Traveling costs money. You need to be willing to spend some money when you travel. But, if travel is a priority for you, you will make sacrifices in other areas of your life to be able to go. However, there are certain things you can do to help you travel more for less.
Ways to save BEFORE your trip:
Figure out your financial priorities.
Determine what you spend most of your money on, where you are spending your money unnecessarily, and start cutting back. If tracking your money seems like an overwhelming process to start, try looking through your last credit card statement - you will be amazed to see all the little places you lose money.
Here are a few ways in which I save up money for traveling:
I always pack a lunch. This might sound silly, but if you spend $6 on lunch, 5 days per week, that is $1,560 per year. That is a NICE vacation.
I cook at home rather than eating out for most meals. This saves SO much money over the course of a year that goes right to traveling for me.
Brew your own coffee or tea in the morning, and if you drink it throughout the day, invest in one solid thermos that will last all day. That daily $3-5 coffee (I’ll average and say $4) x 5 days per week = $1,040 over the course of a year. AKA, a great vacation! If your off-brand grounds don’t cut it, you can invest in name-brand coffee grounds and still save more money if you brew it at home!
Speaking of drinks, I don’t spend money on alcohol. I rarely drink, so this saves me a lot of money yearly. Imagine if you spend $25 weekly on alcohol/ going out. That is $750 over the course of a year.
I don’t buy the newest phone when it comes out. I still have the iPhone 7, and I will continue to use it until it breaks instead of spending $1,000 on a new phone unnecessarily. I’d rather travel instead.
I don’t buy expensive clothes. Rarely do I even go shopping for clothes - only when I absolutely need something. I check clearance first, and compare prices between multiple stores and online retailers.
Once in a while, I will get a manicure or pedicure, but not every couple of weeks. I’d rather paint my own nails and save that money towards my next trip.
Have a few places in mind for your next trip.
I have a few destinations in mind, research each, & choose the cheapest one.
I never just have one destination in mind and go no matter the cost.
Once I figure out which trip I will be taking, I watch flights for a few weeks and book them when they are at their lowest.
Travel to places on their off-season.
Flights and activities are always cheaper during this time.
If you are going to any amusement park or similar attraction, play around with their ticket pricing online. Many now have different prices based on not only the popularity of the season, but also on the individual day of the week.
There will also be less tourists during the off-season, which is always a plus!
Plan ahead!
Yes, you can be spontaneous on your trip, and I highly recommend that, but every trip requires some research.
Know the cheaper cities to stay the night and get dinner in.
Know which days of the week are cheapest to fly to your destination and plan accordingly.
I always plan my own trips rather than paying a travel agent or going on multi-day tours. This way, I feel that I can do what I want, when I want, & see and do more for less.
Consider staying longer at a destination if you are spending a lot of money on a plane ticket.
My round trip SE Asia flight was $800, so I stayed for 3 weeks and traveled around the surrounding countries as well to make that expensive plane ticket worth it.
Don’t spend that much just to go for 1 week. Make a sound investment with your money and time.
Once you make it out to a destination, traveling between close areas is usually pretty cheap.
Have an airline miles credit card or a credit card with good rewards.
Ways to save DURING you trip:
For solo traveling:
Stay in hostels for the cheapest option. Plus, you meet so many other amazing travelers this way, filling your trip with even more great memories!
For group traveling:
Stay in Airbnbs for the cheapest option.
I never stay in hotels when I travel (unless I’m at an all-inclusive resort).
I’d rather spend money on a cool excursion than stay in an expensive hotel.
Instead, hostels, camping, and AirBNB’s are my go-to’s.
If using AirBNB, considering filtering for only super hosts so that way you are sure everywhere you book is reliable and safe. And ALWAYS read reviews before booking! If a place has no reviews, do not stay there.
Camp or Car Sleep:
It’s free (usually) & it’s fun! For long trips, consider camping a few nights and staying elsewhere for the other nights. It’s a cool experience & saves some money!
Only use a credit card that has NO international fees.
If not, you will end up paying a few dollars every time you use your credit card, & that adds up!
I rarely drink, so I never buy alcohol when I travel.
This saves me a LOT of money.
I’m not saying be a monk, but consider cutting back while traveling to save your money and your memories ;)
Food: I save a lot of money in this category when I travel.
I always go to a grocery store once I arrive in a new place, pick up protein bars, breakfast food, preserved meats and cheeses, or storable snacks. Remember to get non-perishables, or at least things that are not very temperature sensitive!
I never sit down for 3 meals when I travel – that is a waste of time and money for me.
I would rather eat out 1 big meal per day (or two smaller street-food meals) and get to explore more of a place with that extra time and money.
Activities:
When I travel, I tend to do lots of outdoor activities rather than go to lots of museums. But there are ways to save for all the things you like you do!
Most of the activities I like doing are outside & are free (hiking, exploring nature). But I do spend money on activities - you have to! I enjoy renting kayaks, snorkeling, and taking cooking classes in other countries. Figure out what interests you most & do those things!
If you like going to cafes, I recommend going to ones off the main streets - you can talk with the locals & learn more about their culture that way. Plus, you beat the touristy lines & prices!
If you like museums & art buildings, look into purchasing city passes and packing all of your museum visits into those few days when a city pass would be good for!
If you are looking for a relaxing trip to sit on the beach & swim in the pool, I recommend booking everything together – your flights with an all-inclusive resort.
Everything is included – all the food, drinks, & lodging – just pay for any off-site excursions you want to do.
Excuses that I hear far TOO often…
“I’ll travel when I’m older.”
Tomorrow is never promised. Live life now; don’t wait because it might be too late.
Will you be able to hike 19 miles down the Grand Canyon and back up in one day when you are older? Maybe, but I doubt it. Do it while you are young & able!
There are travel activities that you will only be able to do when you are young and in your best shape; don’t miss out on them now by ‘waiting until I'm older.’
“I’ll travel when I have more money.”
So you are going to put your life on hold until you seem to have more money? When you’re older, there will be more money that needs to go into things that you don’t have to worry about right now (kids, a house, etc).
People spend money on their priorities. If traveling is one of yours, you will save up money for it.
Work to live life, don’t live life to work.
Not all traveling is expensive. I figure out ways to travel on a budget. You can too!
Note: most college & grad students, including myself, (unless you are very lucky), have student loans. Medical school is the furthest thing from cheap. However, I am not going to put my life on hold & not travel sometimes just because I have loans. Loans are inevitable. I am not saying that you can just take out an infinite amount of loans and go travel without being on a budget - that would be stupid. What I am saying is that with the little amount of loan money you have to work with, try cutting back a little with the tips I mentioned above (or in ways that you know you spend more money), make financially conscious choices, and then save some room for budget travel.
“I’ll travel when I have more time.”
Unfortunately, you will probably never have enough time to travel.
Do it while you can. Take your vacations and enjoy life.
When you are older, you might have children or other responsibilities to take care of, and then, time will be sparse.
Don’t let these excuses hold you back! Life is way too short to not live it up while you can! In 10 years, I guarantee you won’t regret the trip you took, but you might regret not taking a trip.
Go to my page, Budget Travel, for more advice on how to travel more for less!
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