Guru Speak

When you want to take your family on a holiday but there are bills piling up, what are your alternatives?

Typically families take their children on a getaway at least once or twice a year during their school breaks or seasonal pub¬lic holidays. However, families with small children may take grandparents or the inlaws along with them.

It is also a tradition or quite typical that the one who is responsible for the trip finan¬cially is usually the same person who picks up other monthly bills. This can be a huge headache if you are that person and do not have a proper "plan".

Let's suppose that Samui is your choice of destination and we will be conservative here, so you decide to take just four peo¬ple on this family holiday. The travel expenses will roughly include at least two nights' accommodation for four, which means that there will be four room nights, four air tickets and airport transfers.

On average, with midrange accommodation and maybe a budget airline, this can add up to some Bt40,000 already with¬out meals, tourist attractions, some excursion such as island visits and shopping, which you may need to reserve some cash for.

Most credit card issuers pro¬vide payment alternatives that can help you breathe more eas¬ily when the monthly statement arrives. What it takes to learn about these alternatives is just one phone call.

When a required payment for this trip appears on your credit card, you can request your credit card company or your bank to calculate several instalment plans that suit you the best. First, you can have the amount, in this case, Bt40,000, divided into 10 monthly instal¬ments.

Alternatively, you can make some down payment that you're comfortable with first and then divide the rest up into 10 monthly instalments, accord¬ing to the Bank of Thailand's rules and regulations.

Credit card companies or banks call such instalment schemes different names depending on their designed features and marketing gim¬micks.

Please remember that you should be specific about the item that you wish monthly instalments for, so the mini¬mum fees and charges can be calculated accordingly.

This payment method will allow you to gain more control of your debts while you can still take your family on a worryfree trip. So, now you can take a deep breath and enjoy the sea breeze.

Janejit Ladpli is from the leisure marketing division of Krungthai Card.