I Still Need a Vacation but I Can’t Afford It, So What Am I Going to Do?

I am going to take that vacation!

My last vacation was last summer. After that vacation, I resumed my 40+ hour job and worked like a dog. With a shrink in staff size, the workload doubled, and a vacation seemed almost impossible. It didn’t help that my boss, since COVID-19, has stopped taking vacations.

2023 has been a tough year for me. Hubby joined me in North America first quarter of this year. That move gave our bank accounts a huge beating. When he arrived, he started school shortly after, so we had to maintain our household on a single income, meaning things got tighter.

Then I took ill in the second quarter of the year and was off work. Of course, I lost income, and I did not remember there was employment insurance managed by the government. We lived on savings and then we were in forced vacation mode. I knew I still needed a proper vacation. The ill health was a quiet reminder.

I do not know how many people enjoy vacations where they are almost going bankrupt trying to afford them. I wouldn’t. Despite the discipline of freezing credit card usage, my outstanding balances never seemed to dent in the face of interest rates. Long and short, I couldn’t charge vacation costs on my credit cards. I couldn’t charge it on my debit cards either cos the income in the primary account was for fixed expenses [rent, food, transport].

So what did I do? I had some savings tugged away out of reach. It was more like an emergency fund. I used it to buy a ticket. Of course, I searched the discount websites first. Coincidentally, it took me almost 6 hours to compare various rates from different websites before I settled on a fair price. Mind you, the difference between traveling with a checked suitcase and with none costs just over 200 dollars. I opted for the former. I needed a place to stash gifts for my hosts and their kids.

Then I thought of shopping until the eureka moment came when I remembered I did not have the luxury of funds. So I went into my storage and rummaged and found gift-worthy items I could give out. That exercise took me about 2 hours.

I spent another 2 hours cramping all the gifts into the checked suitcase while I fitted all my clothes into my hand luggage. I could afford to do that cos it’s a short vacation, and I’d be at my sisters’. They can always make up for the shortfall.

My sister had asked me for my itinerary. I told her it was insignificant. I am keeping things simple. All I really want to achieve is to take some time away from the usual and spend some time with them. It is not a shopping/sightseeing trip.

So, key takeaways for a budget trip that is hopefully enjoyable:

You can either save towards an upcoming vacation or have an emergency fund that’ll fund it.

Please scout the discount sites for flights. They aggregate deals, so you can choose the one that suits you best. After I choose a deal, I go to the flight website to buy. From experience, I get the impression that flight companies are easier to deal with than third-party travel agents. [If your experience is different, please let me know in the comments.]

Instead of gift shopping, rummage your house for things in perfect or near-perfect condition. Some of them could double up as gift items.

Finally, spend time with people you would not mind giving your time to. If they are family, you could have the added advantage of cutting costs on hotels and living expenses.

Thanks to Chelsea Marie.