The following article was written by a lady that set her priority to a life of travel. She (Kari Anderson) is using her experiences and knowledge to help us save for that family trip especially in today's economy. I hope it helps you get that family vacation.
MIssion Possible: How to Pay for Your Family Trip
This one takes planning....at least for most of us. You simply must be able
to pay for your tickets and most of your food and lodging along the way,
unless, of course, your going "global-freeloader-style", which means staying
with friends (new or old) or relatives. See:
http://www.globalfreeloaders.com Even then, you'll need some money. How
can you get it?
Our best plan has been to consistently save 10% of all our income.
Faithfully, this goes into a travel fund. Yes, it may do better for
retirement to put this in mutual funds, but we consider travel an investment
in itself. You simply must look at it this way. Travel is an investment.
It's an investment in your family, the vision you put before your children
and an investment in the welfare of mankind. Travel is money in the bank.
Trust me. Go. And take your family. If you can't afford to all go
together (we have seven children), then have one parent go and take one or
two children along.
Other ideas for earning money for a family trip are:
Garage sales. We all have too much junk anyway. I've made as much as $500
on garage sales and never miss the stuff I sold. Usually friends who live
on a busy road will gladly let you use their yard. Having a sale on a busy
road means no advertising and lots of shoppers. Price things to sell.
Save your loose change. You'd be surprised how fast loose change adds up,
especially if you use cash rather than plastic.
Get airmiles from a credit card. Only use your card if you can pay it off
every month. If you can pay it off faithfully, choose a credit card that
gives you air miles, preferably one mile or more for every dollar. Air
miles add up faster than you think. We've flown to Europe free several times
this way, paying only taxes.
Special projects. Car washes, bake sales, house-cleaning, and other
short-term make-money events can all add to your trip savings. Good at
reupholstering? Get several chairs, cover them and sell them.
Sell extra stuff on Ebay. Maybe it's winter or you have no generous friends
on busy streets. From the comfort of your home, you can sell all sorts of
unwanted items on Ebay and make a profit.
Sell old things to antique store owners. I have friends who own an antique
shop and often they buy things from me that I no longer want which they can
sell in their shop.
Sell things at a consignment shop. Some consignment shops sell more than
others, so find one that does a brisk business, find out what sells, and
bring your unwanted items.
If it's a mission trip where you'll be helping people once you get there,
often friends and family are happy to help with a donation.
The key is having a GOAL. Once you have a goal it's normal to start reaching
it.
At any rate, start early to save and scrimp and save and scrimp. You'll be
amazed at how motivating and even fun it can be to say no to activities like
eating in restaurants or going out for a movie and instead save the money
you would have spent for a wanted trip.
It'll pay off when you finally go and can enjoy yourself without the worry
of paying it all back to the credit card company later....ouch.
I often use credit cards when I travel. They're convenient and I love the
air miles I get...BUT I always make sure I've saved up enough cash ahead of
time to pay for the monthly bill.
Family trips are possible!
Bio:
Kari Anderson is mother of seven children and owner of the online pearl
company, http://www.KariPearls.com
Her family has traveled extensively all over the world. See:
http://www.Globe-Hoppers.com
