I don’t know about you guys, but my family starts wishing for our next vacation the second we get home from our last vacation. Having as much time in advance for planning makes it a lot easier to pull together the required funds. About once a year we plan a “big” vacation, and once we’ve got a destination in mind, and a general cost figured out, we start working toward saving the money.

And again, I don’t know about you guys, but my family lives RIGHT up to the edge of its means, every single month. With our paychecks exiting the bank account every bit as quickly as they’re deposited, it’s a challenge to find the wiggle room to set aside money for vacation. Here are five ways to save money every month.

#1 – You were going to spend it anyway, so put it away instead. The next time you plan to drop, say, $50 on dinner at a sit-down restaurant, spend $20 at a fast food joint instead, and put the remaining $30 in an interest-bearing savings account. If you get into the habit of down-scaling your plans and setting the extra money aside, you’ll be shocked at how quickly it adds up.

#2 – Somebody will pay you good money for your stuff. Seriously, you may not have cracked open that junk closet in a while. There’s probably a ton of stuff that you haven’t used in months or years that someone else would be interested in buying. Hold a yard sale, or start up an Ebay account. Don’t be afraid of your local pawn shop, either. You can probably get a better price for your old jewelry than one of those mail-in cash for gold deals, which only give you the melt-down value.

#3 – Get a seasonal part-time job. Just about every department store and retail outlet and mall needs extra help during the holidays. Sure, it’s no fun dealing with a second job if you’re already working full-time (either inside the house or outside of it), but if you keep your vacation goals in mind, it will be less of a hardship to pack up people’s purchases while you’re daydreaming about a tropical island. Just make sure you set that extra paycheck aside into a savings account, rather than letting life whittle it away.

#4 – Make like a squirrel. Got a five burning a hole in your pocket? Stick it in an envelope and shut it away in your dresser. Every time you find yourself with a spare bill – $1, $5, $10, $20 – add it to that envelope. And the coffee can you’ve got sitting in the corner holding your spare change probably has more money in it than you realize. Keep tossing your lint-covered pennies in there, then when the can is full take it to a coin kiosk and exchange it for cash. Then stick that in the envelope in your dresser, too.

#5 – Every time you’re under budget on something, set aside the difference. For instance, I have a monthly budget of $350 for our electricity bill. In the winter, that bill can drop to as little as $150. That’s two hundred dollars that was in our budget that is now free to be wasted… or, put into our vacation savings account. My weekly grocery budget is $150 – sometimes I can come in at around $120. Then I put the extra $30 into the vacation savings.

By employing these simple, relatively pain-free tips, you’ll find yourself well prepared for your vacation when the day finally arrives. Look at us, being all thrifty and responsible!

Photo Credits (in order of appearance):
- “Tropical Beach” by Aaron Escobar on Flickr Creative Commons.
- “In acceptance, there is peace” by Zaqography on Flickr Creative Commons.
- “Serenity Beach at Castaway Cay” by Pikmin on Flickr Creative Commons.

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