Travel costs money, there’s really no way around that. Even when using credit card points or miles to your advantage (which is fantastic), you still have to have money to spend at your location or on other travel related items. The key to traveling often is being able to save for those trips you want to take and having the cash to pay for them. So if you want to travel more and you’re not sure where to start in terms of saving money, here are 5 simples ways to save for travel to get you going!
Eat at home.
The first thing I look at when I need to save money are my food expenses. Most of the time you can save a lot of money by cooking and eating at home instead of going out to restaurants. Take a look at your schedule and your habits and try to be economical in what types of food you buy at the grocery store and how you eat. This can actually cut a huge amount of money out of your normal budget which can help you save long term.
Share meals or do happy hour when you go out.
One of the things that Nick and I do often when we do end up going out to teat is sharing meals or working it into our schedule to make happy hour where food is a lot cheaper. This saves us a lot of money instead of both ordering full meals.
Sell clothes or extra items.
I’m adamant about going through my closet and apartment every month or two and selling anything laying around that we don’t need or use. I sell clothes almost monthly if I haven’t worn them lately or extra technology that isn’t being used any more. I know this doesn’t sound like you’ll make a ton of extra cash, but you’d be amazed how fast it adds up.
Cut out Coffee.
A huge one for many of us, think about how much money you’re spending on Starbucks or whatever place you frequent for your daily fix. I don’t even have coffee every day (maybe 2-3 times per week) and even that really adds up. Your $4 drink every day ends up being around $20 per week, which ends up being $80 per month, which ends up being almost $1000 per year!!! There’s your airfare right there.
Cut out Alcohol/Desserts.
We have friends that complain a lot about not being able to travel but then will spend $30 at dinner on alcohol and extra things like dessert. If you drink alcohol, look at the cost that is adding to your grocery and restaurant bills. It ends up being a huge amount and something that we spend hardly any money on. It’s all about what’s a priority!
Kelley @ Move By Yourself says
These are all great tips! Cutting coffee especially, I started a new job back in April and there is a Starbucks right around the corner. But, I eventually did the same math you did and had the same conclusion! I was like I could fly almost anywhere for that much money.
Casey says
Seriously! Even my couple times a week when I grab STarbucks, I’m always thinking, wow this is adding up!
Natalie Minniss says
Great tips! I’ve cut out buying coffee at Starbucks, now I just brew my own at home! And I also like to go through every couple months to sell what we’re not using. I usually do this right before a big trip to get some extra spending money 🙂 I can’t cut out alcohol, haha, but I only drink at home.
Casey says
If I drank normal coffee, I would totally do it at home! And selling stuff is such a great way to not only clean out your life but to make some extra cash!
Departures With Aimee says
These are really good tips, I find that selling clothes is a really good one! Especially when you’re an impulse buyer like myself.. 🙂
Another thing I’ve been doing practically since I was a child is whenever I have change at the bottom of my bag or whatever I put it into a jar. When it’s time to go out it never really appeals to me to pick up pennies and therefore it accumulates. I recently went to the bank to pick up money bags and I’ve cashed in about £200 without any effort… This could be a flight or more depending where you’re going… I recommend!
Casey says
I love selling clothes… I try to sell whatever I haven’t worn in like the previous 3-4 months since I probably won’t wear it again then. And yes, love the money jar! My husband does that and it often adds up to a lot! I use a lot of my change for parking meters but you’re right, that’s such a great way!
Megan @ Semi-Charmed Kind of L says
“It’s all about what’s a priority!” EXACTLY! I actually wrote a post called “(Almost) Anyone Can Travel: On Prioritizing” back in 2013, and I echoed a lot of your sentiments. Of course some people have medical expenses or other extenuating circumstances that prevent them from traveling, so I don’t want to make blanket assumptions about everyone, but I used to get so annoyed when my friends would say, “You’re so lucky; you get to travel so much.” I really wanted to say, “Actually, I worked two jobs all through college and saved all that money so I could take this trip instead of going out to bars or buying new clothes,” but I didn’t want to sound rude. 😉
Casey says
Exactly! And yes, understandably everyone has different priorities but if travel is yours, you find a way. And I still work multiple jobs to be able to travel as much as we do, so figuring out a way to make and save some extra money is necessary!
Barb says
This was really helpful, great tips! I find that preparing your own meals really does the trick. I also like to wander around the supermarkets in a foreign country, as I believe you can learn a lot about the culture by seeing what they consume
Casey says
It really does cut back on cost when you cook at home! It’s amazing how much that can add up!
Daisy @ Simplicity Relished says
I completely agree– we all have limited expenses (especially what’s actually in excess of what we need), and we have to make tough decisions about how we want to indulge!
Casey says
Totally! We have to prioritize what’s important to us!
The Common Wanderer says
This post is so on point, particularly about prioritising! It drives us insane when people make comments about us being ‘lucky’ because we can afford to do it..Ah no, we sacrifice a lot of things (or find alternative ways of being sociable that don’t end up blowing our budget), and we work hard to save whatever extra cash we can. You learn pretty quickly that you don’t need that extra outfit, or a glass of wine (or 3!) with dinner. Taking homemade lunches to work has also made a huge difference for us… We barely spend a cent during the week now. Thanks for sharing!
Casey says
So so true. We get that all the time too from friends of ours. We’re not lucky, we work really hard to make it work! There is such a big difference!