Stress is unhealthy, which is one reason why a vacation can actually help boost your health. Vacations ward off burnout and build family bonds. You might think a vacation is impossible, on your family's budget. However, these tips will help show you how to plan a vacation you can afford.
Prorate Vacation Days
Although large corporations with equally large human resources departments often have automated software that is able to do things such as determine how many vacation days a person should have, the process usually isn't quite as simple for small business owners. When a small business owner hires a new employee, it usually is incumbent on him or on the office manager to do most or all of the human resources-related work. If an employee is hired a few months into a year, his vacation time will need to be prorated if vacation is awarded at the beginning of the year and not accrued.
Calculate Meal Costs While on Vacation
Traveling is a lot of fun, but it can also be expensive. Aside from lodging and transportation, meals tend to be a significant cost when traveling. This is largely because you tend to eat out for most of your meals, and eating out is more expensive than cooking for yourself. When budgeting your vacation, you need to factor in the cost of meals.
Take a Cheap Vacation
Taking a vacation doesn't require completely emptying your pocket book. While advance planning helps, you can often find last-minute deals. Flexibility is also key, as being tied to specific dates may curtail your ability to find bargains. Take a cheap vacation by being aware of current prices so that you can jump on a deal when you see it. Remember deals don't last for long -- use these tips to get the benefit of bargains when they're available.
Send an Automatic Vacation Message in Outlook Express
Many users of Outlook Express are discouraged to learn that the program does not have an out-of-office assistant like the more robust Microsoft Outlook. Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem. By adjusting your settings and creating a custom vacation message, you can set up Outlook Express to auto-reply when you are away from your computer.