CINCINNATI — Vacation is supposed to be a time to relax and recharge, but for many people, the financial aftermath can be anything but restful. Al Riddick, president of Game Time Budgeting, says the key to enjoying a trip without regret starts long before you pack your bags.
Riddick said the human brain tends to shift into a different mode once a vacation begins.
"When we're on vacation, our brains actually switch into celebration mode, and when you're celebrating, you get caught up in the emotion of the experience, so we stop paying attention to swiping that card or just say put that on my room," he says.
That emotional spending, he said, often comes with a familiar justification.
"A lot of times we'll say I deserve this while on vacation and there's nothing wrong with that statement as long as you count your money before actually spending it," he says.
The consequences of not doing so can linger long after the tan fades.
"The trip may last a week, but the credit card debt can last for months," he says.
Budget for more than just flights and hotels
Riddick says one of the most common planning mistakes is only accounting for the big-ticket items.
"We're gonna take care of the transportation and the lodging. That's what most people think about, but it's so much bigger than that," Riddick says. "What about the tips for various people bringing you your drinks, what about paying for parking at the airport if you're gonna catch a flight, even things like dog sitting."
He says building a complete budget actually frees travelers to enjoy themselves.
"The plan actually gives you permission to enjoy yourself without guilt," he says. "Because who wants to be on vacation and say I didn't plan correctly, so how am I gonna pay for this when I get back home? Just plan in advance and save yourself some stress."
Build a dedicated travel fund
Riddick says the single biggest mistake travelers make is not setting aside money specifically for travel throughout the year.
"My wife and I, as an example, we dedicate money every month to our travel fund," he says. "So when we get that itch to travel, we don't have to worry about what can we afford this for this particular month. We just look at the travel account balance and then we say, well, for this trip we want to allot x amount of money."
He also recommends including a surprise expense category in every travel budget. On a recent trip to Bonaire, an unexpected entry fee caught him off guard.
"Before we landed, I forgot that typically you have to pay to enter some of these countries. So it was $75 per person," he says. "Now, depending on how you look at it, that's really not that much money, but had you not planned for it, it could throw your whole travel budget out of whack."
The one thing to do right now
For anyone preparing to travel soon, Riddick says the most important step is straightforward.
"Once you establish that travel fund, count your money so that you can see how much money can you actually put towards your travel fund on a month to month basis, because when you don't do that, that's how you end up going on vacations, putting it on a credit card, and coming home, and then you have like maybe thousands of dollars worth of debt and you're gonna hurt yourself even more because now you've bought money at about 20 cents on the dollar," he says.
His advice: review your checking account, determine what you can consistently transfer to a dedicated travel account, and let the savings build.
"By the time you wanna take that trip, the cash is already there,"he says.
This segment originally aired on CINCY LIFESTYLE and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI.
