We all know travelling can be a costly adventure, with tickets to book, hotels to consider, and your daily expenses building up, the thought of all these expenses can be rather stressful. Despite the fact that we want or even need to take a break, thinking of your overall expenses can be enough to put the whole idea of going on Holiday to a pause. However, if you’re really dedicated to making your next halal trip is a success without breaking the bank, there are a few simple and straightforward tips you can follow to help ease the stress.

At the end of the day, one’s holiday should be about relaxing and enjoying your surroundings. It should not be about having to constantly remind yourself of how much you’re spending and whether or not you’re going to dread the next monthly statement you receive. Travelling on a Budget doesn’t necessarily mean spending as little as possible. In fact, you can actually have a luxury holiday on a budget too. Budgeting is all about knowing how much you’ve allocated for your trip and how much you’re financially able to spend. So, what can you do to prepare yourself and your budget for your trip? We’ve listed down a few tips that you may find handy when planning your next halal holiday.

Research

Once you’ve decided on your holiday destination, it’s now time to get some research done. Whether you’re looking at booking an all-inclusive holiday package or not, making sure you research your host countries currency, exchange rates, and the places you plan on visiting is a must. By doing so you’ll be able to get an idea of how much your budget is worth in their currency, and what their prices are like for various products and services. It’s also a good idea to have a look at restaurants in the area if you plan on eating out a lot. Many restaurants provide online menus with prices which can help you set a budget for each meal. Other places such as landmarks or leisure activities will have websites with ticket or booking prices, another great and easy way to set a budget for your daily expenses depending on what you plan on doing. If you’ll be travelling during your stay, take the time to look at transportation options and possibly how much it would cost to get from A to B. You can never do enough research, and having the extra knowledge will only put you one step ahead when it comes to knowing how much you are likely to spend based on your choice of activities and leisure.

Plan

Just as important as researching, planning ahead of time is a must. If you want to stick to a budget then knowing what you plan on doing is needed. Even if your plans don’t always go 100% to plan, at least you are or were prepared. Say you want to visit a theme park on day 4 of your holiday, think about where your starting point is and how can you get to where you want to go. You can then plan the easiest and cheapest route alongside planning how much you’re likely to need for your day trip. The same goes for eating out, visiting landmarks and shopping centres, taking part in various leisure activities and etc. Having as clear an idea as possible of what you plan to do will help you sort out your finances while also giving you a heads up on how much of a budget you need to prepare. One of the best ways to plan is creating a daily itinerary for your holiday. If you’re planning to stick to a strict schedule, which is advised if you’re only on holiday for a short period of time and/or is planning on exploring as much as possible, then you can create a rough daily budget to give you a better idea of your overall holiday expenses.

Save

We all know it’s easy to say it but hard to do it. Saving sounds easy but that’s not always the cases, however, if you are planning to keep to a budget then you may need to save up for your holiday expenses. If you’ve already done your saving prior to your booking that’s great! But there’s still nothing wrong with saving up a little extra to ensure you’re financially stable for when you return, or simply so you can spend more while on holiday. We commend you calculate a specific amount you can afford to save each month leading up to your holiday. Remember, you going on holiday also means your bank account is going on holiday too. It’s always best to be prepared to ensure an enjoyable holiday and a stress-free return.

Control

Most importantly, CONTROL. If you are on a strict budget and you know your limit, make sure you stick to it. If you’ve followed the above tips you should be all set to enjoy a stress-free and financially friendly holiday without having to worry too much about how much you are spending. However, once you decide to disregard your budget, that’s when possible problems can arise. We suggest you sit down and come up with your maximum limit. This means any amount of money spent over this limit could lead you to enter ‘no man’s land’, a place you won’t want to find yourself in especially after a relaxing holiday.

While no one wants to worry about watching their bank while on holiday, being practical on all occasions in life is necessary. At Serendipity Tailormade we want you to have a blast while you’re on holiday, but at the same time, we want you to return home without a worry in the world. Make the most of your holiday with a few simple steps you can easily follow. It doesn’t cost you anything to be prepared, but it can potentially help you save.