How Your Kids Can Make Travel Magic Happen!Hey again! Remember how Peter Pan had a little helper sprinkling pixie dust to make dreams come true? Well, I've got some enchanting news for you. Your very own fairy helpers are probably running around your house right now. Yes, I'm talking about your kids! In my previous chat with you, we unlocked one of the best-kept secrets to planning your vacations – opening up a dedicated savings account. If you haven't read it yet, go back and have a look; it's packed with handy tips that'll help you create a budget and kick-start your vacation savings in no time. Now, let's talk about how to fill up that savings account, despite the whirlwind of family life and with no side hustle in sight. Ready for it? Bring the kids on board!  Saving Money in a Piggy Bank!
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Your Roadmap to Adventure PlanningHello again, Ever caught yourself daydreaming about your next adventure but felt your wallet holding you back? Guess what? You're not alone. Better still, I have the perfect roadmap to navigate these financial crossroads while keeping your travel dreams alive. Any financial guru worth their salt will tell you - it all begins with a good budget. Now, before you run a mile, hear me out. Budgeting doesn’t have to be as scary as scaling Everest Let's break it down:  Step one: Kick off with calculating your income. If you have a steady salary, it's a breeze. For those with a variable income, like yours truly, working with estimates or averages will be your go-to strategy. Step two: It's time to get up close and personal with your fixed and variable expenses. My preference is a biweekly budget, but if going month-to-month works for you, that’s wonderful. Start your budget journey by rounding up your fixed expenses, like your mortgage or rent, phone and utility bills, car payments, and minimum debt repayments. Once you've got a handle on this, it's time to subtract these figures from your income. What you’re left with is your pot for variable expenses! This part’s a bit of guesswork, but you've got this! Estimate your variable expenses, such as groceries, fuel, recreational costs, kids' activities, and of course, pet pampering. Review this at the end of each month or pay period to understand your spending patterns. Step three: Achieve a zero balance on your budget. This is where the magic happens. If you’ve got loose change left after all your expenses are covered, it's time to pile it into your savings or further reduce your debt. In the world of finance, we call this the zero-based budgeting method. If you already have a smooth-running budget mechanism, that's fabulous! Just tie in your savings goal to your current budget and designate an amount every month (or biweekly) towards your 'Shine under the Disney fireworks fund.' Remember, savings and debt pay-offs should be at the top of your plan.  But, wait, there's more! Let's supercharge that vacation fund with these savvy tips: Tip #1: If you’ve just cleared a payment obligation, like a car loan or credit card, reign in the urge to breathe easy. Instead, redirect that same payment toward your vacation savings account. It's like you're paying yourself for all the fun awaiting! Tip #2: To keep the vacation savings untapped, set up a dedicated account and schedule automatic transfers. I highly recommend opening a high-yield savings account where your money does some additional heavy lifting. Look at banks like Ally, Capital One 360, or Dollar Savings Direct for easy set-up. Tip #3: Declare all "surprise" money as dedicated vacation fund boosters. Think tax refunds, work bonuses, mystery checks, and even that $10 bill you found inside your winter coat! Make all these unexpected treasures part of your vacation fund. Now here's the ultimate hack to saving big on your trip: Commit to it NOW! It's no secret that as time passes, prices skyrocket. So why stall when we can start planning your dream vacation right away.
Start by scheduling a call with yours truly. Let's embark on the journey to making your travel dreams come true, one budget plan at a time! Dreaming alongside you! Although fall hasn't quite arrived here in Georgia, school is back in session and we're already feeling the heat of over a hundred degrees. It's the perfect time to start thinking about winter break trips! In fact, many people have already taken advantage of early discounts and secured their trips to popular destinations like Disney and Universal for Fall break. Winter break trips are going fast, with resorts still trying to make up for lost revenue due to the pandemic. While there are still some affordable options, hidden costs can quickly add up and take away from your vacation experience.
