The long holiday for National Holidays is a great opportunity to go on a trip and leave the routine of the city and work. This can also represent a risk to personal finances, due to the high expenses that can be incurred. For this reason, Jorge Carrillo Acosta, professor and financial expert at Pacífico Business School, offers some recommendations to reduce expenses if you plan to go for a walk over the next weekend.
How to plan my National Holidays trip so as not to overspend?
According to Carrillo, the first step is to budget for the trip. This consists of establishing limits for each type of consumption that you will make. This will allow you to have greater clarity about what you are willing to spend.
Likewise, in many cases it is advisable to make most of the purchases related to the trip in advance, since, in this way, you will be able to better plan your expenses and avoid some cost overruns during the same journey, especially when you go abroad.
On the other hand, the ideal is to pay for the trip with your savings or with some surplus income (gratuity, utilities, special bonus, etc.) so as not to have to resort to debt.
What are the most important expenses that I should consider?
According to the financial expert, in principle, the basic expenses of the trip should be considered, which include air or land transportation, lodging, food, and admission to the main tourist attractions of the place.
There are other additional expenses such as extra entertainment activities (shows, parties, tours, etc.), the purchase of a souvenir or memory of the trip, among others.
Also, it is recommended to prepare the suitcase in advance, since, otherwise, you could forget an item or garment and you will have to buy it again during the trip, which leads to unnecessary additional expenses.
How much of my income should be used to save for this trip?
In general terms, it is recommended to save 10% of your income every month to achieve some goal or objective, such as the desired trip on National Holidays.
However, the ideal would be not to allocate all your savings for this purpose, since you should always have a fund for contingencies.
If I need to go into debt to pay for the trip, what is the best alternative?
If you do not have enough savings and you must resort to financing to pay for the trip, the most convenient thing, in most cases, is to request a personal loan because this can have interest rates even lower than 20% per year.
On the other hand, if you finance yourself with a credit card, the average interest rate is higher than 60% per year for purchases in establishments and higher than 80% per year for cash withdrawals.
The only exception to this rule could be a promotion for the purchase with a credit card of a travel package in 3, 6 or 12 interest-free installments. In this case, obviously, it would be more convenient for you than any loan.
How true is it that Sunat will refund taxes for my travel expenses?
Carrillo points out that, since 2021, the expenses of tourist or artisan services can be used to request a refund (partial or total) of the earned income tax (fourth and fifth category) that was paid the previous year.
To do this, in the case of taking the service of a company, you must request a ticket or invoice in which your ID appears. In the case of hiring a person, you must request a receipt for fees.
Source: Larepublica
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