3 Dave Ramsey Tips to Follow (and 3 to Ignore) About Vacation Spending

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Dave Ramsey gives a lot of advice about budgeting for your next trip. But is all his advice about saving on vacations worth following? 

Vacations can do major damage to your checking account balance. But they can also help you create memories, and allow you to relax, unwind, and enjoy life.

If you don’t want to end up in credit card debt due to lavish trips, you may need to look for ways to cut spending. Finance guru Dave Ramsey has some suggestions, but some of his tips for saving are better than others. Here’s what Ramsey had to say.

Following these Ramsey tips to save on vacations could make good sense

Some of Ramsey’s best tips for reducing your vacation costs include the following:

Drive when your destination is close byDon’t dine out for every mealCheck for discount attraction tickets

These tips are great because they won’t end up costing you any enjoyment or pleasure on your vacation, but you’ll still get to reduce your expenses anyway.

If your destination would take you less than around four hours to drive to, you’re usually better off driving rather than flying. By the time you get to the airport early, park, and get through security, you’re usually going to end up taking more than that amount of time to fly than to drive anyway. And if you’re traveling with your family, you’ll likely save money by driving instead of flying.

Dining out for every meal on vacation can also add up very quickly and isn’t necessary for you to enjoy yourself. While you may want to splurge on special dinners out, breakfast and lunch could be quick meals like cereal and sandwiches you prepare in your hotel. This will leave you more time and money to sightsee. Plus, breakfasts at restaurants are rarely worth the added price compared to what you can make at home.

Finally, looking for discount attraction tickets ahead of time is an easy call, because why pay more for the same thing? Costco is a great place to book travel, but you can also check local grocery stores for deals on tickets to regional amusement parks, or use sites like Groupon to score savings.

Ignore this Ramsey advice, though

While some of Ramsey’s saving tips make good sense, others don’t. In particular, he suggests reducing your costs using these three techniques, but you probably shouldn’t listen to him here:

Keep your vacation shorterDon’t buy expensive treatsLimit your daily activities

Taking a shorter vacation rarely makes sense when you’ve already paid to travel to your destination. Many hotels and Airbnb rentals also run packages where you can get extra discounts if you stay more nights. So, don’t cut your vacation short just to save a few dollars when there are easier ways to reduce spending.

Skipping out on daily activities also doesn’t make sense for the same reason. Once you’ve paid to travel somewhere, it’s foolish not to enjoy all it has to offer. That’s why it’s also worth it to buy expensive treats once in a while. While you don’t want to do this multiple times every day, living it up on vacation and indulging in a splurge or two is a great way to make memories.

Ultimately, you will need to decide what’s most important to you on your trip. But don’t be penny wise and pound foolish by spending a lot of time and effort to get somewhere, and then not enjoying your vacation as much as you could because you skimp too much upon arrival.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Christy Bieber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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