Everybody needs a vacation at some point in their life. However vacation should be a reward for your hard work and saving throughout the year. You should never take a vacation if you don’t have the money saved to actually take the trip. Never finance a vacation, if you don’t have the cash to pay for everything you are planning on spending, then wait a few more months until you do have the money. When you do decide to take a vacation try to find ways to save some cash but still have lots of fun. One great way to save a lot of money and not compromise any fun is to go during the off season.

Many hotels and resorts offer great prices if you go when they are not completely full. I found some hotels that have rate ranges from $50 to $250 per night for the same room, depending on when you spend the night. The $50 per night rate usually is for a weekday night during the Fall or Winter but there are still warm times at the beach even in late September.

If you do plan on visiting your vacation spot during the off season, wait to make the reservation or make a reservation that doesn’t cost anything to cancel. Many hotels and resorts wait until the first part of the off season to apply the deep discounts to their rates. Reserving a hotel for September in June may not save you much money. Reserving a room for late September at the first part of September may save you as much as $100 per night.

Not only do you save money by going on vacation during the off season, but there are many other advantages. Local shop and store owners will be much more willing to give discounts on their products and souvenirs because they want to make a sale. You will get better attention and service from hotel and resort personnel because there won’t be as many customers. Everything will be less crowded and congested including traffic and restaurants.

Give an off season vacation a try this year. Who knows you may even enjoy the experience more than your normal vacation time!