Travel

6 Steps to Make Your Dream Vacation Actually Happen

Travel Map Planning

Everyone has a dream vacation they’d love to take, but not everyone gets to turn it into a reality. Making your dream vacation happen takes some work, but if you’re willing to do some planning, have some patience, and work hard, you could make it happen sooner than you think. So whether you want to travel to Belize or Antarctica, to help you out, follow these 6 steps to turn your dream vacation into a reality.

Research Your Goal

First up, you’re going to need to do some research. Where do you want to go? When is the best time to go there? What are the average flight costs? What can you expect to pay for a hotel? What do you want to do there? These are just some of the questions you’ll want to get answers to, among others. Take as much time as you need to figure out exactly what it is you want to do, and how much it’s going to cost. The more specific you can get, the better, but remember to leave some wiggle room .

Come Up With a Plan

Next, with your goal in mind, it’s time to start formulating a plan. How much are you going to need in order to pay for this vacation? When would you like to go? Having a specific goal in mind will help you to formulate a plan that you can stick to. When coming up with your plan, look for ways that you can cut some costs in order to make the trip happen sooner. For instance, you could stay at a hostel one night and save on a hotel room, or take a connecting flight rather than a direct. By the end of your planning you should know how much you need to save up each month in order to make your trip happen. Remember to make this a realistic goal, or you’re likely to give up on it.

Start Saving Up

Now that you know how much you need, it’s time to start saving up. A good idea is to open up a separate savings account that is solely for your vacation funds. With this set up, have a set amount taken from your paycheck each week (or month) and deposited directly into the savings account. By having a separate account, you are less likely to touch the money early and use it for something else. In addition, by having the deposits go in automatically, you don’t have to think about your savings, and can just check back in every once in a while to see how much you have.

Bring in Extra Cash

Besides the monthly deposits from your paycheck, you should try to find ways to bring in some extra cash. Doing so will allow you to increase your savings, and bring you one step closer to your dream vacation. There are plenty of ways to bring in some extra money, and it’ll depend on how much time you have, or how much work you want to put in. One great option is to sell things around your home you no longer need. Not only does this bring in more funds, but you get to clean up your home at the same time. You could sell your old clothes on eBay, your old electronics on Craigslist, or even search online for “cash for junk cars” if you have an old car to get rid of. Take a look around your home, see what you can sell, and then start bringing in the money.

Save Up Vacation Days

For those of us with full-time jobs, you likely have a set amount of days each year that you can request off. If your dream vacation is on the horizon, you’ll want to ensure you have enough days saved up. Plan this out in advance, and don’t take any extra days off that you don’t really need. When the time comes to go on your trip, you don’t want to lose your job just so you can go.

Coordinate With Other Members

Finally, most of us don’t travel alone. If you’re going with other people, you’ll need to work with them in order to plan this trip. Find out when they’re free, how much they can afford, and anything else you need to work out. You don’t want to plan out an entire trip, save up enough money for yourself, and then find out the other members can’t make it. Talk about everything in advance, and help them to come up with their own plans if necessary.

If you can do all of the above, you should find yourself slowly creeping towards your dream vacation. Just remember to be patient, and to stick to your plan as best you can. The sacrifice and hard work will be well worth it in the end.

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Daniel Bailey is a full-time content marketer and part-time freelance contributor. He has been helping clients to create brand awareness. When not working, Dan loves to cook food. You can follow him on Twitter.

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