Save Money

18 Best Ways to Save Money for Travel

Before the pandemic hit, the travel industry was at a peak. As I love traveling, I ensure to save some money separately for my travel expenses. You can either choose luxury travel or budget-friendly travel.

Vacations are supposed to be relaxing. The pandemic hit the travel industry worst. People stopped traveling, business comes at a halt, the travel industry continued to dip down. Basically, people hardly planned for any traveling.

But now, the world is recovering from its loss and so does the travel industry. Hotels, flights, and countries have opened their gates for the travellers. People have started traveling to places once again with no fear but with precautions, certainly.

I am guessing you are an ardent lover of traveling, but couldn’t dare to do so because you don’t have sufficient fun.

Will you give up your love for traveling?

How about if I can give you some financial tips on how to save money for travel.

Here are some practical money-saving tips for all the travel enthusiasts who are looking for solution to save money to travel.

What type of traveler are you?

There are many types of travelers in the world. Some seek to explore, some want to enjoy every experience, some just want to enjoy and relax in the luxury. Some want to experience the new culture, learn about the tradition and custom.

Travel means different for everyone. No matter what your style is, you would need money to travel. You would need money to stay, to eat and for transportation.

First, figure out what type of traveler you are. Do you enjoy a solo backpacking trip? Do you enjoy a vacation with your family to freshen up? Do you travel to learn and explore new things around the world?

Based on your travel type, you can decide the amount of money you will need and accordingly, you can plan your saving strategy.

The world is waiting for you! Let’s take a moment to think about all the places you want to go and all the experiences you want to have. So what’s holding you back? When it comes to saving money for travel, there are plenty of tips and tricks out there to help you save money even as soon as today.

best ways to save money on travel
Photo credit : https://www.vecteezy.com/

How to save money for travel/ What are the best ways to save money for travel?

Set a vacation budget

No matter where you go, vacationing can be expensive. If you’re not careful, you might come home with a credit card balance that you never wanted.

We travel to enjoy, relax and spend quality time with our loved ones. People hardly set a budget for their vacation. Usually, they want to be stress free and wanting to think about the budget isn’t on their list during those vacation days.

Because of which they end up overspending, which isn’t good for their credit card score and savings.

I believe in budget-friendly traveling. Money plays an important factor while we travel. We can’t rule out from the traveling plan.

It is one of the biggest mistakes when planning a traveling doesn’t involve budgeting. If you don’t set a travel budget, it is obvious to overspend on the airfare, hotels and other activities.

Thus, to save a generous amount, plan your travel budget in advance.

How much you will spend on your traveling? How much you can afford on flights, hotels and so on? Narrow down your option and look for the ways where you can skip or find alternatives.

For example, if you have a tight budget, opt for a more budget-friendly vacation. Book your air and hotel tickets in advance. Look for deals.

Prepare a list of things you want to do on your trip and try to keep them within your budget

Create a separate vacation account

I have come up with this idea of saving up for travel when I was planning a two week-long trip in South India. A vacation account is one of the best ways to make sure you have enough money saved up only for your travel.

You can set a target amount for your trip and start keeping money each month on that separate account. Like this, you can keep a tab on how much money you have been saving and can access how much more you need.

This way, you don’t have to touch your main savings account. Ensure to save an amount which can cover all your travel expenses.

Cancel unnecessary subscription

There are several subscription services that we pay for every month, but we may not use all of them.

While tracking your monthly budgeting expenses, see which all subscriptions you can cancel to save money.

If you are planning for your next trip in six months, for the time being cancel the subscriptions that are not needed. You may find how much extra you can save by just cancelling a few subscriptions.

The money you save can be used for your travel.

Limit your shopping

By any means limit your shopping if you want to save money for travel. Everyone dreams of traveling the world and explores the unexplored.

Experience that has never been experienced. But it cost you money. And if you don’t have enough saved money, you can’t fulfil your dream of traveling.

One way to make your travel more affordable is to limit your shopping. When you don’t buy unnecessary things, you will have more money to put in your travel savings account.

woman carrying shopping bags

Track your monthly expenses

Tracking your expenses can save you in all way. If you can manage your money well by tracking monthly expenses, you can not only save more money but also can plan so many things that you wish to do.

Suppose you are looking for ways on how to save money for travel in 6 months, the simple answer is stick to your budget and track your expenses regularly.

It might feel a little tough initially, but if you are passionate about traveling, with a little effort and some discipline, it is absolutely a doable task.

Make a budget for your monthly expenses. How much can you save from your salary, where you can cut down your expenses? Look for all the opportunities to save money.

money and coins

Cut down unnecessary expenses

This is what I was talking about in the previous point. There are a lot of small things that people can do to save money to travel more.

Yes, you have to make some sacrifices. Forget about luxuries and comfort. If you are willing to squeeze your demands and focus only on your needs to save more.

Curb unnecessary spending like buying coffee every day, traveling by car, buying lunch/dinner from outside and so on.

Find cheaper ways to live. Rely on deals, coupons and discounts for grocery shopping. Downsize your living, which will automatically cut down your expenses.

Do whatever is necessary to save money for travel.

Note: Do not compromise with your health and medical benefits. Pay for your health and life insurance. Spend money on healthy food.

