How to Pay Cash for a $9,000 Vacation

As they say, money talks. So, let's talk about a pain-free way to save money so you can pay cash for your next vacation. You pick the vacation. Let EHow show you how to do it. The premise: Money is a tool. If you watch your pennies and manage your cash, you can save thousands of dollars each year. That's money you can put directly into your "fun money vacation" account. Here are just some ideas.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Brown bag it to lunch rather than eat out two days a week. Potential savings estimate: $20 per week
2. Dine out twice a week rather than four times. Estimated potential savings: $40 per week.
3. Rent a DVD once a week rather than see a movie in the theater. Estimated potential savings: $10 per week.
4. Put away credit cards and use only cash. (No debit cards either.) The premise: Except for emergencies and big-ticket items, if you can't afford to pay cash, you can't afford to buy it! Plus, using cash only cuts way back on impulse spending. Estimated potential savings: $50 a week.
5. Make one planned trip to the ATM machine a week. This forces you to think through every expense and make choices about how to spend your money. Estimated potential savings: $40 a week.
6. Shop with a list, whether at the grocery store or the mall. Know what you want to buy before you leave home. Stand firm against impulse buys. Potential estimated savings at the grocery: $20 a week.
7. Estimate your total potential savings. On the above steps alone, you could be saving approximately $180 per week. That works out to $756 per month (based on a 4.2 week average month), or $9,072 a year!
8. Plan your vacation and have a ball.

Tips & Warnings

• Set up a budget, also known as a spending plan, to help you manage your money.
• These savings are for two people.
• Savings will differ depending on where you live. A reasonable meal out in Madison, Wisconsin, may come to $15 per person; in Boston, it could be double that.