3 Ways to Be Financially Smart While Planning Your Honeymoon

In the perfect world, couples would be able to spare no expense when it came to planning their wedding day. Aside from the possible birth of your children, it will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable days of your life; one in which not only celebrates your new partnership with your spouse, but also officially kicks off your future together too. Therefore, your honeymoon will truly be one of the, if not THE, first thing you do together as husband and wife.

Since it will be extremely easy to get carried away and want to plan the most extravagant destination/itinerary possible, you should keep a few things in mind while planning the trip. Hopefully, you’ll make a nice amount of money from your wedding guests, but there should already be a plan in place on how to best effectively spend or save it, which should include a budget for your trip. Follow these three helpful tips to plan an amazing once in a lifetime honeymoon, without blowing through you entire nest egg:

1. Leverage Your Registry for Your Honeymoon- Rather than listing an item you’ll rarely use like fine china or a third set of candle stick holders; why not include a few honeymoon related items on your gift registry? This way, friends and family can contribute towards fun excursions during your big trip like a lavish dinner, reservations to a couple’s spa, or even the airfare itself. Don’t forget to throw any luggage needs that you and your spouse have on there too! People foolishly register for items out of tradition’s sake over practicality; there’s no better big ticket item to spoil yourselves with than your trip of a lifetime.

2. Consider an All-Inclusive and Know Your Spend- By going on an all-inclusive trip, you are paying a flat rate up front for your airfare, lodging, food, drinks, and on-site activities. This is a great way to budget ahead for a vacation that will leave you having a great time without having to constantly carry your wallet with you; in all actuality, you won’t spend another dime outside of what you choose to tip the staff. This is a much more organized way to financially plan for a vacation over say a European trip where the cost hinges strongly on the economic relationship between the Dollar and the Euro; or say a cruise where the food may be included, but the drinks rarely are. Avoid getting hit with a sobering unexpected bill at the end of your trip and enjoy a carefree vacation where you don’t have to worry about the cost associated with trying new things.

3. Take Advantage of Rewards Points- You’ll certainly be spending tons of money leading up to your big day, whether it’s on the venue, vendors, favors, or the rehearsal dinner, why not put those purchases on credit cards that offer great reward systems, like NASA Federal's Platinum Advantage Rewards Card? With enough transactions, you’ll be able to fly to your honeymoon for free, or at the very least enjoy first class accommodations, which so few of us get a chance to do regularly. If you are going to be inevitably spending money anyways, you should reward yourself as much as possible for doing so.