3621: How Do You Take a Vacation While Paying Off Debt? by Laurie Sepulveda with Women Who Money

[00:00:00] Heat up your 4th of July at The Home Depot with our wide variety of grills under $300 and make every gathering one to remember. Give your outdoor space a glow up. Whatever your budget is, the savings on seasonal plants starting at $5. With the grill fired up and your backyard set to perfection, you'll be able to invite friends and family over to kick off the party. Start celebrating with low prices guaranteed at The Home Depot. Prices may vary by store. Exclusions apply. See home depot.com slash price match for details.

[00:00:30] This is Optimal Finance Daily. How Do You Take a Vacation While Paying Off Debt by Laurie Sepulveda with WomenWhoMoney.com Are you in the middle of paying down debt? Great job! Starting is the hardest part. Once you've decided to pay off your debt, it may feel like you want to put every spare penny towards your goal. But paying down debt can take a while, especially if you have a lot to pay. So it's important to allow yourself some funds so you don't get burned out.

[00:00:59] If you've got months or years to go on your debt repayment journey, planning a vacation might be the motivation you need to keep saving as you continue paying down your debt month after month. Even though it can slow down your debt repayment, spending a small amount of money on a vacation while paying down debt might just be the mental motivation you need to push through and pay everything off.

[00:01:21] The crucial steps are budgeting for it and paying cash for it. When you're changing your money habits, planning for vacations will look a little different. If you'd like to take a vacation while you're still in the middle of tackling your debt, here are some essential things to consider. Taking a Vacation While Paying Down Debt First, be honest about where you are in your debt payoff journey. Have you just started tackling your high interest credit card debt?

[00:01:49] If so, now's probably not the time to plan a trip. Once you've got your high interest debt paid off, generally 10% interest and above would be considered high interest loans. And you're just working on paying off lower interest student loan or car debt, then it's probably okay to start planning a trip. Number one, budget for it. It's vital to plan for and save up cash for your vacation while paying down debt.

[00:02:16] Remember, you're getting rid of debt, not adding to it. Once you've decided where to go, do some online research. Determine the approximate costs for hotels, transportation, sightseeing excursions, and food. And don't forget about spending money. This rough vacation budget will tell you how much you need to save in your vacation sinking fund. Be realistic about costs.

[00:02:41] It's probably unrealistic to budget $0 for eating out during your vacation. Make sure your budget has room for some fun excursions, special treats, or other novelty experiences your family doesn't usually get to experience. If you've already got a firm idea of when you'd like to go, like next summer, then you know how long you have until then. And you can break up the cost into a monthly savings goal, like $50 a month for 12 months or $600.

[00:03:10] If you're not sure when you'll take the vacation, ask yourself how much you can realistically afford to save. And then put away that amount of money each month. Make sure you wait until you have your entire estimated budget saved up before you take your trip. That way, you won't have any regrets when you get home, just the fun memories you made. Number two, keep it affordable. Remember, one of the best things about a vacation is experiencing new places for the first time.

[00:03:39] Do some research and consider places within driving distance of your home you've never seen. A staycation is often a great experience at an affordable price. Are there any national parks in your area? Is there a nearby city you've never explored? You may find some local vacation options ticking all of your boxes, like a water park not too far away or a camping site you've always wanted to try. Traveling is about seeing new places and changing up your routine,

[00:04:07] and feeding your need for novelty and adventure. Vacations don't have to be some far-flung island to make us happy and fulfilled. Friends and neighbors are great to ask for ideas. Many times they'll point you in the direction of resources or vacations you might never consider otherwise. You may even be able to find a low-cost house to rent or a camper to borrow this way. For lodging, try Airbnb or a discount hotel finder like Kayak.

[00:04:36] Airbnb units allow you a lot more lodging options, such as apartments and private rooms. Kayak is an excellent tool for getting the best hotel price. If you're flying, try out services like Scott's Cheap Flights. This website sends airline deals several times a day. So if you're flexible with your location, you can score a great deal on tickets. And number three, consider the food. One of the highest costs of a vacation is the expense of food.

