Book it and Leave!

First off: people with three children usually do not just book tickets and leave---not Mom and Dad with each other, not even Mom and Dad with their nine, eleven, and fourteen year olds. It's just not often possible.

We didn't so much just book a ticket (or five of them), and leave the country for thirteen days--we saved, and planned, and saved, and planned for three years (except for the coins, that took a good six or seven years to amass, I'm sure I'll write more about that savings in a bit).

So, before any of our readers go on thinking our family is fabulously wealthy jet-setters, no, no. We had to save; even the children had to put their allowance in the jar for three whole years (the first several times there were tears, and then after awhile it became routine).

Here's how we did it:

1. We did the 52-Week Savings Plan times five people for three years. 

Image from: lazygeniusmom.com

2. Miles. We saved our credit card miles. Three of five tickets were paid with miles.

Image from: nerdwallet.com

3. Loose change: Coins, those seemingly useless funds hiding in drawers do count as savings. It took us about seven years to save up $647 in coins. This amount went to what the children can spend while on their trip ($200 each). The coin jar takes practice and habit to perfect. For instance, I would often get $20 in quarters and dump it in the jar from time to time over the years. Using a larger bill than necessary at the store to get coins in return became a thing (if they said, "Do you have a penny?" I said, "No."). Coins are harder to spend than bills so it felt like I was saving part of my money every time I received coins back at the store. Change falls out of pockets in the laundry. I have a little money box hanging on the wall in the laundry room. I save all loose change and bills that come out of the dryer. Shopping online really hampered my coin savings though. If I wasn't going out to the store then there were no opportunities to get change.

Madeline's pic of us counting our coins

So you see, there are many little ways that can pay off big if you are seriously saving for a trip that can make you feel like a fabulously wealthy jet-setter. If you're feeling inspired, there are a few more savings hacks on Forbes: How to Save Serious Money for Travel. 

How do you save for trips? Are you feeling inspired to travel?