Let’s be honest, you can’t travel unless you have money. It’s as simple as that! I can give you all of my secrets on how to catch flight hacks, give you the best travel guides, but that goes out the window if you don’t have a budget!
Moment of honesty: I was the worst at budgeting, but as my travel appetite increased, I have become more disciplined in saving for travel. I know that many people don’t have the money to travel because life happens, but I am here to lend you a little advice so one day you can tackle that bucket list! Saving money isn’t easy, but it is definitely worth it.
Here are a few major ways you can start to save money for travel!
- Open A Travel Fund: The easiest way to save money is to allocate a specific amount every week or month to a fund designated for your travels. This fund should be the primary account you use to book tickets, accommodations or anything else travel related. Going a bit further, you can also have a standing order where you transfer money from your savings account to your travel fund each month! That way you won’t even feel it.
- In Lieu Of: Let me just say, I love gifts! I count the days down to Christmas or my birthday and I revel in the opportunity to bust open the wrapper to see what’s inside. If you’re like me then let’s switch it up. In lieu of regular clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery, ask for donations for travel. You could give all of your family and friends your travel account number and ask them to deposit money there! Even the smallest amount helps.
- Go On A Diet: A savings diet! When I have a big trip coming up, I go on a cut back spree! That means anything that isn’t extra or necessarily important, I eliminate from my budget. I cut back on hair appointments, nail appointments, and shopping! I also cook a lot more. Buying food is probably the quickest way to bust your budget. My advice is to cook all of your meals, then take lunch! Cut out the coffee, the donuts and ice-cream.
- Sell Stuff: I’m a hoarder and I’m sure there are many other women and men out there just like me. I have things that I am emotionally attached to for no good reason. Sell them, make some money! I know there are many things in my closet that I have never worn; I know someone would love to have them! Women, get rid of the bags, shoes, all the gifts from your ex that you no longer like to look at. Men, get rid of the electronics and vintage sneakers. Have a yard sale and earn some extra cash.
- Reduce Bills – Do you have cable? Amazon Prime? Apple Music? Tidal? Cut it! Well, maybe you can keep Amazon, lol! Anything that you can live without for a few months, cut off. You’ll be surprised how much money you can save by scaling back on bills, and let’s be honest, how many people even watch Cable? You can watch just about anything on Netflix.
- Get A Part-Time Job – It’s not as bad as it sounds, hear me out! If you’ve got an extra skill, put it to use. It could be as simple as babysitting for a neighbour, running a few errands, or setting up a few social media accounts. There are always people looking for some extra hands. Don’t be afraid to charge people a nominal fee to do things you use to do for free. Just let them know, “hey, I’m saving for a trip.”
- Money Saving Games – If you have a vice, use that to your advantage. I sometimes tend to let a few French words slip every now and again; to help curb this bad habit, a friend and I decided to challenge ourselves. If either of us slip up, we put a dollar in our travel fund and that money is used to fund a trip. While this is unique to me, there are many other money-saving games you can come up with. Just be as creative as possible!
Saving is a major commitment, one that is certainly not easy, but in the end you will not regret it! Do you have any creative saving methods? What are they?! How do you save for travel?
