner.
Step 3: Booking your holiday
So now you know where and when, its time to get booking. Many people choose to DIY and book online, however, you’ll find most travel agents price match airfares, and if something goes wrong or dates need changing, they’ll handle it for you.
They’ll take care of practicalities like making sure you have the right visas and a valid passport. Plus as they buy in bulk, they can source deals, seats and packages you might not be able to.
A specialist travel agent with on the ground knowledge of your destination can help craft an itinerary you might not have thought of.
Of course for many people half the fun is in the anticipation and planning. If that’s you, Trip Advisor is a tab away.
Tips to booking a bargain
- Travel off peak
- Book well ahead for early bird airfares and room rates
- Book last minute for cruise clearance sales
- Package holidays offer good value and help control costs
- Split accommodation costs by travelling with a friend or partner
- If travelling with the family, renting an apartment can be cheaper than multiple hotel rooms.
Step 4: What's best overseas: cash, cards or a combo?
In general, a mix of cash and cards are your safest option.
It is good to have at least a little local currency on hand when you arrive so you can pay for transport, tips and food on arrival.
Even if you have a credit card, it is worth considering a multi-currency debit card like P&N’s MasterCard Cash Passport.
You can load it up with up to 10 currencies and lock in the exchange rate before you travel, so there are no nasty surprises.
There are no transaction fees on purchases, and you can use it to withdraw cash through any ATM that accepts MasterCard.
Tip
Tell us your travel dates so we know it’s you making all those purchases overseas, and not a card skimmer.
Step 5: Insure you stay safe
The saying goes if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel. From ash clouds, to getting the flu the day you’re supposed to travel, there are a myriad of things big and small that can muck around your travel plans.
With travel insurance you have the security of knowing if the worst happens you’ll have the best outcome.
You’ll also want the Australian government looking out for you. Register with smartraveller.gov.au and they’ll know where to find you in an emergency.
Step 6: & other travel tips
- Create copies of your travel documents and leave them with a trusted friend at home.
- Don’t come home to a horror phone bill – turn off data roaming on your phone. Instead, get a local SIM card or use free wi-fi.
- Save money by hiring a car from the city centre and not the airport.
- Check your passport expiration date – it needs to have at least 6 months validity.