Whether you are planning a trip to Disney, New York, France or a road trip, you need to prepare yourself financially. Here are some things to take into consideration: Gas, car rental, highway tolls (if traveling to France for e.g.) Food (restaurants, grocery store) Plane tickets (if flying) Lodging (hotel, bed and breakfast, rentals like vrbo or Airbnb) Here are the steps that I follow. Estimate the cost/amount for each category. Depending on the overall cost of your trip, you may want to start saving 6 months, a year or even two years before your trip. For our family of 6, I typically start saving for a trip abroad 12 to 24 months before our trip. An important step is to dedicate a saving account to vacation savings. Now how do you fill that savings account? Here are some ways that I have saved for our family vacations: Choose a realistic fixed amount that you will be automatically be transferred from your checking to your vacation account every week. You might be only able to do $10 a week or maybe you can transfer $50 a week depending on your finances. Declutter and have a yard sale or sale unwanted items on ebay or Facebook Marketplace. Put a portion of your tax refund aside for vacations Redeem credit card points for a visa giftcard Redeem points for flights or hotel rooms Have a lean week (shop your pantry or challenge yourself to spend less on groceries) and put the difference in your vacation account Add your extra/loose change to a savings jar Encourage yourself with a fun chart that tracks your savings progress, you can do this! Each square can mean $5, $10, whatever helps you feel hopeful and on track! A bientot!