As a hard worker, you know how important it is to keep control of your mental health. Vacations are a great way to reset your psyche and get the much-needed rest that you need. All vacations are beneficial, whether they’re at a campsite, in an exotic country, or just staying in your own town and relaxing. The only difference is that you need to budget for the time off. You need to manage your money in a way that leaves you with a nice nest egg for when you go on your journey. These are some tips for budgeting for your mental health break.
Table of Contents
Enjoy Your Time Off Without Worry
The whole point of taking a vacation is to eliminate worry. For that reason, you must allow yourself to take a vacation shamelessly. Set a date in advance of when you intend to take your vacation. Stick to that date and start preparing for it by earning extra money. You could pick up extra hours at your current job or search for another opportunity at an entirely different second job.
Not only do you need to budget money but you also need to budget headspace. In order for a vacation to truly be a mental health break, you need to do just that- take a break and stop thinking about work or whatever is worrying you. Take this time to do things that bring you joy and vow to not check your work email or anything that could potentially pull you back to a place of stress. Use this time to catch up on sleep, practice a hobby you enjoy, or explore a new place.
Separate Your Vacation Funds From the Rest
You should separate all of your money long before you go on your vacation. Your trip should have its own separate bank account. Commit yourself to putting money into that fund every time you get paid. The key to being successful when you’re budgeting is to make sure that you don’t over-save. Over-saving is putting more money into the account than you can handle. Calculate your disposable income and make sure that you have enough left each week to pay all of your bills and still be comfortable afterward.
If you can’t quite afford the Paris-vacation of your dreams. Consider locations closer to your home. Remember, a mental health break can come in all sorts of forms. Search for nearby national parks or a nice affordable resort you can drive to easily. Even if all you can afford is to lounge by your pool for a few days, be sure to treat yourself to something nice you wouldn’t normally get or do for yourself. You can even use this time to pick up a new hobby or try that restaurant you’ve been thinking about for so long. Little things you do for yourself go a long way to improve your overall mental health. You don’t have to break the bank to have a nice vacation.
Set Up Automatic Deposits
Sometimes, it’s hard to save money when you have to do everything manually. For that reason, you need to set up automatic deposits of your funds. Your employer will most likely give you the option to put money into at least two separate accounts. We recommend putting $50 a pay cycle into your vacation fund and having it automatically deducted from your paycheck. It’s less likely that you’ll miss an automatic deduction. It’ll just come out before you get a chance to see it, and your getaway fund will grow immensely. Direct deposits into savings accounts are great for helping you put away money for all sorts of life events, planned or otherwise, and not go into debt.
Cut Down Your Other Expenses
You’re going to need to create surpluses of money if you expect to put money away each week. You can do this by cutting your costs in other areas of your life. For example, you can sign up for a less expensive smartphone plan that won’t cost you as much money as the one you now have. You could also review your car insurance and other bills, such as your cable bill, to skim some of the costs off of those payments.
Even small things like switching from Starbucks to making coffee at home can go a long way to cutting your monthly costs. You’ll notice that the more you save, the less stress you have because you suddenly have some excess savings that you can use for whatever you want. With any luck, you’ll create a huge enough gap to fill your vacation bank account nicely and support your own trip.
Check for Trip Discounts
Budgeting doesn’t just involve your household bills and the practices you use to save money. It also includes getting discounts on the activities you want to do. For example, you can get huge discounts on PA campsites and other events during certain times of the year if you choose to go at those times. You can also get breaks on your hotel stays and car rentals if you take advantage of promotions, coupon codes, and discounts. Furthermore, you can find cheap parking by using a comparison tool. There are many ways to put yourself in a good position for vacation.
Looking for discounted trips can also help you think of creative ideas for your vacation that you may not have considered before. You can find discounted rates for hotels in cities you’ve never been to, as well as package trip deals to foreign countries or even major cities in your own country you haven’t explored yet. Even small things for staycations in your own town like a discount for a local spa or theme park can afford you a great mental health break.
Halt the Credit Card Use
The last thing you need to do is rack up credit card bills while you’re saving for a vacation. That’s why it’s important for you to cut down your credit card use. Don’t make any frivolous purchases with your cards. Use your own money to buy items that you desire to buy. You will have plenty of money left for your vacation if you spend wisely and avoid overextending your credit cards. We promise you that you’ll enjoy yourself even more than way.
Another reason why you’ll want to halt your credit card usage is that if you go on an expensive vacation with your credit cards as your safety net and source of funds, you may find yourself paying off the trip for months to come. The last thing you want when you come out of a mental health break is more financial stress because of it. This time should be for your mental and physical health and should not ultimately cause you more stress than before. Sticking to your budget and carrying cash for the trip will go a long way to help you avoid relying on credit card companies and accruing more debt.
Now you know some ways to budget before you take a trip or excursion. Follow these guidelines, and you should see significant results in less than one month. Keep following your own rules until it’s time for you and your family to take that mental health break.
