The first step is to think about budgeting your money ahead of time, based on what you’re most hoping to get out of the trip.

1. Visualize that Vacation Photo Album

Think about what’s going in the scrapbook at the end of this trip — and then plan your vacation budget around those images.

• Pictures of you and your loved one holding umbrella drinks poolside?
• Snaps of the kids in front of national monuments or in national parks?
• Or images of your family admiring your newborn?

Once you know what’s most important about the trip to you — relaxation, adventure and learning, family connection — you’re ready to plan for a vacation budget that will help deliver the experiences you’re looking for.

2. Start with the Scenic View

Start with the big picture of the expenses you’ll need to cover in your travel budget. Many are obvious, like transportation to and from your vacation spot, lodging, food, and entertainment. But here are some common expenses which are easy (but hazardous) to forget:

• Expenses before your trip: New luggage? New clothes?
• Home expenses during your trip: House sitting? Pet care?
• Transportation during your trip: Rental car? Public transport? Ferries?
• Common post-trip costs: Photo developing? Shipping souvenirs?

About.com has a handy travel expense worksheet to help you total your travel costs.

3. Meet the Locals

Understand the costs of the key experiences you’re looking forward to.

• If you’re visiting a big theme park, go online to find typical admission costs.
• If you’re traveling to try a famous restaurant, what does Zagat say is the typical tab for two?
• If you’re looking forward to sailing, scuba diving or snorkeling every day at your resort, what do they charge for these extras?

Check out our next post on vacation budgeting for smart ways to save on these big ticket items.

Mint tip: Keep it simple. Just look for details on the 3-4 experiences that are going to be most expensive. You can use your previous travel expenses to estimate a realistic vacation budget for the rest. Just search the Transactions Page in your Mint account using the dates of your last trip, the Travel category, or specific hotel, airlines, etc. for a quick snapshot of what you spent.

4. Choose the Right Road

At this point, most travelers find that their wants exceed their wallet. If you need to make trade-offs, keep in mind the goals you’ve established in Step 1. For example:

• If your primary objective is to visit family, you might be able to stay with them and not pay for lodging. Just plan on buying the clan a nice meal out to thank them for putting you up.

• If your days are going to be packed from morning to night, definitely go for the budget hotel as you won’t be doing much more than sleeping there.

• If you’re intent on seeing every museum and monument in a big city, it may be wise to stay downtown (costing you more) where public transportation is available (saving you rental car and gasoline expenses).

• If your goal is to relax and unwind poolside, on the greens, or in the spa, you might allocate a larger part of your personal budget to pay for a luxurious hotel … but check for packages that include resort activities!

5. Watch the Weather…and Adapt

At this point, you’ve got a realistic travel budget based on your goals, and you’ve made your trade-offs. Your last pre-trip step is to figure out how you’ll keep track of how your actual expenses are mapping to that budget. One option is to add your budget, and track your costs, in the travel journal you’ll keep.

Mint tip: Set up Budgets by category for the month that you’re traveling, and ask for email or SMS text messages when you exceed any of them. You’ll be on top of your spending without having to keep receipts throughout your trip.

By tracking your expenditures as they happen, you can adjust your spending during your trip. If hotel costs turn out to be higher than you expected, for example, you can compensate by spending less on food. Eat at less expensive restaurants, or buy some groceries and have your breakfast on your hotel room balcony and some lunches at a local park.

That’s your roadmap for a great trip — including some great and meaningful adventures, without the stress or surprises of overspending and post-trip regrets.

Have another suggestion for our readers? Are you planning a summer get away using Mint.com? A pair of Mint t-shirts to anyone sending us a postcard from their trip! We’ll be at 280 Hope Street, Mountain View, CA 94041 this summer, building out new features for you while you’re away.

 
 
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The following article is one example of our take on one of issues we care a lot about here at Mint, including: personal finance and debt management, etc. Click here to find many more.

I took advantage of one of those vacation packages offered by a timeshare company. Personal budget management is easier with a free vacation. I had just finished my first year of work and was looking forward to a nice week off. The package included a 2 day stay in Fort Lauderdale, a 3 day cruise, and a 2 day stay in Orlando. I had never been on one of these trips and I had no idea what to expect. I was excited to get away from New York for a while.

