Finally it’s 1 week to the end of 2006.
It’s Christmas day.
It’s official. It’s our favourite holiday season. It’s the day we are most relax.
Seriously, it’s 2 pm and my husband is right now snoozing on the sofa. He is officially resting from work, no phone calls and no appointments. I did some cooking (YES! I do COOK! :P), played with my kids, did the gradings for my students’ long overdue mid term papers and couldn’t help wanting to do some work for the website.
While most people are just starting their holiday, we have had our holiday. We have just been back from Singapore for a fun 4 day holiday. So I decided I’m going to share with you some of the experiences we had.
My babies are both kids under the age of 5, so the criteria for our holiday destination became very specific. It has to be somewhere nearby, somewhere we’re familiar with, and most importantly lots and lots of kids’ activities.
So Singapore it is. It’s only a painless 1 hour flight. My husband knows the place really well. He spent his good old high school days there.
I know you’re going to say, kids’ activities in Singapore? Oh yes my friends. This holiday is so weird I couldn’t believe it myself.
I, the self confessed shopacholic financial planner, actually managed to go to Singapore without going to the malls! Without spending so much money!
Feeding the Elephant at Singapore Zoo
TIPS FOR A HOLIDAY WITHOUT BREAKING YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
- TUJUAN LO APA?
Is this an annual vacation or a special trip? Tiap tahun harus jalan-jalan ke Bali? Atau 5 tahun sekali keluar ASEAN dan melihat Eropa? Is this a honeymoon? Is this a family affair? Semua tujuan ini akan mempengaruhi dana dan budget yang diperlukan selama liburan. - PREPARE THE FUND. CAN YOU AFFORD IT?
Jauh-jauh hari pastikan kita memiliki dana yang cukup untuk dihabiskan berlibur, TANPA MENGGANGU tujuan-tujuan finansial yang lain. Gak lucu dong kalau setiap tahun berlibur seru-seru tapi sepanjang tahun kita harus mencicil hutang gara-gara liburan. Mulai dengan menabung. Yes, gue gak suka banget menabung, it’s boring! But it only makes sense if you want to spend Rp 12 million for a holiday next year, start saving Rp 1 million a month for 12 months! - BUDGETING – SURVEY FOR THE BEST RATES
For our holiday, we went to the websites of different airlines, hotels and travel agents. Setelah itu kita survey juga ke kantor-kantor agen travel yang sudah jadi langganan kita. Pastikan kita memiliki daftar harga transportasi, akomodasi, jajan, entertainment dan gak pernah ketinggalan : SHOPPING. Do you know that most people do their ’annual shopping’ during vacation? Nah ini perlu di-budget-in supaya pulang-pulang dari liburan gak shock sama bill kartu kredit. - MATCH MAKING!
Tugas berikutnya adalah memastikan bahwa Dana yang sudah disiapkan SESUAI dengan Budget yang telah disusun. Jadi kalau Dana yang sudah disiapkan Rp 12 juta, tapi Budget menunjukkan angka Rp 20 juta, ada yang harus ’didiskon’ supaya liburan tetap berjalan. Misalnya, turun pangkat hotel dari berbintang 5 ke bintang 4. Atau tadinya ke luar negeri, jadi cukup lokal tapi yang seru. - COMING HOME FEELING REFRESHED!
Again, jangan lupa, TUJUAN utama liburan adalah : REFRESHING. Jangan sampai pulang dari liburan kita malah stress karena ketiban hutang bertumpuk atau pahit menghadapi hidup ‘cashless’.
Cobain ya?
Let me know di [email protected] kalau sudah terasa perubahaannya.
I truly believe everybody needs a break! Apalagi tinggal di Jakarta, you should reward yourself after all the hard work.
Semoga Bermanfaat.
Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year
Have a fantastic holiday!
Ligwina Hananto
