4/15/2006 - Avoid After Vacation Stress

Avoid After Vacation Stress
By: Ida Byrd-Hill
                       

Have you ever gone on a vacation and had a marvelous time only to feel stress later as you overspent????? Well, you are not alone. Many of us get so wrapped up in perfecting our tan or getting the rest we need that we do not even want to think about how much we will be spending. ”Very few people, no matter what their net worth and the level of their intelligence and financial savvy, do any kind of budgeting for trips,” said Gary Buffone, a psychologist and director of the Family Business Center, in Jacksonville, Fla. as quoted in an article on www.cbs.marketwatch.com It stands to reason you take a vacation to relieve stress. Why would any sane person ruin the euphoria of a vacation with the mundane task of budgeting?

The average family takes 2.6 trips annually according to YPB&R/Yankelovich National Travel & Leisure Monitor as quote by. The average cost for domestic vacations is $1000 with the average cost for international vacations exceeding $3500.

If the average family takes 1.6 domestic vacations and 1 international vacation annually then they are spending at least $5000 on vacations a year. The cliché “Pay now or Pay later!” takes on a new meaning as you are paying by credit card later. When you add the interest, the cost to pay off these vacations grows to $9148.62. (Assumes 18% interest over 4 years) Add those cost over 4 years of vacations, the credit card debt becomes astronomical. It is easy to see why the average American family has a lot of credit card debt. The easiest way to eliminate this credit card debt is to not create the debt at all or create a system to pay it off before you create it. Most people do neither creating stress after the vacation.

Budgeting makes most people revolt is it seems so complicated. Who wants to take the time to perform the mathematical calculations? No one. Ida Byrd-Hill, a 10 year veteran financial advisor has created a self calculating Vacation Budget Form. The form completes all the calculations after you input basic information such a plan/train/ cruise ticket prices, number of nights and number of persons going on vacation. The form makes it easier to save for vacations as you will know the true cost of the vacation and whether you need to save some more money or allocate a larger portion on your credit cards. The best part you do not have to do complicated computations. The form is found at www.livinginstyleonline.com. Livinginstyleonline.com is a luxury lifestyle magazine and luxury discount shopping marketplace where the motto is “you can live the good life without breaking the bank!!!!!!

Not that the budgeting is in place, a family can dream and research pricing for their next vacation. There are some many travel websites on the web. Choosing one site to purchase your vacation creates a new stress. How can a family be sure they are getting the best deal? Each site says they have the best prices. Comparison shopping is the key. However to move from website to website is cumbersome. If you leave one site to go to another your information is wiped out or worse yet your deal is seized by another traveler. Livinginstyleonline.com has made a family’s life easier by providing 26 of the top travel discount websites, such as Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, Last Minute Travel, Travel Worm, Sky Auction, Hotel Planner, Vacation Outlet, Ubid and many others in the travel section of their marketplace. One can open windows of these sites and compare them at a click of the mouse rather than toggle all over the internet. This comparison feature allows you to find the best price for your vacation on the web with little stress. Come visit livinginstyleonline.com often as the travel website list is continually growing. Avoid after vacation stress by saving money on your next vacation, visit http://www.livinginstyleonline.com. 

About the Author

Ida B. Byrd-Hill was the President of The Harvard Group Wealth Management L.L.C. for 10 years. She created investment portfolios, insurance plans and residential/ commercial financing. She has provided financial seminars for the UAW/ Daimler Chrysler. She has served as guest columnist for the Michigan Front Page for 2 years and a speaker for the Better Investing television show hosted by David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber.