Being on a tight budget doesn’t always have to mean that a fun and memorable family vacation is out of the question. It might take a bit more time and hard work to save up, but, if the whole family gets involved, you could find yourselves going on that vacation sooner than you think. Here are 5 ways that every member of the family can contribute to saving for vacation:

– Do a Weekly “Collection”

“Give, and it will be given to you” we read in an encouraging spiritual quote from Luke 6:38. Try to instill this same attitude in the members of your family by starting up a weekly collection to which everyone contributes what they can, such as spare change or parts of an allowance. Explain to your kids that giving what they can now will allow them to get a fun vacation in return.

Encourage everyone to give freely and cheerfully, and to not resent anyone if they don’t have the means to give as much. If anyone does start to turn your weekly collection into too much of a competition, then remind them of this Bible verse from 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

– Commit to Eating Out Less

If your family eats out several nights of the week, then ask everyone to cut back and try to contribute a little something to making home-cooked meals possible. Split up meal preparation duties among one another so that the decision to eat out less doesn’t leave just one member of the family with all of the cooking and cleaning.

– Hold a Garage Sale

Why not hold a garage sale and put all, or most, of the proceeds towards your vacation fund? Task everyone with going through their rooms and finding items that they have no use for or haven’t used in a very long time.

– Save on your Energy Bill Together

Encourage everyone in your house to save energy by practicing habits such as turning off lights that aren’t in use and unplugging appliances and devices that could be draining power. Compare your new energy bills to your old ones and put any savings towards your vacation fund.

– Walk More, Drive Less

Many families fall into the unfortunate habit of driving to places that they would easily walk to. Make the conscious choice to travel on foot to stores and appointments if they are within walking distance, and you could save quite a bit of money on gas.

Bring these 5 suggestions before your family and have a discussion about trying some of them out. If you can implement them all, great! If you can only realistically try out a couple, then that’s fine as well. Every little bit will help, and when you do save up everything you need for that vacation, it will feel very well deserved.