[00:05:04] If you can eliminate most of that cost, your vacation can be much more affordable. If you're driving, pack a cooler or picnic basket filled with snacks and drinks. Then you won't be tempted to stop on the way for convenient snacks, and you'll have healthy snack food with you during your trip. Many houses and apartments for rent through Airbnb have kitchens, so you can cook your own food. Sometimes going to a different grocery store and picking out new items is as fun as going out to eat.

[00:05:32] You can also plan to eat your biggest meal for lunch at a restaurant, when prices are generally much lower, and eat breakfast or dinner in your room. Vacation smart while paying down debt. Remember, paying off a considerable amount of debt can take years. That doesn't mean you can't have any fun along the way. It's important to make sure if you do plan a vacation, you budget and save for it. Stretch your vacation dollars and find affordable options.

[00:06:01] And then make some memories guilt-free. You just listened to the post titled, How Do You Take a Vacation While Paying Off Debt? By Laurie Sepulveda with WomenWhoMoney.com Most of us have a clear picture of how work should get done, and almost no visibility into how it's actually happening. We've all sat in meetings where decisions about what to fix or automate can come down to gut feel, because nobody had real numbers.

[00:06:30] And the traditional fix, interviews and months of process mapping, is outdated before it's finished. That's exactly what today's sponsor, Scribe, was built to solve. Scribe Optimize passively captures how your team works across approved business apps, following workflows even when they jump between tools, and turns it into a live dashboard. Not last quarter's report, but what's happening right now. It automatically surfaces your biggest inefficiencies

[00:06:56] and gives AI-powered recommendations with estimated time savings built in. And user-level data is anonymized by default, with sensitive info redacted, and never leaving your firewall. That kind of visibility used to take months. Now it's just always on. To see Optimize in action, visit scribe.how slash OFD, and mention OFD for a 30-day risk-free trial. That's S-C-R-I-B-E dot how slash OFD.

[00:07:26] When it's summer, I like to think about vacation, not stress over the prices. And that peace of mind comes from getting my finances organized, so I can actually enjoy the season knowing my money's handled. Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything. Accounts, investments, savings goals, and spending. Get your first year of Monarch Core for half off, just $50, with promo code OPTIMAL.

[00:07:53] Monarch monitors your money so you don't have to. And their weekly AI recap can even catch a spending spike before it becomes a problem. It's like having a financial advisor in your pocket. Plus, I can ask the AI assistant anything, like can I afford this vacation without touching my savings? And get a real answer. Even checking if my spending has gone up or if it's just inflation. Use code OPTIMAL at Monarch.com

[00:08:20] to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50. That's 50% off your first year at Monarch.com with code OPTIMAL. When I was getting out of credit card debt, I treated it like my hair was on fire, so I don't recall taking any vacations. But in general, the point of a vacation is to change up your scenery and take a break from your normal day-to-day. This doesn't have to cost a lot of money. When you're resourceful and creative,

[00:08:49] you'll be amazed at the ways you figure out how to cut costs. I'm also a big fan of staying with new friends or friends of friends when I'm traveling. Yes, this is a way to save money, but I look at that as a secondary benefit. When you stay with a local, you get insider information on the best things to see, the best places to eat, etc. And you get to have fun getting to know someone new. Some of my best memories exploring a new place were driven by the people I was with.

[00:09:19] I'm reminded of a long weekend I spent in San Diego. It was my first time there, and I stayed with a friend of a friend who I've never met before. This sweet couple and their young daughter were so excited to show me all their favorite spots and show off what they love about their city. They were also incredibly fun, and we laughed a ton. Sure, I could have seen all that stuff on my own, but I suspect I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. Their company made a world of difference in my experience.

[00:09:47] That should do it for today. Have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you for the Wednesday show tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.