How to make the most of your PTO

Hello and welcome back to my page! Today I am going to discuss how to maximize your PTO each year so you can finally take those trips you've always wanted to take. As I said in my last blog, I am constrained by my PTO for traveling just like most of you, but I count my PTO hours down to the day and use all of my time off each year.  You can easily get 4 days off by taking a Friday or Monday off around a holiday weekend and only use 1 PTO day. You can also get up to 8 or 9 days off if you take off on a holiday week; Saturday + Sunday + 4 PTO days + holiday + weekend = 9 days off. The key is to plan for holidays that fall on a Friday or a Monday and take PTO around those holidays. You can also gain extra vacation time depending on the type of shift you work. I have worked as a salaried employee as well as an hourly employee. For salaried employees, depending on how your company works, most of the time if you work even a few hours, they will pay you for the whole day so you could work half a day without having to utilize any PTO. This gives you extra time off around weekends and holidays.  For the people with work from home options, you could work a few hours from home on your travel days, so you do not have to take a full day off. Another good option is to take a later flight that allows you to work the day or half a day then leave for your trip. This option does make it the traveling part a bit more tiring but gives you more time in destination without using an extra day of PTO.  For me, I am currently hourly, so every minute is accounted for. My job is open on the weekends and holidays also so to maximize my PTO I voluntarily work extra weekend days to give myself days off during the week without having to use my PTO. It is all about balancing your days off and using as much time off as you can.  Everyone needs time off and it's never too late to start using your time off to explore the wonderful world we live in!