From Happy Healthy Hip Parenting
Since my husband and I both grew up in Minnesota, we tend to travel there at least once a year, if not more. Every summer we head there to spend time at the family lake cabin and this year, for the first time in many years, we’re traveling over the winter break since my boys have off from school and it’s the one time during the school year we can visit with family without work or school schedules to coordinate.
Planning ahead of time for winter travel and holiday travel is essential for saving money and finding the best times to fly on the airlines we love with the non-stop options we prefer requires us to budget monthly to make it all work. Of course, when it comes to a family budget, we tend to get carried away during the month of December since both of our boys and my husband have December birthdays.
Our youngest turns 5 on Christmas Eve and it’s only take me five years to finally get the hang of budgeting throughout the year and even purchasing gifts throughout the year to spread things out and not do so much damage on our checking account balance leading into the holiday season.
Saving Money with the Help of Capital One
If you’re struggling to find ways to save and budget for the New Year, I highly recommend you take some time to sit down with your spouse or accountant, if you have one, and figure out how to cut your expenses, reduce your debt, and budget accordingly so you can feel good about purchasing those airline tickets.
I’ve been a Capital One member for years, and not only does their online savings program allow me to set aside a monthly allowance for myself, but I can manage and monitor my IRA using their Sharebuilder program which is a super easy way to purchase and sell stock and help our family stay invested in our future.
Budget Travel
If you go to the ATM to get cash, here’s a tip on saving those pennies and change that end up in your pocket, at the bottom of your purse, or in the ashtray of your vehicle. Every time I get home from somewhere I’ve spent money, I dig out the change and drop it into our Family Fun Night jar. Even dollar bills, from time to time go in there.
Inevitably, I dig in there when I realize I don’t have cash on hand when running errands, but I’m borrowing money from myself, rather than spending more money and the coins tend to pile up pretty quickly without doing too much damage on our balance.
Capital One makes it super easy to use this technique with their Savings plan as well. Each month, I set aside a dollar amount that automatically gets deposited into my account. Since I get paid on the last day of each month, I have them deduct $100 on the first day of the new month to set aside in my checking account.
At the end of the year, I either have $1,200 to spend on holiday gifts, emergency money to put into major car repairs, unexpected health costs, or to apply to our holiday travel fund.
A great lesson I learned from my father that I feel good about doing is giving myself a raise each year. I remember setting aside just $20 a month years back, increasing it to $25 and next year, for 2016, I hope to be able to set aside at least $150 each month (besides the investing I do with my IRA).
If you’re able to give yourself a raise each year, even if it’s in $5 increments, you’ll start to realize how much that can add up and can make or break your holiday spending or vacation fund when you need to get away.
360 Savings from Capital One offers no fees, no minimums and provides great interest rates that help consumers get to their savings goals faster.
The ‘Automatic Savings Plan’ tool allows users to maximize their savings by having a fixed amount of money regularly transferred from their linked checking account to their online savings account, giving them a higher interest rate.
Venture Miles Rewards Credit Card
Having a credit card that earns you points and miles for travel is a huge benefit, especially if you can pay off the monthly payment without incurring any interest. Staying debt-free is something my husband and I are focused on but since there are so many credit cards out there that help you earn points that you can use for travel, it’s hard not to take advantage.
The Capital One Venture Card is a travel rewards credit card offering double miles on every purchase – anywhere, anytime, and without the restrictions commonly found in rewards programs. Cardholders decide when, where and how they want to use their miles. They’re redeemable on any travel-related expense – from flights to hotel stays, cruises and even Uber rides to and from the airport (or anywhere else).
Venture Card enables consumers to travel their way, without being tied to a single airline and without the hassle of advance booking and inconvenient flight times. How’s that for benefits?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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