As spring break at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) approaches, students face the decision of whether to travel or find more cost-efficient plans.
Although the idea of getting away is tempting to students, rising travel costs are pushing students to stay home and look for cheaper alternative plans.
“I stay home and do other activities,” said BGSU student Vell Hill. “I travel if I have the money, but, you know, I’m saving money because I’m in college.”
For other students, the rising costs of traveling aren’t as much of a worry, but they still acknowledge those costs as a reason why students go home for spring break.
“I’m flying down to Gulf Shores, Alabama,” BGSU student Ethan Zumbro said. “For me, that’s not a factor, but I totally see how it could be. I know the tickets that we got were very expensive, and they were for a basic economy flight, so it’s not cheap.”
Hyun Park, economics professor, said the primary recommendation he would give to students regarding spring break plans is to try to budget properly.
“I want to recommend that students please set up their maximum affordable budget first,” said Park. “The second thing, after setting up the budget, students should split it into fixed and flexible costs.”
Park said the best way for students to attempt to budget correctly is by keeping track of their fixed and flexible costs.
“If the student wants to set up the fixed costs, that is what they will be spending on the flight, accommodations, lodging, hotel, etc.,” he said. “For the flexible costs, students will pay for food, activities and shopping. The students can mainly adjust the flexible costs.”
After setting up a maximum affordable budget for a trip, budget-splitting can help students remain within their personal spending goals.
“If the students set up a five-day trip and the total budget is $600, they will have to split the budget into an average,” Park said. “So, they would have $120 per day and can spend a little more or less around that number.”
With most students wanting to travel somewhere warm for spring break, the increased airfare ticket prices have a significant impact on the final decision, especially for college students. Park said planning ahead of time can help combat rising prices.
“As the time gets closer and closer to spring break, then you know the flight prices will skyrocket,” he said. “So, setting up a plan before, maybe earlier than three or four months, would be better for all of the students.
For students traveling, another way to combat rising costs is to work together to pay for certain expenses.
“Students should, if they want to, have a trip with a friend,” Park said. “Then, the students could share the financial status and trip expectations to lower the conflict.”
Another big way students can stay within budget is by looking at their overall expenses once the trip is over. Park said doing this will help prepare for future trips and events.
“After returning from the trip, students should review the whole trip,” he said. “After that, they can keep this information and utilize the previous year’s experience for next year’s trip.
