If you've ever thought that going on vacation is completely out of your budget because of bills, debt, or living paycheck to paycheck, this is for you. Let’s walk through a few practical steps that can help make a vacation possible with proper planning.

The first step is deciding where you want to go and how much you're willing to spend. Don’t just say, “I want to go on vacation.” Make it specific. For example: “I want to go to Miami, and I want to spend no more than $800.” That makes the goal realistic and gives you a clear budget to work with. How much of that $800 is going to go towards a flight, hotel, food, fun. Set a realistic goal and destination to help you start properly planning.

When you just throw out there - I want to go on vacation, but you don't have a clear set goal, then it doesn't make you want to save and focus on it. So the next time you want to think about going on vacation, think about setting a destination where you want to go and break down how much of that money you're going to allocate towards the expenses.

Now, once you know that goal, treat it like any other sinking fund. Let’s continue with the $800 example. You know you want to save $800. Now let’s break that down. If you want to save $800 for a Miami vacation over the next six months, that comes out to about $133 per month. If you’re paid bi-weekly, that’s around $67 per paycheck. If you’re paid weekly, it’s about $33 per week.

You can kind of set up how you're going to save for that goal. The next thing you want to do is set yourself up a sinking fund. You can name it for example - travel to Miami. And if 6 months seems unrealistic, you can come up with a new number. Maybe make it 9 months.

But the point is when you break down the numbers this way, it is very much doable that you can save for a vacation.

The next thing is coming up with some extra money. It’s not about cutting back on all your subscriptions and eating rice for 6 months. But start thinking of ways to make the extra money. Is there something you can do around the house? Something you can sell? Start thinking of simple ways to bring in extra money. Could you sell unused items around the house, host a yard sale, babysit, dog sit, or use Facebook Marketplace? Small amounts add up faster than you think.

Lastly, treat your vacation savings like it matters. It’s easy to say, “We’ll do it next year,” but if you keep putting it off, it may never happen. Save with intention and make it part of your budget goals.

And just look at the numbers. Once you break everything down, planning a trip becomes much more realistic. And it doesn’t have to be a huge vacation either. Even a simple weekend getaway can make a big difference. Maybe you and your family hop in the car and take a short road trip to somewhere fun nearby. Sometimes even a small change of scenery can feel so refreshing.