Americans go into debt on vacation

ATLANTA - Too many of us go into debt to go on vacation.

Let me run some numbers by you.  LearnVest, a financial website, says 75 percent of us have gone into debt to pay for a vacation.  How much debt? According to its survey, on average,  $1,108.

Listen, who doesn't love a vacation? A break from it all.  But too often we get there and get real loosey goosey with the wallet.  We get that appetizer at dinner we don't really need. We buy extra drinks. We take the expensive helicopter tour - because - well, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, right?  But then we get home and we get the credit card bill.  And since 55 percent of us don't put vacation spending in our annual budget projection, now we have debt.

And it's not just over spending but rather too many people take money they would have saved and used it instead to pay for vacations. We value leisure spending over savings.

AVOID VACATION DEBT

• Put vacations in annual budget
• Make a vacation spending plan
• Limit screen time as you have limited WIFI

So, sit down with the family and let everyone know it's not going to be a free for all this year. One souvenir. Pick wisely. Eat the snacks mom packed if you're hungry. Mom and Dad, say 'no' to that extra glass of wine. If you want another glass, buy a bottle and keep it in your room.  And as viewer and certified financial coach Parkey Thompson of Financial Focus recommends, "Cash! Use cash to stop you at what you have set as your budget."