How to Fund a Dream Vacation with a Home Equity Loan

You work hard. You need a break. You need a vacation. But this time, you need more than just a weekend at the lake. It’s time for the big one: the dream vacation.

Whether your idea of a dream vacation is a two-week safari in Africa or an all-inclusive resort in Bali, the price of relaxation can be pretty hefty, especially for a family. While many would advise saving up for a lavish getaway, there are other ways to pay for it. A home equity loan may be an option if you’re a homeowner.

What Is a Home Equity Loan?

A home equity loan is a loan secured by the equity in your home. Your equity is determined by how much your house is worth vs. what you have paid into the mortgage. A home equity mortgage will let you borrow a portion of that equity, usually no more than 80%, to use for whatever you see fit and pay it back in fixed installments, with interest, over the next few years.

Home equity loans are paid in lump sums so that the funds can be used for anything. Many people use them for home renovations, to pay off high-interest debt, or to pay for education. But paying for a much-needed vacation is also an option.

Determine Your Budget

The first step to deciding how to pay for your dream vacation is determining how much it will cost. With airline prices steadily rising, transportation will be your first expense. Flight prices are typically highest in the summer and around the holidays, when children are out of school. Airline tickets are also affected by when you buy them and what day of the week you want to travel. If you’re not traveling with children, consider the winter, early spring, and fall for your trip. Known as shoulder season, this can save some money on flights and hotels.

If you decide to drive instead of fly, take into account wear and tear on your vehicle and the price of gas. Another option to save wear and tear is to rent a car. Recent rental car shortages may impact pricing for rental cars as well. If you fly, think about how you’ll travel around your destination. Is public transit accessible? Will you take guided tours that include transportation?

Lodging is the next most significant expense. If you have a family, you may need to consider booking several hotel rooms or looking into a short-term rental. Once food and entertainment are added in, it’s easy to see a $10,000 price tag for a week of international vacation for a family.

Home Equity Loan vs. Credit Cards

Unless you are willing to spend the time and have the discipline to save for your trip beforehand, you may have to incur debt to pay for a dream vacation. While most people would use a credit card to book airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, and pay for food and incidentals, credit cards typically have higher interest rates. These interest rates are based on a prime rate plus a certain percentage and are expressed as the annual percentage rate (APR). Currently, the average APR for credit cards is 19.49%, according to Investopedia’s most recent survey as of this writing.

Credit cards charge interest when you carry a balance from one month to another. While there are occasional promotions that offer 0 percent interest for a period of time, not everyone is eligible for those cards. If there is a chance that you will carry a balance, finding a lower interest option is attractive.

A home equity loan is considered a secured loan because it is backed with collateral: your home. Home equity loans typically have much lower interest rates. However, many lenders have a minimum threshold for how much they will lend. While this is variable, $15,000 is a common minimum limit. Closing costs are also involved, so your ultimate bill will be 2% to 5% higher to cover origination fees, appraisals, recording fees, etc.

Let’s compare borrowing $15,000 for an African safari for a family of four. If this family borrows $15,000 through a home equity loan with a five-year repayment term, their interest rate would be 6.1%. With a $290 monthly payment, they would pay roughly $2,440 in interest fees over the loan term. That doesn’t include origination fees, which could range from $300 to $750.

Comparatively, if the same $15,000 were charged to a credit card and paid over the same term at an interest rate of 19.49%, the family would pay more than $8,000 in interest and have a monthly payment of $394. If they wanted to keep the monthly payment close to $290, it would take eight years and four months—and would cost $15,234 in interest.

Risks of Home Equity Loans

Obviously, the home equity loan has a financial advantage over using a credit card, but there are risks involved. Although you’ll have a better interest rate, you’ll also be adding another payment to your monthly bills. And if you find that you can’t pay your home equity loan, you risk losing your collateral—in this case, your house.

The Bottom Line

Ideally, vacation will be affordable enough that you won’t have to worry about how to pay for it. But for the big, once-in-a-lifetime trips, you might consider financing. If you choose between a home equity loan and long-term credit card debt, the home equity loan is the more cost-efficient option.