Taking a vacation can be an important part of your yearly routine… after all, it’s been shown in medical studies that individuals who go on vacation at least once per year not only tend to live happier lives but also may have longer lives as well.
Unfortunately, vacations aren’t free; it can sometimes be all that a person can do to scrape together the money to go on their vacation and the person generally comes back to face their various financial problems without the money that they need to repay them. With a little bit of effort throughout the year, however, it is entirely possible to build up a vacation fund without breaking the bank. Below you’ll find some suggestions about how you can save up the extra money that you need while keeping the rest of your finances in check.
Yearly savings
One of the easiest ways to save money for a vacation is to do it a little at a time over the course of a year. Find a large container and designate it as the “change” jar, filling it with loose pocket change and the occasional loose bill at the end of every day. Though it may seem like a small amount, after the end of a year you’ll find that you’ve managed to set aside a pretty significant amount of money. Depending upon how much change you have, you might even have to empty the jar once or twice before the year is up!
Make it a family affair
To help make saving for a vacation more enjoyable, get the entire family in on it and make it somewhat of a game. Set up a small savings account to be used for vacation money, and make a note each time a family member sets aside some money to go into the vacation fund. At the end of the year, you might have whoever had put in the most money have a larger say in where you’re going for the vacation or perhaps they’ll have more spending money allocated to them on a shopping trip.
It’s important to make it fun for any children who might be wanting to participate, and make sure that they have a little bit of extra change or other money to put in from time to time so as to give them an above-average chance of winning the grand prize.
Borrowing for a vacation
Though many people might think it to be an unnecessary expense, taking out a loan to pay for vacation expenses is actually a common occurrence. The loan is often a smaller amount and should only be used to subsidize the money that you’ve saved in other ventures. Taking out a loan can mean the difference between an okay vacation and one that’s truly great, so as long as you can afford to repay the loan later you should at least consider looking for a good loan rate.
Reducing vacation expenses
You might also want to consider ways to make your vacation a bit more friendly on your wallet. Plan visits to certain attractions outside of the peak season, or go on theme vacations that involve a lot of sightseeing or camping in order to have a good time without spending a lot of money. Take the time to plan out your vacation in advance, estimating your expenses and cutting unnecessary expenses where possible. Remember that it’s a vacation, however, and don’t sacrifice a good time for the sake of saving just a little bit of money.
By: Jerry Warner
Posts Tagged ‘Family Member’
Ways to Finance a Vacation
March 6th, 2010Hair Transplant Surgery can Improve your Love Life
January 30th, 2010Hair loss may seem like a natural consequence of aging. You may even expect it to eventually happen to you after watching a family member go through it. But expecting hair loss and absorbing its effects can be dramatically different things with unexpected results. Just ask Lucas Rivner of Los Angeles, who eventually learned that hair transplant surgery can improve one’s life.
Lucas was in his early thirties when his hair began falling out. Before that, his life had been pretty good. He worked as a software technician with a great job and had his fair share of dates. He’d put off settling down, thinking he’d get to it in another year or two. But then his hair began to fall out. His hair loss happened it in front, along his hairline and before long saw the crown of his hair thinning out, too. Like so many people who eventually decide to get hair transplant surgery, Lucas first noticed his hair on his pillow in the morning and rinsing down the shower drain.
Lucas would spend an hour each morning in front of the mirror trying to cover the hair loss. He tried shampoos, over-the-counter hair loss products and even tried restyling his hair to hide his hair loss. But nothing really worked. He went into denial, never believing that the loss of his hair would progress far enough to merit a solution like hair transplant surgery. Lucas began hiding in his job, spending less and less time out in the world and particularly in the dating scene. His dating fell off to practically nothing and maybe it was his imagination, but he felt like he’d suddenly become invisible to women. They seemed to look right through him and his rapidly thinning hair.
Lucas lost the easy confidence he’d once had around women and the more invisible he felt, the worse became his bumbling efforts to connect with women who would have once found him attractive. He felt older than his years and not like himself at all. He was on the verge of swearing off dating altogether one day when a female co-worker and friend sat him down for a little pep talk. “Lucas,” she said, “it’s not your lack of hair that’s interfering with your love life, it’s your lack of confidence. Women like a man with confidence. It makes them feel safe.”
For a few days, he thought about this. Then he realized she was right. His perception that he’d become invisible was his own. Somehow, he had to find himself again because it had begun to affect all areas of his life. So, how exactly was he going to get his confidence back? On the Internet, he Googled “hair loss solutions” and found quite a few sites talking about advances in hair transplant surgery. After performing his due diligence he chose hair transplant doctor with a great reputation and made an appointment to go in and talk to him.
His first appointment convinced him that he was heading in the right direction. The hair transplant doctor told him about the high success rates they had achieved with hair transplant surgery and he showed Lucas photos. He explained to Lucas that he was an excellent candidate because he had good donor hair at the back of his head. Plus, she explained, despite the admittedly expensive price of hair transplants, because of his age, he could expect to spend less over his lifetime doing hair transplant surgery than if he went with nonsurgical hair systems that would always require maintenance and updating. Hair transplants, once done are permanent and becomes your own real growing hair. The hair transplants will not fall out because it’s not hair that’s genetically predisposed to do so.
Lucas went ahead with the hair transplant surgery, financed it with credit and went back to his life. Within six months, his hairline and crown began to regrow. Like a miracle, he began to look, and more importantly, feel like himself again. No one seemed to notice it, or if they did, they assumed he’d lost weight or had begun working out. But the biggest change was how he felt when he approached dating again. He knew now, it wasn’t about how he looked, but how he felt about himself that had held him back. Within a few months, he’d met Carly, the woman he would marry a year later. Lucas has never looked back on his decision to undergo hair transplant surgery. Hands down, it’s the best money he’s ever spent.
Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand. Hair loss can have a devastating impact on your self-esteem whether you’re a man or a woman. There are dozens of options out there to help you. If you’re not ready for hair transplant surgery, or think you can’t afford it, you owe it to yourself to take the time to go into a hair transplant surgery doctor’s office and ask him if hair transplants will work for you. So, what are you waiting for? Give them a call. Make an appointment. Find yourself again.
By: Travis Keeler
