By Chris Peach, OneAZ Credit Union blogger
With summer right around the corner and more of the world slowly starting to reopen, now is the perfect time to start planning for your next family vacation.
However, you may have also noticed the price of just about everything — including your vacation — has skyrocketed.
Never fear, OneAZ Credit Union has you covered with these 5 quick and easy tips when it comes to saving for this summer’s family vacation.
1. Create the Vacation Budget Early
Remember when you went on that fabulous vacation — the one you still look at pictures of today? Do you also remember coming home and then making payments on that same vacation for the next 10 months?
Instead, determine your budget ahead of time and start setting aside cash to have the entire vacation paid for before your family getaway begins.Â
This may cause you to rethink how much you’re willing to spend on your next family vacay, but it still beats the alternative.
2. Be Flexible on Your Dates of Travel
Typically the best days to fly are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
For example, a flight from Phoenix to Miami this summer is $286 round trip per person when leaving on a Wednesday and returning the following Tuesday.Â
If you were to book that same trip from Sunday to Saturday, the price jumps to $471 per person. This is the equivalent of a family of 4 saving $740 by moving from weekend travel to midweek travel!
3. Turo Over Car Rentals
Did you know car rental rates jumped up almost 40% in 2021?Â
Try Turo instead. Turo is the Airbnb of the car rental industry — yes, you rent someone’s personal car from them for your vacation. It may sound crazy, but so did Airbnb when it was first introduced to the world.
4. Airbnb over Hotels
When looking for lodging, you will tend to save more money on an Airbnb or VRBO versus a hotel. Even if at first glance the nightly rate of a hotel looks cheaper, you may still be on the hook for added costs such as resort fees, daily parking fees, and other fees that can make your hotel stay much more expensive.
5. Groupon Your Activities
Wherever you’re traveling, look ahead for Groupons for both activity and dining ideas prior to the start of your family vacation. Not only will you get some great ideas for things to do before you arrive, you may also find great deals which in turn save you a ton of money.
April is Financial Literacy Month, to find a OneAZ branch or speak with someone about your financial goals, visit: www.oneazcu.com.
