I get asked a lot how Nick and I can travel so much, both financially and time-wise,
so today I thought I’d touch on how we plan our trips and budget them into our year ahead.
1. Budget for the year ahead, both financially and with your calendar.
We start at the beginning of the year with a list of tentative locations we want to make it to.
We choose 2 overseas locations/trips we want to try and make it to, as well as numerous domestic locations that we are interested in.
Now granted, our list always gets whittled down based on budgets and availability,
but it’s a starting point.
Go through your calendar and see what’s feasible for you based on time off of work,
for us, we use a lot of holidays and long weekends for trips to save on time off.
There are lots of places around where you live that can be great spots for a weekend getaway,
so we plan a handful of trips to domestic locations for weekends away.
By using red eye flights, you can actually go fairly long distances for just a weekend.
This is what we recently did for New York in August and we ended up only having to pay for 1 night hotel to save money and not use any time off work.
Use weekends to your advantage – you can fit a surprising amount into 2 days somewhere.
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| Traveling to New Orleans over Christmas |
2. Plan for your trips financially.
We put aside a large amount of our incomes for travel expenses and we start way ahead of time.
For almost all of our trips, we have it totally paid off before we even leave, since we plan our trips so far in advance, so that helps us put enough money aside based on the trip needs.
Nothing is worse than enjoying a great vacation and then coming home to a huge bill.
You’ll enjoy it more if you put the money aside ahead of time and plan in advance for the expenses.
3. Make travel a priority.
The very simple truth is that travel is a priority in our lives right now,
so we make sacrifices in other areas in order to do it.
Look at your budgets and see where you can cut, then funnel that money into an account set up just for travel money. It will be easier to manage if you have an account only for travel,
that way you won’t grab from it for other things.
4. Be open to different kinds of locations.
Though many times we have specific places in mind we want to go to, there are times when we can find another location for cheaper and while it wasn’t the place we originally wanted to go,
it’s still a new experience.
Some places are much cheaper than others, as well as different times of year,
so do your research and find out how much things will cost.
This will help you travel and at the same time, saving money.
5. Just book it.
I think many people dream and dream of taking that trip to that special location for years,
but at the end of the day, they are too scared to book it, for whatever reason.
My advice would be to just take the plunge.
Once you start traveling, it gets easier and easier and more amazing,
but you have to start somewhere.
It also gets more and more accessible the more you do it and the more places you see,
so if you’re just starting out,
don’t be afraid to hit that book button.
Sometimes those moments that we’re most afraid of end up turning into some of the best experiences in our lives, so if you’re afraid to get going,
just know that if you want to see a place, go see it.
We never know what might happen tomorrow and there are so many amazing places in the world,
that at the end of the day, the pity is not seeing them.
So take a chance, book a flight and make it happen!
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| Beautiful Nice, France |
Georgina says
I definitely think it’s about priorities – for me, travel has always been one of my main aims in life, so I’ve budgeted my time and finances accordingly. Love this post!
Casey Martin says
Totally… once travel is your priority, it makes everything else fall into place!
Chelsea @ Lost in Travels says
spot on. exactly. travel definitely has to be a priority and plan accordingly. sacrifices need to be made but when you step on that plane, it’s all so worth it!
Casey Martin says
Yes, so true… sacrifices always need to be made to do what you really want to do, but you’re so right, once you get on that plane it all is more than worth it!
tiarenie says
i love the idea of paying off a trip entirely before you even get there! great advice.
Casey Martin says
Yea! Since we book so far in advance and schedule our trips months out, it’s easy to pay off everything before we go which is so nice when we come home!
Jena says
This post is so appropriate for my week. We’ve been given an opportunity to go anywhere we want with the hotel being paid for by someone else. I’m 26wks pregnant, so this would be our “babymoon.” We have something simple & local planned, and we are fine with that – but part of me just wants to say screw it, and go do something bigger. We have the money, but I just can’t bring myself to spend so much more than we were originally planning on spending. Plus, I’m caught up on the “but we really wanted to spend a few days relaxing at the beach. Hello, we live on the coast, by the beach. We’ve been the the beach a million times, this year. It’s just our default for vacations. It’s a hard habit to break.
Casey Martin says
Just do it 🙂
themovetoamerica says
These are great tips and ones I will use when I am planning / sorting my first trip home (I have not left for the US yet but want to start saving etc).
Great tips!
Molly xo
Casey Martin says
Yes! When you get to the States, I can’t wait to see where you guys head down the road 🙂
Chantal says
Great tips! Fitting travel into the budget is hard, but worth it. We managed to see Australia for two weeks on a tight budget.
Casey Martin says
Yes, hard but worth it. Well said. But when you do fit what you want into a budget for a trip, it is so beyond worth it in the end!
Nicole Marie says
just book it hahah sometimes thats the hardest part
Casey Martin says
Totally! Hitting that book button is always a hard thing to do!
Laura Cristina says
This post got me to finally sit down and plan our trip to mainland Japan!! i am so excited!!
thanks for sharing all these great tips!
xoxo
Casey Martin says
Fantastic!
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Melanie Fontaine says
I think the best point you have brought up is the last one: To just do it. It may sound so silly, but taking that one simple first step really can be difficult, but nothing compares to the feeling of knowing that you definitely will travel! I think people are intimidated by travel planning easily, especially when it comes to overseas travel, and that’s why they put trips off. But I think that this is exactly where we travel bloggers should come in: That travel is accessible, very much possible no matter where you are or who you are and frankly one of the most wonderful things in the world! 🙂
xx
Casey Martin says
Totally! I think so many people have a hard time really committing to traveling, it’s always this dream off in the distance. And I try to let others know that it really can be accessible and an amazing experience!
Mike Chapman says
travel is a very important part of the life of any person and the different different travel ideas make your journey worth more. and this blog tells you each and every thing to make your traveling experience great.
Howard Henry says
Thanks for this amazing post your shared tips are very beneficial for all travelers. I am also a tourist and visited a lot of beautiful countries of the world. In these days I am planning a trip to USA. I must follow these tips during my tour. These are very helpful tips for me.