travel advice Archives - 3 Kids and Us

Working out a Budget for your Vacation

May 2, 2018 by admin

Planning a trip away with the family is a very exciting process, and looking forward to the vacation keeps everyone happy and optimistic. What’s not so great is when you return from vacation and have a look at your bank statement, only to see you’ve spent far more money than you thought you would while you were away. It takes the shine off the post-vacation glow and gives you something new to worry about just as you’ve relaxed and de-stressed. To avoid falling into the overspending trap, get your calculator out and create a realistic budget for your trip.

Booking costs

You might want to take a view of how much the entire vacation is costing rather than just deciding what you can afford to spend when you’re out there, in which case you need to have the figures for all the pre-booked costs. The price paid at the time of booking your travel tickets and accommodation won’t change so your figures will be accurate for these costs. Don’t forget taxes and gratuities that may be added to the booking fee, and add in any extras you’ve paid for like excursions or guided tours. There’s also travel insurance, overseas health insurance, car rental, kennelling or house-sitting costs for pets, and the purchase of any equipment or clothing you’re going to need for the trip. If you want to see how much the vacation has cost in total, don’t leave any of these expenses out.

Spending money

To work out how much to allow for expenses while you’re away, first calculate how much you can afford to spend. This means the spare cash you have after all your bills and normal running costs have been taken out, but don’t take it to the wire. If you have $1,000, leave a couple hundred in the bank for emergencies and work out your budget on the $800. Food and drink will be your main cost, and eating out can be an expensive way of feeding yourself on vacation.

Rather than booking a hotel only, compare what it would cost to go all-inclusive and see how much you could save this way. Many travel websites will give you information to help you make comparisons, like Viajacompara hoteles todo incluido en Acapulco, which compares all-inclusive hotel deals in Acapulco.

When you’re calculating food costs, don’t guess – have a look at the kind of prices you’ll be paying at your destination, and find out how you can save money by shopping around. You then need to look at what else you might spend money on, such as tickets for entertainments and trips, drinks, snacks, emergency supplies, sports lessons, souvenirs, gifts for the folks back home, tips, public transport and taxis, and any of the other things you normally spend your money on when you’re away.

You’ll now have a good estimate of how much you’ll be spending, which you can compare to how much you’ve got to spend. If you’re under budget, all’s well. If you’re over budget, you need to look at ways to trim some of the estimated costs. Once you’ve done that, simply divide your total by the number of days you’re away, and you should then have your daily spending budget. Hopefully, barring disasters, you’ll be returning home happy, relaxed, and still solvent!

Going on a family holiday? Here are a few saving tips before leaving

April 17, 2017 by admin

Having a family – even a big one shouldn’t stop you from going on a grand holiday vacation abroad. It may need by one of your household’s biggest expense, but odds are it’s the expense you’re willing to make.

Family vacations are an investment to emotion as much as money, and they should be since us parents only have a short time to create meaningful vacation memories for our kids.

If you’re looking for the best destination or the perfect travel money card to use for your spending abroad, it’s important to do a lot of research. There’s a plethora of information online for your disposal, in fact, a single hour of research on a good resource can prepare you for almost any mishap you might encounter when travelling with your entire family abroad.

With that in mind, here are a couple of tips to help you maximise your spending dollar.

Plan your trip’s timing. Timing plays a huge role in travel. Try to fly during less desirable season or times, such as midweek or late at night for instance. Take advantage of flexible-travel-date search option when booking online. This lets you compare fares for dates a few days on either side of your chosen date.

Take advantage of shoulder season. This is the time between peak and off-peak. This differs depending on your chosen travel location For Walt Disney World, for instance, the shoulders are May and September where crowds are thinner.

Rent a house instead of a hotel. Consider vacationing with friends or relatives for even bigger bang for your house-rental buck. The per-family cost of allotting a larger rental house is normally lower and you often get more house for your money. You can save even more by sharing the cost of groceries, and had a lot of fun making meals together.

Find deals. Use group-buying websites like Living Social or Groupon to located discounts and deals for the city you want to visit. Likewise, check out the website of your destination’s local magazine/newspaper and look for deals and discounts, often grouped in a special area of the site. Local maps and fliers also often have discount coupons for famous tourist activities and attractions.

Utilise technology. Before travelling, download apps such as GasBuddy to locate nearby gas, Roadtrippers to see sites along a route, Yelp for local restaurants, and hotels.com to get last minute rooms. Also, using Facebook, you can swiftly gather suggestions from friends or other people about favourite/famous hotels, restaurants, or attractions in the area you want to visit, thus growing your odds that what you decide to spend money on will be worth it.

Make use of travel money card. If you want to secure your spending, then a travel money card is your perfect companion. It allows you to lock in exchange rates, save on fees and charges, plus it can be used in over 36 million locations worldwide. You can also withdraw cash at an ATM, use in-store, online or over the phone. You can use

End Note

It’s amazing how much you can save just by applying a couple of tips without sacrificing fun. Keep searching online or try your destination’s local website to find cool activities and even deals. Have fun travelling with the family in tow!

