Your Next Family Trip Without Spending Your Life Savings

Going away with your family can be one of the most amazing experiences you can have together, especially if your kids are young. You might be thinking ‘one day’, but let’s face it, your kids aren’t going to be young forever, and they’re certainly not going to want to go on vacations with you when they get into their later teens and they feel like they have better things to be doing. Not all kids and teens are like this of course, but you should still make an effort to get away with your kids while they’re young and you can make amazing memories together!

Here are some pointers that families can use to go away together without spending their life savings:

1. Stay A Little Longer

Staying a little longer in the place you visit might seem counter productive, but it can actually make things much cheaper for you. The longer you stay, the smaller the cost per day tends to be. If you stayed an extra 3 days, or you could even stretch to an extra week, you could have an even better time and save money while you’re at it.

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2. See If You Can Get Family Discounts Online

Have a look online to see if you can find family discounts for the things you know you’re going to want to do. Never just pay on the door (or the gate, whatever) once you get there, as you’ll usually end up spending way more than you need to. You might even get a pass that says the kids stay and eat for free. Booking anything online in advance usually guarantees that you’ll save money, but make sure you’re not packing your itinerary too much, as younger kids will want time to explore and relax at their own pace. You’ll get tired of dragging them from attraction to attraction, too!

3. Research Affordable Accommodation

Staying in affordable accommodation will make a big difference to your budget. Accommodation is one of the most expensive things you’ll have to find. You could rent a house, which will mean having your own privacy, and your own space, although you’ll have to make sure you clean up after yourselves as housekeeping won’t be there to do it for you. You could also look at apartments like https://www.rumah.com/apartemen-dijual/di-area-kalibata-idjk03019 which tend to be cheaper than staying in other kinds of apartments. Make sure you set a realistic budget for your accommodation and stick to it.

Remember, that you might find cheaper accommodation further away from the action, but you’ll need to spend money on transport then, so it’s all swings and roundabouts. Do the maths so you know what’s best for you.

4. Stay Somewhere With A Kitchen

Staying somewhere with a kitchen can mean saving an absolute fortune on food, especially if you’re staying for a week or more. Buying multiple meals and snacks for your family every day will add up and you’ll barely have money left for activities. Even if you just buy the ingredients for cereal in the morning and a sandwich later on, it’s going to really help you to save cash.

5. Know The Right Times To Eat

If you do go to eat out, make sure you know the right times to eat. In some areas, having an early dinner will mean being able to take advantage of lunch time prices. You’ll get a meal of the same size for cheaper! Streetfood is a good option when you’re out exploring. It’s often just as delicious but really cheap. Just make sure the area has a high turnover of people, as the food will be more fresh.

6. Research Free Activities

You don’t have to spend money on activities. Research free activities and figure out what you’ll do. Many museums and galleries can be free, even if it’s just on certain days or at certain times. In some places, things like bike tours are even free. Your family will get some exercise and be able to find your bearings around the area on a bike, all while shown around by an expert. You can’t get much better than that!

7. Pack As Light As Possible

If you can share a few suitcases between you and make the most of carry on bags rather than have a suitcase each, you’ll save so much more money. Fewer bags means spending much less on the things you take with you, so be vigilant. You want to have options, but be serious about what you really need to take and don’t let your kids take their whole toy chest.

8. Travel Out Of Peak Times

If you can stay flexible, travelling out of peak times will always help you to save more money than travelling at the hottest times of year. Plus, you’ll miss getting trampled in crowds of tourists, which is always a good thing! You don’t have to visit in monsoon season or anything, but you should research the best times to visit out of peak season and see what you find.

9. Don’t Worry Too Much About Where You Go

Sometimes, booking very last minute – within a few weeks, or even a few days, could mean saving a lot of money. You want to go somewhere that’s suitable for the kids, but if you don’t worry too much about where you go you could enjoy seriously cheap flights and sometimes accommodation as airlines and companies try to fill last minute spaces up.

10. Always Haggle

If you’re shopping in a foreign space, always haggle. Never pay the marked price for something, as they take haggling pretty seriously in other countries, and you could be missing out on enjoying a brilliant bargain on a cool souvenir. Be polite and kind, but practice your haggling skills and have fun with it. You might even teach your kids a few things.

Are you ready to go and enjoy your next family trip without spending your life savings? Leave your thoughts below!