People are always asking me how I’m affording to travel, even though I’m basically living paycheck to paycheck. There was a point not too long ago where I was making minimum wage, working part time, going to college part time, and I still went on a couple short vacations and a trip to Disney World that year.
Now I’m going to start this off with saying, you don’t have to be bankrupt, or even struggling financially to follow these budgeting tips, but I’m going to let you know how you can make your vacation happen even if you are. I’m still using these techniques even though I’ve got a much better paying job now.
Making your vacations your celebrations can help save. Our trip to Vegas was my boyfriends birthday celebration. No party, no presents. Instead we saved the money and made some memories in a place we’d never been! This trip to California is our 5 year Anniversary, Valentines Day, and my birthday all in one. Instead of wasting money on expensive dinners or gifts, we’re going to explore another new state.
Make home your favorite place to chill. Like I said in my first post, we don’t “pop bottles” on the weekend. We Netflix and Chill all day long. It’s great to rest and recharge. If you’re looking to have a couple drinks and let loose after a long week, spend the $12 on a bottle of wine(or your favorite liquor) and enjoy it on your couch, in your pajamas! This is way cheaper than the $12 a drink you’d be spending at a bar. Plus, you’re paying rent to live there, you might as well get your moneys worth.
If you’re not into being a couch potato all the time, join a cheap gym near you(Planet Fitness is $10/month). This gives you a place to go as often as you want, without having to pay for it every time. I did this over the summer when I was taking some time off and it was a great way to get out of the house.
Get into the habit of grocery shopping. Pack yourself a lunch! Make your own dinner. Keep it simple but have your dinners planned ahead of time, so you aren’t ordering in.
Spending $100-$200 on food for the entire week sure beats spending $10-$15 a meal/per person. You don’t want to eat your budget for the week. Literally.
And while your at it, skip you daily Dunkin Donuts fix. Now if you’re like me and can’t live without an iced coffee in the morning, I get it. Don’t deprive yourself. But that doesn’t mean you need to buy breakfast. Bring a bagel from home, or get a box of breakfast sandwiches from your freezer aisle and bring those. Then take that $5/day and put it in a different account and don’t touch it.
That $5/ day adds up. If you can do that for a year, you’ll have around $1800 to book with. And you can go so many places with $1800, especially if you have a travel buddy to split the cost with!
If you can’t do the $5/ day, because it is hard sometimes, aim for $10-$15 a week. You will still have between $520-$780 to book with. This is a very realistic budget for booking a getaway. Our California trip is going to cost roughly $800 a person, for flight, hotel and car, but we will be staying for 6 nights at a nicer hotel(since it’s a special occasion). 4 or 5 nights will easily fall into this budget range.
Shop around for a bank account to put these savings in. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been banking with your bank your whole life, if your interest rate isn’t good it’s not doing you any favors. You want the money you’re working so hard to save, to work for you. I found an account at a local credit union which gives me 2% interest! That might not sound like a lot but that means if I put $1,000.00 in that account I’ll get $20.00 a month in interest alone!
Keep your tax return if you can too! I don’t have to tell you that chunk of change can buy a lot of things, but before you go off and buy a new game console or some more shoes you don’t need, think of the places you could go with that check. Throw as much as you can in that saving account and keep it for when your ready to go on a adventure.
When you’re finally ready to book, it might be a scary thought to drain your accounts just to go somewhere. I have been there. I’ve had to scrape quarters together to put gas in my car so I could stay on budget for a trip, but you can’t put a price on the memories you take with you when you travel more.
Your money will return, your time won’t.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done to stick to your budget?
Travel When You’re Young 