Young Families and Travel: Top Tips to Share Your Adventurous Side with Your Kids

February 14, 2017 by admin

Source

With the average modern-day family having 2.4 children (basically, two kids!), life can be pretty hectic. Especially during your kids’ younger years if they’re very close in age, juggling the stresses of modern life in addition to looking after your children is likely to take up the majority of your time and money.

By the time children reach two years of age, parents spend an average of $12,500 per year. Therefore, traveling or taking family vacations are likely to be the last thing on your mind. But, if you yearn for adventure but feel held back by your kids, there’s no need to be! There are plenty of ways families can travel without earning a fortune; you just need to be sensible and follow the tips you’re about to read.

Budget and prioritize

When raising a family, your kids will always come first – and that’s totally normal. You should never prioritize traveling and vacations over your kids’ welfare, but there are plenty of other factors you can put aside to make saving more of a priority.

If you like to regularly go out for family meals, try planning meals at home and even encourage your kids to help out! Not only will this provide a perfect opportunity to save money, but will also get your kids involved too. Even if eating out isn’t your thing, there’s bound to be some form of luxury you and your family regularly do that isn’t wholly necessary – establish what your weakness is and come up with a cheaper alternative.

Many families also experience debt, especially if kids are born close together. If you’re victim of debt, it’s vital to accept it and take expert advice to help consolidate your debt as quickly as possible so you can fully focus on family travel.

Research deals

If money is still tight even after attempting to save, put some time aside to research vacation deals that suit your budget. The best way to identify whether something really is a good deal or not, is to figure out what the normal cost of your desired trip would cost. Then, if you spot a deal, you’ll know whether it’s worth taking or not!

Often, deals you may come across online aren’t all their cracked up to be so make sure you’re in-the-know before you hand over your money.

Be flexible

This may not be suitable for some families for obvious reasons but, when wanting to travel cheaply, being flexible is key. Typically, school holidays are the most expensive times to travel so, as long as you’re happy taking your kids out of school for the duration of your trip, you’re almost guaranteed to save serious money!

Just because you have kids, this doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to vacations and traveling forever. As long as you’re sensible with any existing debt and do the right research, there are plenty of methods you can start using right away to book your cheapest trip yet.

Changing the Clock: How to Help Your Baby Prepare for a Difference in Time Zones

February 1, 2017 by admin

With one in four families not taking vacations because they’re worried about stress and any issues that could arise, it would make sense to assume that jet lag symptoms are one of the primary reasons for this.

However, with only one in four families choosing to avoid vacations, that leaves three in four still opting to travel. Therefore, plenty of babies are likely to suffer from jet lag just as much as the rest of the family. So, if you have a baby and planning a family trip abroad, it’s essential to prepare your baby as much as possible for any time differences they may experience. Read on to discover how to make time adjustments a whole lot easier for both you and your baby.

Make your first day all about your baby

When you first arrive at your new destination, the only thing likely to be on your mind is exploring your new surroundings and getting stuck in with the fun activities on offer. But you might have to delay all that, as a great way to establish the most appropriate schedule for your baby is to make the first day all about your baby.

Slowly integrate them into your new place to help them become accommodated to their surroundings and become comfortable. Then, you can use this time to analyze their behavior and establish a new sleeping schedule that suits both their temperament and your new time zone. Once you’ve come up with the best routine possible, it’s vital to keep things consistent so you don’t confuse your baby.

Plan ahead

In addition to adapting your schedule when you arrive, it’s essential to get things started before you even go. Investigate what your new time zone will entail, and shift your baby’s routine to suit this at least a few days before you’re set to travel. This way, your baby’s schedule will already be tailored to your new time zone before you even get there, and is likely to make the whole adjustment period easier for everyone.

But, when doing this, it’s essential to adjust your baby’s schedule in small increments as opposed to all at once. Keeping your chosen increments consistent is vital, so utilizing the innovative features of this Android alarm clock app is guaranteed to keep your timings consistent and on-track.

Keep your baby active

Engaging your baby with fun activities in the fresh air is a sure-fire way to increase the likelihood of your baby sleeping when the time comes. Occupying your baby during the day will induce sleepiness – an active baby almost always ends up a tired baby!

Jet lag and time changes can be difficult for everyone of all ages but, for babies who are too young to understand what’s going on, it can wreak havoc on their routines. Therefore, to ensure your trip is as fun as possible, preparing beforehand and accommodating your baby’s new routine straight away are sure-fire methods for a hassle-free vacation.

Victoria Norris is an Army Wife who is completely used to the lifestyle after being raised an Army ‘Brat’ too! She is a Mother to a 6-month-old and a 6-year-old and enjoys showing her kids the cultures of the world.