I am here to show real money saving strategies so anyone can afford to travel. I am not here to show how to travel for free or for dirt cheap prices. Because the reality is, travel is expensive. It isn’t cheap, period.
The travel industry has a global impact of $7 trillion and growing. It is a lucrative business, and is marketed similar to weddings:
It is a once in a lifetime experience. If you don’t spend the money to do it right, you will regret it.
So what ends up happening is that visitors encounter inflated prices in tourism heavy areas. Anyone can see it in souvenir shops with their keychains and t-shirts, or entrance fees to landmarks. In order to make “memories” there is a “tourist price” to pay.
However, that doesn’t mean YOU have to pay the high prices. There are plenty of ways to reduce the cost of travel if you are willing to work for it. It takes time and patience, and a little bit of smarts. I am here to show you the strategies I use to save money to travel in advance, as well as some tricks to reduce cost while traveling.
Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert in finance. The suggestions below are based on personal experience for how I save money to travel.
Understanding the Problem First
In Part 1 of Solving the “I Don’t Have Money to Travel” Problem I wanted to show you the perspectives that hinder people from saving up money to travel. I highly recommend you read that first and then come back. That way when you continue with this article, you can truly be invested and ready to apply my suggestions. Read Part 1 Here.
Now that we have made it to Part 2, I think it is safe to say that you are ready to learn the strategies that can make traveling affordable. So let’s first take a look at daily habits you can start today in order to create a travel fund.
How to Save Money Before Any Trips
I like to put aside money to travel even when I don’t have a place in mind. This way if an opportunity strikes, I already have some money to start making bookings. Here are some of the habits I have in order to save up money just in case.
- Separate your travel fund from your daily expenses. Get yourself a cool piggy bank to saving for smaller travel expenses (food, attractions). For bigger travel expenses (flights, sleeping accommodations) check with your bank to see if you can open up a free separate bank account for it. Just make sure your travel money is separated so you are not tempted to spend it.
- If it’s not in your wallet, then it’s travel money. Anytime you find loose cash in pockets, under car seats, or in your laundry, I want you to put into your travel fund. This is a great way to save up smaller travel expenses. It also reminds you to save that money instead of putting it back in your wallet. Every penny, nickel and dime counts!
- I know you probably heard this before, but stop buying your morning coffee. It seems like everyone and their mother gives this suggestion but there is so much truth to it. Make your coffee at home instead and put that $4 towards your travel budget. Honestly, it doesn’t only have to be coffee, it can be anything you purchase daily that can be replaced with a DIY version.
- Every paycheck, take out 10 bucks right away and stick it straight into the travel budget. Or your allowance. Or your birthday money. Wherever it comes from, set aside some sort of amount. Even if it’s only $5, this simple practice of setting aside money before it enters into your miscellaneous funds will prevent you from spending money randomly.
- Switch up your outings to more chill activities. Instead of going out, head in! Have potlucks, buy a case of beers and watch Netflix, have a dance party in your living room. Eliminate cover charges and overpriced syrupy cocktails.
How to Save Money for a Specific Trip
Once I decide on a destination, it’s go time. I continue the strategies from above and add on the strategies below to kick it up a notch.
- Establish how much you are willing to spend on the trip. This is the first thing I ALWAYS do. Once I am set on a number, then I begin to really plan the trip. This way I avoid planning a big grand trip and then later realize I can’t afford it.
- Exchange your currency before you leave on your trip. I find that if you exchange your currency beforehand you have time to shop around and get the best rates for your money (Banks give some of the best rates). Otherwise you risk being stuck with exchanging your money with a private company abroad and getting charged a large commission fee.
- Start playing the Points Game. I don’t think you don’t need to go nuts about keeping track and gaining points. However if you use a website to book your travel plans consistently, you might as well be collecting the points. I like using Expedia since I have found it pretty easy to accumulate points through them. Note: Points usually don’t kick in the first 1-2 trips, but after a while you will have enough to start applying to future trips.
- Plan your trips in the off-season. Research different cities and areas to find their peak season. That way you can plan your trip around those months in order to get cheaper hotel and flights. In general, Warmer months and Holidays are some of the most expensive times to travel.
- Spread your purchases out, instead of all at once. This way you can pay off the items in bite size chunks. I like this method, that way I don’t obsess about how much everything costs.
- Take advantage of your resources. This is the one strategy out of my list that where everyone will have varying results. Essentially I look to friends and family and call in favors. Sometimes it’s borrowing job perks or crashing on their couch. It can be as simple as reaching out to them and asking for a car ride in exchange for food and company.
How to Save Money During the Trip
The suggestions below are for when you are on the road, making all your hard earned cash stretch.
