Involving Kids in Family Vacation Planning

Travel can be a great opportunity for learning. If you want to make your upcoming trip an even more engaging and educational experience for the whole family, ask your kids to help research and make the arrangements.

When they contribute in this way, children can learn new lessons about money and choices. For example, they can start to define their priorities when it comes to entertainment, and practice making the most ideal choices within a set budget. Here are a few ways to get the kids involved in family vacation planning.

Give them a budget 

Let your kids know how much money you have available for your trip, and explain how you arrived at that dollar amount. For example, you may have saved a limited amount for the trip since your budget surplus is going toward another priority like home renovations. Then, work together to estimate how the money will be spread across your main expenses, including:

• Lodging
• Transportation
• Food
• Attractions/activities
• Souvenirs

Map out your trip 

Once you have a sense of how your budget will break down, have the kids brainstorm potential destinations and look up the costs involved with each one. If they want to visit an expensive theme park, for example, you might guide them on trade-offs like looking for low-cost lodging, discounted airfare or cheaper prices during the off season.

If you’re searching for discount packages, have the kids help with that part, too. Perhaps they can look for cost-saving tips in online forums or call up a family member to find out how they saved money on the costs involved in a recent trip.  

Save together

Before the trip, teach your kids the importance of saving money to reach a goal. You might have them contribute to the cost of travel by setting aside a portion of their allowance to pay for their souvenirs, for example.

To make it more fun, put the money in a family piggy bank or savings account and track your progress together.

Plan for the unexpected

Explain to your kids that unexpected expenses are always a part of life, including travel. For instance, there might be high fees for checking heavy bags on the way home, or for tickets to an exciting attraction at your destination.

If your costs suddenly increase, they’ll have to make a choice and determine how to get back on budget. Ideally, you’ll have a cushion in your vacation budget for these occurrences.

For older kids, particularly for those using a credit card or debit card under parental supervision, the trip is an opportunity for a bigger lesson on spending. For example, you can explain that credit cards offer theft and fraud protection and they can help with unexpected expenses, but they also come with ultra-high interest charges.

Evaluate your trip

After you return, make it a point to discuss how things went. Did you stick to your budget? Did you learn anything that will help you plan for your next trip? Did you get value that matched the price of your purchases? Pinpoint what worked well and what didn’t.

As a family, you can use the experience to help you plan and save for future vacations that everyone can look forward to and enjoy.