Buzz
I don’t know about you, but I started saving for my summer getaway back in January. Actually, I’ve already set aside budget for two distinct trips: One to visit friends and another to visit family.
I’m pretty sure neither of those vacations will happen as planned. In fact, each time I check YNAB (You Need a Budget, my preferred budgeting tool), I see the money I’ve saved for these trips—and I start to wonder if it's time to move those funds elsewhere.
Right now, I have two choices. On one hand, I could leave the money as is and trust I’ll travel again eventually. Maybe in December, for the holidays? (Though even that feels uncertain). Perhaps I’ll take these trips in summer 2021. Either way, the funds will be available when I’m ready to use them.
Alternatively, I could take the money from my travel fund and move it into my long-term savings or emergency fund. At the moment, my emergency fund is pretty solid—according to YNAB, I have enough saved to cover six months of expenses—but adding a couple thousand more could extend my financial cushion for another month.
And right now, a little extra security might be something we all could use.
I’m lucky to be debt-free right now, and I’m in a position to follow the well-intentioned financial advice of stashing extra money in a bucket labeled “vacation” and letting it stay there until summer. Perhaps the best choice for me is to leave that money in its designated spot until it’s safe to travel again. If I need it for something else, well… I’ll just take it out of the bucket.
But what about you? If you’ve saved for a summer vacation, what’s your plan for that money? Are you already using it for everyday expenses due to furloughs, reduced hours, or layoffs? Do you plan to use it for travel this winter or next year? Are you rolling it into your emergency fund? Using it to pay off debt? Or spending it on the most extravagant staycation ever?
Speaking of staycations: I’m taking some time off in June and calling it “vacation,” and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it. I’d suggest you do the same if possible—because stress is real, burnout is real, and many of us have been more stressed than usual for a much longer time than we’re used to.
Perhaps, once I return from not going anywhere, I’ll finally figure out what to do with the money I didn’t spend on my summer vacation.
