Great last-minute holiday savings

Wilson Luna

Planning ahead may be the key to finding most cheap holiday deals, but what do you do when you’ve got a sudden urge to hit the road? Even if you’re in a hurry to head off and have a bit of holiday fun, there are options available that could make your trip a whole lot cheaper.

The bags are closed. The car is packed. The kids are buckled in. And then the terrible thought descends … how on earth are you going to afford all this? Okay, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration (at that point you’re probably more worried about the traffic!), but summer’s here and the school holidays are fast approaching – and that means it’s easy to come down with a case of holiday fever, and find you’ve skipped a few of the steps that help ensure your great family getaway doesn’t blow big holes in your family’s budget. Does that mean you have to drop the idea altogether and just spend this year’s break vegging out at home? No way! You might be a little late in the planning stages, but there are always things you can do to make your holiday more affordable. So don’t give up on your family trip: let’s sit down and work out some last-minute savings!

You don’t always have to be the early bird to get the worm
At YFYM we’re usually big on planning ahead … but every now and then a bit of spontaneity can save you a bundle as well. If you’ve got itchy feet but no particular destination in mind, check out sites like www.wotif.com and www.lastminute.com.au to find out what cheap holiday deals are available. You can find a range of reduced-price flights, accommodation and package deals that could help make your surprise destination the best trip you never knew you always wanted. Just make sure you understand all the terms and conditions (deals will probably only be valid within a certain time frame, for instance) before you commit to anything, and make sure that what you’re getting is good value and not merely ‘cheap’. With great deals behind you, you’ll be set to have a great time without the budget worries.

Mum? We’re on our way!
All right, you might not want to show up on the doorstep completely unannounced – but trips to visit friends and relatives are usually pretty easy to arrange, and can have the best saving potential attached. Once you get there you can probably count on getting a free place to stay, since you’ll be able to help prepare and share in the family meals, you’ll significantly reduce your eating costs, and you’ll get to catch up with people you probably don’t get to see much during the year. And if your mum (or Uncle Fred, or your best friend from high school) happens to live near something you’ve always wanted to see – that makes it even better! Just remember that you’ve got to play fair if this is going to work out, and be ready to pull out the sofa bed next year when your friends and family want to camp out at your place.

Ask around
And we don’t just mean chatting with your travel agent! Most travel destinations will be stuffed full of tourist traps, and while there may be one or two that you really want to visit, being taken in by all the hype can mean spending a fortune and missing out on a lot of the things that a place has to offer. Ask the locals what’s worth seeing, where it’s good to eat and what everybody does for fun. The places they’ll point you to will probably be cheaper, better value and give you a more authentic experience.

Taking a trip with the family can be a fun, refreshing experience – and by picking just a couple of cheaper options you can reduce the cost significantly. Saving and planning for your holiday is always a good idea … but if you’ve got a sudden urge to travel, and are interested in saving money, tips like these will show you that there are still plenty of ways to make it work. And now you’ve got that sorted out, you can happily go back to worrying about the traffic!

Author's Biography

Wilson Luna is an author, wealth adviser and founder of Your Family Your Money. Your Family Your Money’s goal is to simplify traditionally complex financial strategies, demystify financial jargon and debunk common financial myths, becoming every family’s first stop for financial advice, information and inspiration.