We just came back from an amazing family cruise vacation from Florida that took us through the Bahamas and the Caribbean. While this was one memorable vacation, full of experiences and great memories, it also wasn’t cheap, as much as we tried to budget and save for it ahead of time.
With the price of virtually everything being expensive these days, and this being a vacation that had a lot of moving parts—flying, driving, cruising—we had to be intentional about how we spent our vacation money.
The trick is to balance the two, so that your thriftiness doesn’t get in the way of enjoying a great vacation, while at the same time being careful not to overspend to the point that, by the time you are back home, you are stuck with big debt instead of great memories.
With this in mind, here are three things we did to find that balance while still enjoying one great vacation.
1. We planned the big expenses before we left
We had the cruise, flights, hotels, transportation and major activities figured out ahead of time. That made it easier to enjoy the trip without constantly making expensive decisions on the fly.
Not only that, we started saving for this vacation literally more than a year in advance, starting just a few weeks after we concluded our last big vacation back in late 2024.
2. We looked for free or low-cost entertainment
Not every part of the vacation had to cost money. Beaches, free excursions, pools, walking around, exploring the ship, watching planes and simply enjoying the destination gave us plenty to do without constantly pulling out the credit card.
While in Fort Lauderdale, we heard that Messi’s Inter Miami was playing a game in Miami, which was going to cost us about $250 USD for tickets and parking. And we simply couldn’t miss it.
For my kids to not only enjoy a great vacation but also get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch Messi in person? There was no way we were going to miss it!
This was literally the only major expense that wasn’t planned ahead of time, but it was totally worth the cost.
3. We learned that small planning mistakes can become expensive
Our biggest lesson was actually not about spending money-it was about losing money through poor planning.
Staying an extra night in Florida after the cruise ended up costing us more than $600 and consumed almost two extra days. A vacation budget isn’t just about what you spend; it’s also about avoiding unnecessary costs.
But that is the key here: we learned from our mistake and will incorporate that lesson into our next vacation to make it more fun and less costly.
There is no vacation without planning and budgeting, while at the same time making sure the fun isn’t stripped out of it for the sake of meticulous planning and savings.
Approach a vacation like a project when planning it, with the main objective being to have fun, enjoy the experience and leave with great, lasting memories.