Heres how to plan your honeymoon on a budget

Heres how to plan your honeymoon on a budgetHeres how to plan your honeymoon on a budgetIm on my honeymoon right now Well, Im actually in the air or in an airport somewhere. We left DC late last night and are en route to Thailand for a three-week honeymoon adventure You can keep track of what were up to by following my Instagram. Were making the most of this long honeymoon, but I also wanted to make aya that we found budget options where we could.Based on my own experience, heres how you can plan a great honeymoon, even if youre on a strict budget.Start planning earlyWe decided where we wanted to go on our honeymoon at least a year ago. This gave us a lot of time to plan and save for our trip. Its unlikely that you could just up and go to Thailand for three weeks if you havent been planning and saving for a while. (Unless, of course, you keep a full travel savings fund at all times.) So make your decision and start planning early. Youll have more time to save, and youll have more tim e to find affordable deals for travel and lodging.Save, save, saveI know youre probably saving everything you have right now in order to pay for your wedding. However, its important to remember that youll want to save up for your honeymoon too Put a monthly amount aside, or save any extra money that you get (bonuses, tax refunds, or other windfalls). You may also want to create a honeymoon fund for your wedding registry. There are lots of options out there through Zola, HoneyFund, and other platforms.Take advantage of rewards programsI dont usually recommend points churning to my clients, because rewards leistungspunkt cards have high interest rates that overrule any rewards you get. However, if you trust yourself to pay off your credit cards in full every month, rewards programs can be incredibly helpful. If you are loyal to certain airlines or hotel chains, getting their credit cards might be a good idea. TheKeep track of dealsOnce we knew where we wanted to go, it was time to sta rt tracking good deals. The most expensive part of our honeymoon was the flight to Thailand and back, so I wanted to make sure we were getting the best deal. I used platforms like Airfarewatchdog, The Flight Deal, and Google Flights to save my desired route and get schmelzglas alerts whenever there was a good price. This is how I was able to see when an affordable Turkish Airlines flight was available and book it before it changed.Go somewhere closeYes, were en route to Thailand, but you dont have to travel to the other side of the world for your honeymoon. My parents went to Disney World for their honeymoon. Of course, this was in the 1980s when Disney World was a lot cheaper, but even now it would likely be a lot cheaper than Thailand. So if youre not all that interested in traveling to a faraway land, you can pick a place thats closer, easier to get to, and much more affordable.DelayMore and more of my friends are delaying their honeymoon for six months or a year. Thats a great w ay to recoup some of the money you spent on your wedding and give you time to save up for your honeymoon. That way, you can make sure youre having the honeymoon you really want without sacrificing your financial wellness. If you really want to get away, but cant afford the big trip just yet, you could take a mini-moon and go somewhere more affordable for a few days after the wedding. As of late, Ive seen my friends visit Miami, Asheville, and Shenandoah National Park.Thisarticlewas originally published onMaggieGermano.com.