Start cooking your meal

Cooking your own food is not only cost-effective but also a healthy lifestyle. People now are so busy with their life that they hardly get the time to cook. They get tired of cooking their own, hence, get it from outside.

For example, you are buying a cheese toast sandwich at 3.50$ for your breakfast every day.

You surely are saving your time and it is convenient, but can you imagine how much are you spending monthly?

Now, imagine, if you could make the same yourself, you are saving the exact amount what you are spending.

Now, if you calculate it in a year, the amount is quite big.

Thus, by cooking at home simple food you can slash your food expenses in half and put the money on your vacation savings account.

food

Look for coupon code and promotional offers

Like you know, the benefits of coupon codes and promotional offers in shopping. There are coupons and cashback websites to get offers on shopping.

When you are looking for ways to save money on travel, find discounts on travel.

For example, find discount and coupon codes on hotel cost, airfare. See which companies are offering better deals that are suitable for you.

coupon codes

Plan overall expenses on the trip

Planning is key when you travel. Plan your overall expenses roughly. This includes looking into the cost of airfare, hotels, food and other activities.

Make a travel budget and plan to stick with it. If you see your travel budget is significantly high, change your travel schedule.

Take time to save more and re-plan. Figure out how much money you will need to cover your travel expenses.

Side Hustles

There are a lot of advantages to having a side hustle. If you have a few talents or you know you are good at something, you can easily make money out of it. There are a lot of websites that help to establish side hustles.

For example, even if you have a regular job, you can start a part-time job with minimal work pressure, but pays you well.

You can provide services to people for your expertise. If you are skilled at coding, you can freelance in website building or help others in small projects.

If you are good at baking, you can start your small weekly baking class where you will teach others on how to bake cookies and cake. You can earn a handful of money from this.

Some people over the years, when they establish a good network of people, quit their regular job and make side hustles their major income source.

So, talking about how to save money for travel, side hustle is one way to earn extra and save extra.

how to save money for travel

Find out cheap flights

Usually budget-friendly travel enthusiasts always hunt for cheap flights and accommodation.

Do your research like where you can get cheaper air tickets and accommodation deals. Plan your travel at least 3 months in advance to get cheap flights. Be flexible with your travel plans.

Many airlines offer discounts, and special deals to their loyal subscribers, opt for that option. You could save quite a sum of money and spend them wisely on your trip.

For example, when we plan our trip, we usually go with the cancellation air ticket as we have a baby. When you are planning to travel with your baby, everything is uncertain.

But we always compare air ticket cost at different travel websites. We look for the best deals and try to grab the money-saving opportunity.

flight

Get a travel reward credit card

I knew nothing about a travel reward credit card until I travelled to the USA. Before my trip to Seattle, USA, my bank suggested that I take a travel reward credit card.

When I got to know about the benefits of having the card, I was convinced.

Usually, there are a lot of different types of reward cards, a travel reward card is one of them. They work by giving you a point for every purchase that you make.

Later, you can redeem those points and use them as cashback or discounts on different items.

Note: Ensure you don’t pay any extra charges for the card. Get a detail information about the advantages and disadvantages of having a travel reward card from your bank.

Keep no debt

If you have no debt or less debt, the more money you save. Sometimes we chase towards having a home and take a home loan, which runs for years. Even then, you can save money for travel.

All you have to do is maintain your monthly budget and stick to it. Suppose you already have a loan. Ensure you don’t add any other loan to your account like a credit card or car loan.

Get creative and curb your spending, so that you can save more without affecting your lifestyle. Even if you have any debt, plan and strategize to pay off on time with low interest.

debt free

Sell unused items

The next best and easiest thing you can do to save money for travel is to sell all your unused items.

You can arrange a garage sale, where you can display all your unused items.

Or, you can also sell those products online marketplace like eBay, Craigslist or Facebook marketplace. The money you will get from selling your items, you can use them for funding your trip.

Share room

Here is another idea where you can save a considerable amount of money and fulfil your wishes for traveling. If you have a bigger room, you can share it with your friend or someone who will split the rent of the room.

You can share every household expenses. The good thing about sharing your room with someone is they can be your travel partner.

Save money on utility bill

You can read more in details like in what ways you can save a ton of money on a utility bill. If you are sensible and reasonable enough, saving money is all about a mindset and discipline.

bills

Buy second hand

If you are planning for a trip, that will cost you more money. But you are ready to go in every way for your passion. Forget about buying new and luxury things.

Consider downsizing and cutting back your expenses to the extent you can.

Buy used items as they will cost you cheaper. Consider using reusable items like glass jars, tea bags, coffee cans, sunglass cases, empty laundry detergent dispenser and so on.

If traveling by a car is convenient for you, consider purchasing a second-hand car. Buy things from the thrift store, like used furniture, electronic gadgets for home, and so on.

Live frugally and save more money to accomplish the purpose of traveling.

Quit bad habits that cost you money

Bad habits can cost you a lot of money over the time. If you have a smoking habit, your health insurance will be more. You will likely to spend more on tobacco.

Likewise, buying too much is also a bad habit, consuming alcohol and so on.

If not, keep a check on your habits, ensure they won’t affect your finances.

Final Words –

Take saving money as a challenge. Plan and strategize your finances. Make financial goals. If traveling to a destination is your goal, plan your finances first. Do not let your savings go dry to fulfill your passion. Know what are the possibly best ways to save money for travel.

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