If you are comparing Disney Cruise Line prices to other cruise lines, you may be a little shocked by the price. But you are not comparing apples to apples because with Disney Cruise Line, you get SO MUCH MORE! Other cruise lines will nickel and dime you, but being on a Disney Cruise is like being at an All-Inclusive Resort. . .but at sea. Disney means quality, so you have a much better value for your money as well.  SUNSET FROM OUR VERANDAH Disney will be releasing their Early 2024 Itineraries SOON!  Disney Dream 2019 I know you are so busy thinking about back to school and the upcoming holidays that this is the furthest thing from your mind.
But I also know you want the best value for your hard-earned vacation dollars. From all of us at JMorris Travel to all of our Wonderful Clients and Friends we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Prosperous New Year!
And if you are trying to out do that brother in law this year, give a gift of a cruise to your parents! The memories will last a lifetime! With all the crazy 'stuff' happening in the world today, I thought we should revisit this topic! Do I recommend Travel Insurance? Short answer...YES!!  Another year has come and gone. Every year people make tons of resolutions. Exercise more. Eat better. Be a better (fill in the blank). Spend more time with my family. And on and on.  Everyone gets busy and things you meant to do get lost in the endless ‘work’, and suddenly you forget that trip you had meant to plan with your family until it was too late to get what you really wanted or you end up spending way more money than your budget liked. I can relate! This year, how about you make some resolutions that are more fun. Ones that you can easily keep for a longer period of time. And, maybe include some of those other resolutions that often get pushed to the background. TRAVEL! That’s right. It is as simple as TRAVEL. Want to spend more time with your family? Travel with them. Want to Exercise more? Travel to a beautiful location that will scream “get out and enjoy!” Want to save money? Book your travel EARLY! Want to be pampered? Cruise! Want to catch up on some reading? Travel to a nice beach resort. Yes, it really IS that easy, and I’m here to help. I plan amazingly stress free family vacations for busy families who want a magical getaway before the kids are too old to enjoy it! Yes, I do Disney and Universal, but I do so much more! Are you looking to cruise? How about a Caribbean All Inclusive? Yes, I can do that and so much more!
Ready to get started? Give me a call at 770-207-0135 or email at [email protected]. It takes a lot of work to get ready for a family trip, even if you have a travel agent doing the planning and booking for you. Choosing the right places and activities, all while trying to maintain some semblance of your normal routine, especially if you have younger kids — can be a real challenge. In the hectic pace of everything, it can be easy to forget the bigger reasons families choose to travel with their children: to enrich their lives, expand their emotional and cultural horizons, and help them become better global citizens. So it’s great to encourage kids to be involved in the planning and to participate in family activities — but what are some ways that you can really get your child curious about your travel destinations without adding yet another list of to-dos to a parent’s already-long list? Here are some ideas for sparking the love of travel in your child on your next vacation.  Cruising with Family! I know. Not the most exciting part of your trip, but quite possibly may be the most important thing to remember about your trip. Most people completely ignore this. Even the most seasoned travelers sometimes feel confused about travel insurance — what’s out there, what it covers, whether or not they need it. While coverage and policies vary from state to state, of course, here are some basics of travel insurance to get you started:  1. There are five main types of travel insurance. What you might need depends largely on what kind of trip you’re taking, what kind of traveler you are, and how frequently you travel. The five main types are:
~trip cancellation and interruption (full or partial reimbursement for a trip you need to cancel prior to departure, a trip that gets cancelled because a tour company or resort goes out of business, or a trip that gets cut short for a wide variety of reasons) ~medical (for health issues that occur outside of your normal coverage area) ~evacuation (due to disaster, dangerous weather, political emergency, or medical emergency) ~baggage (reimbursement for lost, stolen, or damaged baggage) ~flight insurance (also called “crash coverage,” this is basically a life insurance policy that covers you while you’re on the plane, in the event of a statistically-rare crash) |
AuthorMost of the content is written by people at JMorris Travel. Every once in a while we will have a guest blogger, usually it is part of our 'family'.Always with a nod to Family Travel! Archives
January 2024
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