Planning a trip to Costa Rica has reinvigorated my desire to save more and spend less. I have certain tricks I use to budget and force myself to save for travel and other fun.
How I budget/save for fun and travel:
Keep a change jar. Graham and I paid for our car rental on our wedding trip last year, a Cadillac SUV, with change we put in a jar. If you pay for anything with cash, put some or all of the change into a jar and don’t touch it. It will add up over time. We counted our money at the end of several months and had about $300!
Divide. To make sure I don’t blow all my spending money before my next paycheck, I divide the amount I have by the number of days to give myself a daily allowance. I strive to spend less than the amount daily. If I have cash left over, I transfer it to savings.
Earn rewards. Sometimes I deliberately use my credit card with a rewards program for purchases and then immediately transfer the money from checking to the credit card. I still earn the cash rewards but don’t run up any debt. Cash rewards can go to savings or toward other expenses.
Evaluate your priorities. Cut back on other spending categories to make more room for fun. You likely don’t need to shop as much as you do, and you’ll thank yourself when you’re sitting on a beach somewhere on an amazing vacation.
