Top tips for holiday finance

Going on holiday is the highlight of the year for most people. It’s the chance to relax after a busy year of work and spend some time with those that matter most. As well as planning your dream destination, you also need to think about the holiday finance options available to you. In this article, we provide our top holiday finance tips to help you prepare for your upcoming trip and, hopefully, find a good deal that’s within your budget. 

Start saving early 

Perhaps the best way to pay for your holiday is to use cash savings, and the earlier you start saving, the easier it will be to cover your holiday expenses. It’s helpful to start saving twelve months in advance of your trip, and you can even set up a specific savings account to keep the money safe. 

You could set yourself a target a year in advance and put away the required money each month until you’re in a position to pay for your trip. Whether it’s £50 or £100 a month, your savings quickly add up and will enable you to cover the costs of your flights, accommodation and even spending money when you’re away. 

Spend within your means

When you start thinking about your holiday finance, you need to be realistic. While we would all love to relax at a five-star beach resort in Mauritius, not everybody has the money available to pay for such an indulgence. So, the key to planning your holiday finance is to spend within your means. Whether you have £300 or £3,000 to spend on an upcoming holiday, you need to know your limits and plan accordingly. You don’t need to splash out to have a good time on holiday, but you need to be careful not to cause financial issues by overspending.

Look for deals 

As there are so many holiday providers out there, you can often find great deals, particularly if you’re happy to go on holiday out of peak season. Instead of stretching yourself when preparing holiday finance, search for deals that allow you to travel to a chosen destination when it’s not teeming with tourists. Flights and accommodation are considerably cheaper out of peak season, so if you shop around and use a comparison site like Holiday Supermarket, there’s no reason why you can’t find an excellent deal for an upcoming trip.

Consider the different ways of paying for your holiday 

Although the best way to pay for your holiday is with cash that you’ve saved in advance, it’s not the only way to manage holiday finance. Other options available to you include: 

• A personal loan: Applying for a personal loan can be a way of spreading the cost of your holiday out over time. You receive a lump sum in your bank account that you then pay back in agreed monthly instalments, with interest. At Koyo, we offer personal loans between £1,500 and £12,000 that can be used to pay for your holiday. However, it’s essential to look in-depth into your finances to ensure you are in a position to cover the costs. 24.9% APR Representative. 

• A credit card: Another way of spreading the cost of your holiday is to use a credit card. You can book your flights and accommodation on a credit card and then make regular repayments until the holiday is paid off. Just be mindful that interest rates are often high on credit cards.

• A holiday finance deal: Some websites offer a holiday finance deal that allows you to split the cost of your payments throughout the year when you book your holiday in advance. You are typically required to pay a deposit before settling the balance in several instalments. 

Whichever holiday finance method you opt for, don’t use it as an opportunity to spend more than you can afford on a holiday. You should only consider alternative financing arrangements as a way of managing the cost of a holiday over time, not as an excuse to get reckless with your spending. Use our loan calculator to see how much you could borrow today.  24.9% APR Representative. Also, check out this recent blog post where we explain each holiday finance option in detail. 

Koyo Loans is the trading name of BETR Technology Ltd. Company No. 11483187. Registered Office: Huckletree Soho, Ingestre Court, Ingestre Place, London, W1f 0JL