On the second day of our arrival, we were loaded on a bus to view one of the properties. It looked nice enough, but I wasn’t really interested in a timeshare at all. During the “sell”, they presented me with various facts and figures in regards to vacation inflation and how I could protect myself if I bought a timeshare now. Not only would I be protecting myself, they said, but I could “bank” my week and vacation almost anywhere else in the world. For one reason or another, I got duped into buying one. They even made me feel better for picking a $14,400 unit as opposed to a $16,900 unit. Whoopdidoo!

My home budget was in for a shock. The interest on the loan was 19.99% and they would bill my credit card — which had already had a balance on it! The monthly amount charged on the card was about $260. I thought that charge was the end of my financial commitment. I was wrong, though: towards the end of the year, I received a bill to pay for real estate taxes as well as maintenance fees, which seemed to have increased every year. My last bill was over $600. Not only that, but today if I want to bank my week and use it someplace else, I have to be a member of a vacation exchange company which has annual fees all unto itself. I also have to plan my vacation nearly a year in advance if I want to go to any remotely popular location.

I’ve paid off the loan (and my credit card) but I am trying to get out of my timeshare. Little did I realize that timeshares are a heavy buyer’s market. My timeshare has been sitting listed at about $4500 and I’m thinking about reducing it again. Next time I take advantage of a “timeshare” marketing ad, I’ll make sure to pass on the sales pitch and most likely will pitch the offer in the garbage.

Mint’s Take Away:

Timeshares are a form of vacation property ownership where the use and costs of running the resort are shared among owners. They can be a suitable purchase for some people and a very poor purchasing decision for many people. It is definitely a purchase consumers should take extra care in, as it can easily be a long term financial commitment! In the story below, our train wreck submitter shares their experiences on buying a timeshare.

Purchasing a timeshare — as with many financial decisions — should require an in-depth research before commitment. If you solely rely on the timeshare salesman’s pitch, you will surely be doing yourself a disservice.

Additional Resources:

• The Pros and Cons of Owning a Timeshare from AskMen.com
  
• Timeshare Pros and Cons at Redweek.com

Train Wreck Tuesdays are a weekly post of horrible financial mistakes. They are posted anonymously. Submit your story; if you’re selected, you get a free personal finance book. The best comment gets the same prize! Check out past Train Wreck stories.

Further reading on personal budget management

• Personal Budget Management
• Create a Personal Budget Online
• Household Budget Software
• Budget Software and Tracking

I’ve always loved to shop, and I think a lot of women and men can identify with the lure of shiny new things. Unfortuantely, I was never one with strong personal budget management skills. While in college and shortly after, I was with a man who made less money then myself.

He’s generally conservative with money; I’m not. I spend frivolously on parties, weekends, nights out, dinner, lunch, new shoes . . . anything. And I write off credit card debt to “Well, my income will just keep going up, so I can afford it!”

So here I sit. I’ve bought a condo and while the market was hot, I took out $28,000 in equity to ‘remodel’ — and, well, I’ve remodeled the bathroom and done some minor fix ups, and I paid down (but not off) my credit card debt.

And I keep spending.

The market has gone flat and my condo is worth about $15,000 less than I owe to my mortgage and equity loan — maybe $11,000 if I’m lucky. I can hardly afford to make my mortgage and association payments. And so I use credit to keep bringing more shiny, new things home.

Things I don’t need have accumulated into another $14,000 in credit card debt. And a $17,000 car loan. And I’m in graduate school, so I have to pay tuition too.

I’m single now and the two of us could hardly afford our lifestyle. Now I’m saddled with debt but hesitant to change my lifestyle drastically to make it better. I like my life. But I don’t sleep many nights because of the stress.

I am a train wreck and I need to find a way out. I struggle, struggle, struggle to pay bills and am now paying off one credit card with another — a sure sign of disaster.

The thing is, I’m making enough money to afford my lifestyle — if only I hadn’t already spent that money before I was making it. Hopefully with Mint’s financial management software, I’ll be able to change and get to a point where I can live a much less stressful life.

Train Wreck Tuesdays are a weekly post of horrible financial mistakes. They are posted anonymously. Submit your story; if you’re selected, you get a free personal finance book. The best comment gets the same prize! Check out past Train Wreck stories here.

Further Reading on Budgeting

• Personal Budget Management
• Household Budget Software
• Personal Expense Management & Software
• Create a Personal Budget Online