infographic

Summer Vacation Planning and Saving Tips #Infographic

Summer Vacation Planning and Saving Tips | www.TheHeavyPurse.comOn Monday, I shared some valuable family vacation money lessons you can weave into your next trip together. I’m a huge proponent of finding teachable money moments to help avoid the dreaded money lectures that neither you or your kids enjoy. From personal experience, I know vacations offer plenty of learning opportunities for both parents and kids.

To tie everything together, I asked Tanya to create a fun infographic. Travel is a core family value in our home, so we treat it accordingly and willingly (and happily) save for our vacations. It’s important you figure out where family vacations rank amongst your priorities, so you budget appropriately and make mindful choices.

Being Safe Saves Money and Gives Peace of Mind

We often talk about budgeting and saving for vacations because those are two important ingredients to planning a successful family vacation. But I also want to quickly touch upon another area of great importance — safety. And yes, keeping your family and your home safe is relevant to personal finance because not doing so will have both an emotional and financial impact.

Have a Social Media Vacation Plan

These days everyone seems to be on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and various other social media outlets. We love to share, especially photos and highlights from our vacation. What you need to decide before you leave home is the following:

Not everyone who friends or follows you (or your kids) is someone you know and trust. And unfortunately, some intentionally seek out those who are traveling to do harm. Decide how you want to handle social media on your vacations and lead by example.

Have an Emergency Plan in Place

Most vacations are full of good memories and lots of fun times. But there are occasions when things fall apart and you need to plan for those times. As a parent, my biggest fear is getting separated from my daughters. We keep a very close eye on them when we travel, but as every parent knows — sometimes kids get swallowed up in the crowd. So what do you do? Talk it through with your kids (in a non-frightening way) about what they should do if they get separated from the family. Who they should ask for help. And make sure they have your cell phone number memorized.

Enjoy Some Summer Fun with Your Family

I hope you enjoy my infographic (and please feel free to share it too!) and most importantly — Happy and Safe Travels to You and Your Family!

Summer Vacation Planning and Savings Tips #Infographic | www.TheHeavyPurse.com

How do you save for your summer (or anytime) family vacation? What has been the best vacation you’ve had?

Shannon

June 5, 2015  •  15 Comments  •  infographic

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Comments

  1. Brian @DebtDiscipline
    Friday, June 5th, 2015
    I agree on the safety and social media tips. We tend to let our guard down when heading off on vacation. Important not to forget these tips to avoid coming home to a painful surprise.
    Reply
    • Shannon Ryan
      Sunday, June 7th, 2015
      Absolutely, Brian. Social media can be a lot of fun but we definitely need to mindful about "who" may be listening.
  2. Petrish @ Debt Free Martini
    Friday, June 5th, 2015
    I have adopted the habit of not posting pictures of my vacation during the vacation. I know it takes most of the fun out of it, but I feel safer just doing one long post with selected awesome pictures after the vacation. This way I don't have to worry about the creepy and evil people who try to take advantage of you and your family during your vacation.
    Reply
    • Shannon Ryan
      Sunday, June 7th, 2015
      I tend to post after the fact too, although sometimes I do forget. :) It may not be as "in the moment" but unfortunately there are lots of people looking to take advantage of people on vacations and I'd rather not make it easy for them to do.
  3. Tonya@Budget and the Beach
    Friday, June 5th, 2015
    I like that you mention memorizing numbers because it's too easy in this day and age not to memorize numbers. I used to be great at that as a kid, but I can't even remember my best friend's number now.
    Reply
    • Shannon Ryan
      Sunday, June 7th, 2015
      So true, Tonya! Once upon a time, I had a ton of phone numbers memorized but these days, we just rely on the number we need to be in our contacts. It's important that kids know each of their parent's phone numbers and probably their grandparents too.
  4. Andrew@LivingRichCheaply
    Friday, June 5th, 2015
    Yea, I think posting during and before the vacation is probably not a good idea. You don't want people to know that your house is empty. I'm surprised that shopping is #1 activity during vacations...maybe I'm from NYC but generally, I feel like if I wanted to shop or buy something, I don't need to be on vacation to get it unless it's a souvenir local to the area.
    Reply
    • Shannon Ryan
      Sunday, June 7th, 2015
      I was a bit surprised to see shopping rank so high. I imagine for travelers from smaller cities, in particular, probably look forward to shopping in new stores. I bet, however, they don't spend their entire vacation shopping.
  5. Niomi@Financially Confident
    Friday, June 5th, 2015
    What a great idea--to have a social media vacation plan! I had never thought of that before.

    Also, great infographic! I wish I had your skills!
    Reply
    • Shannon Ryan
      Sunday, June 7th, 2015
      Thanks, Niomi. Social media has become so prevalent in our lives that we need to consider how we utilize when we're on vacation from what we will share to when we turn it off. :) I love the infographic too; Tanya did a great job!
  6. DC @ Young Adult Money
    Friday, June 5th, 2015
    These are great tips! I become more and more conflicted each day about social media on vacations. Thankfully we have a roommate and others who are around while we are gone, but I think it's really important to make sure your home is secure. I can only imagine having kids makes it even more important to have a plan in place - you don't know everything they are sharing.
    Reply
    • Shannon Ryan
      Sunday, June 7th, 2015
      When we went on our Disney Cruise two summers ago, we were fortunate to have a friend visiting so she stayed in our home, which was so nice. Figuring out how to handle social media on vacation can be tough. It's absolutely fun to share in the moment (I know I enjoy seeing people's updates personally) but also making sure that we keep both ourselves and homes safe too.
  7. Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank
    Saturday, June 6th, 2015
    My 4-year-old kid lost during our summer trip. It was like the worst experience ever. We looked around for about 20 minutes until an announcement came in there were such incident. I didn't see this coming and now I am teaching him what to do in this kind situation.
    Reply
    • Shannon Ryan
      Sunday, June 7th, 2015
      Oh, Jayson! I cannot imagine how terrifying that was for you. It's every parent's greatest fear. I'm glad your story had a happy ending and you're teaching him what to do if it ever happens again.
  8. Financial Conversation
    Thursday, June 11th, 2015
    These safety tips are what most people forget about I think. I always have one of my friends come over and get the mail, taking in packages, etc. at different times during the days I'm gone to make it look like someone is still home.
    Reply
Shannon Ryan SHANNON RYAN, CFP®

  • Meet Shannon

    "As a Certified Financial Planner, it is my passion to help individuals and families build a healthy relationship with money. I look forward to helping you raise financially confident kids.” - Shannon Ryan
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