How to Plan a Debt-Free Summer Vacation

It’s a cruel, cruel summer for some Americans who want to travel but don’t have the money.

An American Express survey found that families were planning on spending $3,000 to $5,000 on average for their summer vacation plans, but not everyone has that kind of cash lying around.

Instead, some families rely on credit cards to pay for their summer fun and then are faced with a massive bill when it’s over. We spoke to travel experts about what consumers can do before, during and after their summer vacation to make their travels something they fondly remember instead of something they regret financially. Here are the top five tips we found. Put a little aside from each paycheck. “If you have a monthly budget that you live by, configure your budget to include a travel fund,” “Every payday set money aside to go towards your travels.” If you set aside $50 from each paycheck and get paid twice a month, that’s $1,200 saved annually just for travel expenses. Some travel agency’s, offer travel accounts to help travelers preemptively put some cash away. Go all-inclusive. Avoiding debt while actually on vacation can be even harder than avoiding it before you go. Those extras add up, especially if you didn’t budget for them. Several of the experts we spoke to said they recommend budget travelers consider a vacation that can be prepaid like an all-inclusive resort or a cruise. “All-inclusive resort packages are the best way to have a debt-free vacation,” “You can start paying on your vacation about 10 months ahead of time and then when you get to the resort, everything is paid for and you don’t have to have extra money to pay for food, drinks and entertainment when you get there.” Parents might find this especially helpful, since finding family friendly and inexpensive dining options may be quite difficult and you may find yourselves breaking your dining budget relatively early on in a trip. If you go all-inclusive, however, all food and drinks are included in packages for the whole family and it can help take out the guesswork. Use social media to hunt for deals. By following the social media accounts of cruise lines, airlines and rental car companies can also prove fruitful, but it takes time and effort. You’ll need to be dedicated to checking these accounts daily to find the best offers. If you don’t have enough money, wait! Just because you found a great vacation deal using the tips above doesn’t mean you should go if you’re just going to be putting it on credit cards and depleting your savings account. “If you don’t have the money to take the trip you want, wait and save a little longer” sometimes is best, “Coming back to work off a vacation takes some of the joy out of traveling.”