Pre-Trip Prep*

Traveling causes everyone a little bit of stress, however, preparation and creating a pre-trip checklist can help take care of some that stress. Writing down essential tasks from arranging pet care to your finances can relieve some of that pre-trip anxiety and let you have a worry-free adventure.

If you are worried about your spending on your trip, create a financial overview. Know what you are working with financially and what you can and cannot spend money on. Most of your expenses like travel and accommodations should already be factored in, so make sure you know where and how you will like to spend your money while traveling.

One way to curb your spending is to create a travel budget. Pick an amount and doll out what you can spend on drinks, souvenirs, and even food. This will help you stay true to your finances and not overspend.

If you are traveling out of state or country, make sure you have called your bank to let them know of your plans. You don’t want them freezing any accounts and leaving you without access and without money.

If you are driving to your destination, make sure you have cleaned your car. Then it will be easier to clean once you are home and easier to store everything you need for your trip without extra clutter. Also make sure that you have gotten your oil checked as well as your tires. You don’t want to have to waste your vacation at a repair shop if this is not the case. Always check to see if you have copies of your insurance, both on paper and digitally.

For housing accomodations, make sure you have cleaned your own house first by taking out the trash and cleaning the fridge so you don’t come home to any funky smells or critters. Adjust your thermostat so you aren’t paying out the wazoo for heat or air conditioning you aren’t even using.

Make sure you have copies of your accommodation reservation. You don’t want to get to your destination just to have them tell you they don’t have any record of your reservation and you don’t have any proof.

Try to make an itinerary for yourself. If you need help searching things to do or useful tips like where grocery stores or parks are around your destination, research neighborhoods like Columbia houses for sale and you can find safe destinations for your travel.

These are just some pre-trip prep tips, but any pre-trip prep that you and your family do is better than none. Just try to relieve some of the stress that is in your brain before traveling so you can make sure you have the best trip possible.