How to Stay on Budget during Vacation

Your bags are packed. The weather looks perfect. Your out-of-office message is prepped. But you’re worried about blowing your vacation budget. Before we start planning those perfect vacations, let’s look at some fun facts:

1. Vacation spending is equal to about 2% of the total budgets of all US households annually.
2. More than one in three American travelers plan to go into debt for vacations.
3. According to Bankrate, the average cost of a weekend vacation in the United States for one person in 2025 was $2,268. That’s a 24% increase from 2024.

That’s a hefty chunk of change, and the last thing you want to do is stress over expenses instead of enjoying your well-earned time off. By taking a few simple steps before, during, and after your trip, you can ensure that you return home refreshed and relaxed, instead of biting your nails over the bills.

Don’t Spiral Out of Control

One of the biggest reasons that vacations become extremely expensive is that we all let go of our spending controls when we’re away from home. It’s easy to spend several hundred dollars a day on food and activities when on vacation and not even realize it. There are two ways to keep your spending under control.

Save for Your Trip

If you know you have a vacation coming up, create space in your budget to save for your trip. Even if you can save only $100 from each paycheck ahead of time, saving some is better than saving none. When you leave for your trip, you’ll know exactly how much you saved ahead of time.

We created a basic template to help you start. Please note that this template doesn’t take payments due before the trip into consideration for your monthly savings. For expenses like flights and hotels, you’ll need to pay ahead of time. Here’s the budget template. 

Set an Allowance

Curb your spending by setting a daily food allowance. Or take it one step further and plan out an activity budget before going on vacation. Make sure that you track how much you are planning on spending, and then keep in mind how much you actually are spending, so that you can make real-time changes to stay on budget each day. Feel free to splurge on breakfast or lunch as long as you take it into consideration when planning dinner or other activities that day.

Avoid Fraud and Travel Scams

Don’t pay with wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Wiring money is a favorite of scam artists. Also, do your research and see what others are saying about your vacation booking before you commit. Booking a vacation through a travel agent you or a close friend have used before is a safe option. It is also important to understand that if someone asks you to pay them directly when you are renting through a service, it could be a sign of fraud. Always know who you are paying and that you get documentation of your payment.

Don’t forget you can let us know when you’re going on vacation so we’re aware of transactions that seem out of the ordinary for your account. Here’s how you can set travel notices. 

Lower Your Expenses for Vacation

There are several ways you can lower your expenses for your next trip. One way to save money when traveling is to visit at off-peak times and have flexible travel plans so that you can book closer to when you leave. This tactic can often get you discounts, as places look to book their rooms in advance.

Another important thing is to wait until you arrive to plan all of your activities as you can likely get discounts while you are there. Don’t forget to look for free activities so that you do not spend money on activities every day. Here’s a list of ideas:

• Camping
• Museums
• Self-guided city tour
• National parks

Finally, consider not eating every meal out while on vacation as food can be one of the most expensive costs after lodging and travel expenses. Breakfast is often an easy meal to make in bulk and microwave each morning. Since you aren’t out exploring or relaxing yet, you’ll still be in your room with your food first thing in the morning. If dining out is a necessity for your experience, check out our exclusive membership rewards site to find new discounts each month.

Check Your Accounts When You Return

Using a mixture of cash, credit, and debit cards gets confusing. Do a quick audit when you get back home to check if you went off track. Make sure no unauthorized charges have snuck into your account. If they did, report them as fraud, freeze your card, and order a replacement.

Rebuild Your Savings

Came in under budget? Put that money into your savings account when you return. Spent a little extra? Create a plan for replenishing the extra cash you dipped into, like shifting a fixed amount of your paycheck into your savings each week. Take it as a lesson learned and make sure to re-adjust for your next vacation. Even if you don’t have your next trip planned, you can start saving ahead of time to help cut costs and credit card debt later.

Start Planning Your Next Vacation

Thirty-three percent of Americans left vacation time unused! Having a vacation to look forward to is proven to increase happiness. Start dreaming and planning a destination for your next trip.