Vacation spending has a way of getting out of control quickly. Setting up a budget and sticking to it is the best way to ensure that your vacation spending doesn’t haunt you for the months that follow your trip.

There are several components to your budget you should always take into account, such as transportation, lodging, food, and entertainment. Be sure to include other costs that are also unique to your situation.

These strategies will help you create a vacation budget that works for you:

1. Transportation. Transportation costs include airfare, car rental, gas, and parking. Most of these items are easy to plan for. This is the easiest part of the budget to plan for and stick to. Add up all the known costs and plan accordingly for the likely gas and parking expenses.
2. You’ll probably do an excellent job sticking to your transportation budget, but food can quickly get out of hand. For example, you might eat a bologna sandwich in your hotel room for lunch daily. But if you’re having a good time at the beach or amusement park, you’ll probably grab something there.

• Even though the amusement park, zoos, and other tourist attractions are expensive, consider where you’re most likely to eat and plan your budget accordingly.

3. If you spend all your time at one location, like an amusement park, this category can also be easy to plan for. However, if you’re heading to Miami, for instance, to wing it, entertainment costs can mount up if they don’t figure into your budget.

• Be realistic about how you and your family plan to spend your time. Then, you can get an idea of what you’re likely to spend. You don’t have to follow your plan, but budgeting for the activities you enjoy will help even if you change your plans.

4. Consider the costs of t-shirts, knick-knacks, and anything else you’re likely to buy, and include an estimate in your budget.

Sticking to Your Budget

Try these techniques to stay within your budget while you’re on your trip:

• Keep all your receipts throughout the day and keep a rough running total in your mind. Having a rough idea of what you’re spending will help you from straying too far.
• At the end of each day, check your spending against your budget. Total all your receipts each night and see how you’re doing in each category. If you do this simple measurement each night, you dramatically increase the odds that you’ll stick to your budget.
• If you’re overspending, you’ll know you need to tighten things up. Maybe lunch will have to be at McDonald’s today. Or maybe a day of sightseeing instead of going to a baseball game is in order.
• By the same token, if you’re consistently under-spending relative to your plan, maybe you would enjoy a fancy dinner or more expensive entertainment on occasion.

A vacation budget of \$5,000 may seem like a lot, but as anyone knows, spending money is easy. What seems like plenty of money can run out quickly without some planning and restraint. By making a budget and sticking to it, you’ll find your vacation a lot more enjoyable. You’ll also find that the months after the vacation are much more enjoyable.