Highlights
- Save on accommodation by watching out for promos and booking during off-peak months.
- Transport costs can be divided amongst friends if you decide to holiday together.
- While you can cut down on food costs by bringing and cooking your own meals, allocate a budget so you can also enjoy the food of the area you're visiting.
'May PERAan' is SBS Filipino's new podcast series which features financial experts seeking to answer the most common questions about money and finances.
"Failing to plan is planning to fail. This is applicable to travelling," financial expert Jerry O' Brien shares.
According to Jerry, planning for a holiday means taking into account these five main considerations - accommodation, transport, food, your itinerary and unexpected costs.
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1. Accommodation
Although accommodation from sites such as AirBNB can be less expensive, Jerry says that it's advisable to look out for hotel promos when planning for a holiday.
"Utilise booking sites and compare deals, he says.
Peak season booking will tend to be more expensive than off-peak.
"Also, this particular industry has been hammered down by lockdowns, so it's possible that prices increase for accommodation in order to make up for losses.
Jerry shares that going on trips with friends will allow you to take up accommodation at a cheaper price.
"What our friends and I do is we rent a whole house and divide the cost amongst ourselves."
2. Transport
You can also cut transport costs when going on trips with friends.
"You can rent one vehicle to share with friends. This makes the trip even more fun."
3. Food
"The obvious way to cut costs is to bring food you can eat or cook; but it's also important to try the food the place has to offer," Jerry says.
Jerry says that it would be wise to have an allocated budget for eating out as well.
4. Sights and itinerary
"Follow travel bloggers and vloggers to see nice places to visit. It'll help you figure out which places suit your family."
5. Unexpected costs
"While you may know how much you'll be spending on your trip, make sure you have an emergency buffer you can dip into - just in case."
Unexpected costs would include situations such as cars breaking down or double-booking issues.
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Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. For specific financial advice, you should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to check how the information here relates to your unique circumstances.
