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A big thank you to Carnival Cruises for hosting us during the Permission To Hustle retreat. All tips and tricks are my own.

If you’ve never been on a girls trip, you may not understand the importance of them. They are time to connect, relax, laugh, and believe it or not, save money. I recently went on a women’s retreat with Permission To Hustle on Carnival Cruise, and realized these kind of experiences are very helpful when you’re on a tight budget. Let me share with you how to plan a girls trip on a budget.

How To Plan A Girls Trip On A Budget

Who are your circle of friends? If you have girlfriends you confide in, and who are on the same financial wavelength as you, a girls trip needs to be added to your yearly plans.

Give Yourself A Goal

There is something awesome to getting intense about paying down debt, but you also need a fun goal to add to the mix. Enter the girls trip. These kind of trips should be planned way in advance, which gives everyone time to save the required amount. This also creates a group goal that lights a fire under everyone to stick their budgets, get those debts paid down, and not miss out on the big trip.

Go All-Inclusive

One thing I really loved about the Permission To Hustle Retreat was that Carnival Cruises are pretty much all-inclusive. Sure, there are excursions and drink packages, but if you decide not to use those, you and your girls will still have an amazing time. An all-inclusive girls trip means you will have the set price ahead of time, and again, you all can budget accordingly. You don’t realize how much food and drinks cost until you try to plan a girls trip or retreat. Plus, if you’re on a budget, you’re probably cooking every single meal you eat. You deserve a break while you’re on vacation, so let someone ELSE cook for you.

Research Cheap Flights

Here’s where you’re going to save the most money! Another bonus to planning ahead, and doing an all-inclusive experience is that you can find the best deals on flights way ahead of time. Set a google alert for any sales on the destination you’ll fly to for your girls trip, or use apps like Hopper. For the Permission To Hustle retreat, I spent less than 200 dollars on my flight because I knew the dates ahead of time, and set up alerts. I also saved $25 a month for my flight, and was able to use the money I didn’t spend on fun items (and cocktails) during the trip.

Budget for ONE Experience

Remember when I said that excursions and additional experiences aren’t necessary? Well, they aren’t. BUT, if you and your girls can come to an agreement about one fun experience you can do together during your trip, do it. An experience or excursion every single day is overkill, and exhausting. But, the memories you’ll have from that one time you all kissed a Stingray, or did a biplane in the mountains will stick with all of your forever. This is also a great time to find a special or deal on these excursions. I was pretty impressed with the prices for the Carnival Cruise excursions, compared to other cruises I’ve experienced.

I hope this post has helps you plan your girls trip on a budget, and reminds you that you can still have fun with your friends while you’re working on your finances. You don’t need to give up quality time away with people you love in order to become debt-free. Life is about fun, so have it while spending responsibly.

Do you have any tips to add when it comes to planning your girls trips on a budget? Let us know below!