Vacation Travel Tips

From the President's Desk...

Summer is a popular time for family vacations. These trips are meant to be relaxing, but a lack of proper planning and overspending can lead to financial stress. Consider the following tips to reduce travel-related anxiety and help you make the most out of your time away.

1. Create a travel budget. Doing so can help you make well-informed financial decisions without compromising your long-term savings goals.
2. Consider mini getaways. Taking shorter, more frequent trips instead of one large, faraway bonanza not only requires less planning (and is generally less expensive), but also offers more opportunities to unwind throughout the year.
3. Plan in advance. Trip planning can be stressful. Research destinations, make reservations, prepare itineraries, and create a budget. Using reasonable timelines and budgets helps ensure your affairs are in order (impending deadlines, medication needs, and baby-sitting, dog-sitting or house-sitting arrangements).
4. Control what you can. There will be unexpected surprises, such as flight delays or lost/stolen items, and these can quickly sour your vacation mindset. Travel insurance can help you recoup some of your expenses. Some credit cards, especially those designed for travel, offer protections for delayed flights, lost luggage, trip cancellation, accident insurance, and more.
5. Accessing accounts. When traveling across or outside the United States, prior to departure inform your trusted community banker of your plans to avoid an account freeze or declined transactions due to "suspicious activity."

As always, remember that as your trusted community bank, we are here to help. We hope you take these tips into consideration and enjoy a well-deserved vacation that won't cause unneeded financial stress.