- Take advantage of free attractions. You may be surprised how much can be done when you choose to search for opportunities that don’t cost a cent!
- If you want to do something that has a cost, ask yourself a couple questions:
- Is there a “free” zone I can go to in order to see the same sights?
- Is this something I can technically do at home?
- Is this authentic or a tourist trap?
- Is this something I have been dreaming about since I was a child and will regret on my deathbed?
- Start packing your own lunch. Food is an expense that is easy to overlook. Instead of overpriced average tourist food, head over to a local grocery store to buy the essentials. This is probably one of the biggest ways I save money.
- Split costs with others. I find splitting works best for hotel and certain transportation options. By sharing the price with others, you have more money for a longer trip or nicer bookings as opposed to if you were solo traveling.
- Plan trips to where you have friends/family already living there. You can crash on their couch, spend some time with them, and if they have some free time they can show you around.
- Take public transportation or walk whenever possible. Instead of hiring a taxi or Uber to get around, you can pay a couple bucks to ride the metro or bus system. A lot of cities offer multi-day passes for unlimited rides, which I highly recommend looking into! Of course, walking is free and has the added benefit of being great exercise.
- Be realistic and critical of souvenirs. Traditional souvenirs tend to have a high price margin. Alternatively, you can opt for “free souvenirs” like museum pamphlets, train tickets, or a local newspaper. If you do want to purchase a keychain or t-shirt make sure to shop around to find the best price.
- Be mindful of hidden fees if using a budget airline or hotel. Do your research to stay within guidelines of budget bookings. Hidden fees are sneaky little bastards, and can really mess up your travel budget.
- Skip paying for a guide, and explore on your own. Nowadays with Google Maps and DIY walking tours, the need to hire someone is no longer a necessity. Although I will say if you find the right tour guide, it can totally be worth the price!
- Be aware of exchange rates and fees when traveling internationally. By understanding the value of your dollar and what happens to it when you travel internationally, you will be able to have better judgement deciding if a price is right for you.
Resources For Finding Deals
All websites mentioned are not sponsored. I am still small in the travel world, so the suggestions here are coming straight from experience.
My Go-to Websites
| Website | Why I love using them | FYI |
| Google Flights | Great for comparing international flight pricing. | |
| Southwest Airlines – Low Fare Calendar | Great for finding cheap domestic flights in North America. | Southwest doesn’t make me want to rip my hair out all the time like some other budget airlines do. |
| Skyscanner | Great when I need budget flights within another country. | Most search results are budget airlines. This means higher chances of sneaky hidden fees. |
| Expedia | Great for finding a “fancier” or “boutique” places to stay at a lower price ahead of time. | |
| Trip Advisor | Great for verifying that a hotel is legit or checking if a landmark is worth paying for. |
Worth Mentioning Websites (Although I Don’t Really Use)
| Website | Why I Don’t Really Use It | Why Maybe You Should Try |
| Scott’s Cheap Flights | I like the concept, but I find I can find comparable cheap flights on my own. You need to pay to really get the most out of the alerts they send you, and it isn’t very customizable. | This is a good website if you want deals to just pop in your inbox. They do offer a free subscription plan, where you are sent some of the deals. If anything, the most valuable information can be found in their Resources/FAQ section. |
| AirBnB | I want to book through here, but I never found one that worked for me. Often times, the cost for a week in a decent AirBnB is pretty damn close to the price of a week in a hotel. Internationally it is harder to find a decent AirBnB that is central. | I think it honestly depends on your destination. I also think that this is a great option if you are doing more of a group trip – definitely a win over hotel! |
| HotelTonight | Sleek app, but every time I tried to use it I got results that were way out of my price range. | If you need a last minute place to crash and like swankier places, then this is the app for you. |
Have a website (or even an app) that I didn’t cover that you are curious about? Freel free to comment below or send me an email at [email protected], and I will let you know what I think about it.
That About Sums It Up
What you have just read are all the steps I take in order to save up enough money to travel. At one point I had written over 4000 words (yikes), so there is so much more I want to share. For the sake of this topic however, I wanted to only share the strategies anyone can use to financially plan for their trips. I hope you were able to take away one or two strategies that you want to start trying today!
P.S.
Wonder why I didn’t include the suggestion to get a job in the travel industry or volunteer for a non-profit? Getting a job abroad is a totally legitimate idea, so if it fits your lifestyle go for it! Nomadic Matt wrote a great piece explaining different options for working abroad in exchange for room and board. Writing about working abroad is an entire article in itself, so it’s a conversation for another day.
If you have a strategy to solve the “I don’t have the money to travel” problem that I didn’t mention, I would love to hear it! Let me know in the comments so others can see the strategies as well!
