Many people have dreams of traveling but are struggling to save money for travel. The thing is, saving money for travel needs discipline and patience too! I was guilty of this at some point as I thought that traveling is an expensive hobby that I will not be able to afford.
After quite some time of research and self discovery, I realized that saving for a travel is not that hard even as a minimum wage earner if you are willing to but you need a little sacrifice. Of course, I had to cut some of my unnecessary purchases and build some discipline through time to afford my dream of traveling to a new destination. In this blog, I will share several tips on how I save for a trip even if I am earning just enough for myself.
How to save for a trip with a minimum wage
Tip 1: Get Real with Your Finances to save money for travel
Learn how to budget
Budgeting is the foundation of how to save money for travel. The most common budgeting percentage is 60/30/10. This means that 60% of your income goes to your needs, 30% goes to your savings, and 10% goes to your wants. Traveling is categorized as a “want”. Thus, you can allocate a portion of the 10% to your travel fund. This is so you don’t have to cut on your savings and needs fund.
Track your expenses
There are a number of expense trackers available online or mobile applications that allows you to input your income, expenses, and savings to help with tracking your balance. You can use Google Sheets for this too. An app that I would recommend is Money Mngr. which is completely free but shows some adds but its very worth it for the meticulous and frugal girlies out there. It’s a bit of a challenge to familiarize at first but you’ll get the hang of it as you use it.
Create a Travel Fund Savings Goal
A travel savings goal is your target amount allotted for your travel expenses. Personally, I use the Maya savings goal to create a separate travel fund, which also earns interest as long as I keep the money in that account. You can use my referral code, @mayareferral_shiela for a free 50 pesos bonus upon sign up! Bonus money right there! It is best to create a separate savings account that is specific for your travel only, to avoid spending your savings unintendedly and allows you to see your progress or if you’re near to hitting your goal. It also adds to the excitement as you build your travel fund!
Tip 2: Ruthless Savings: Cutting Non-Essential Expenses to save money for travel
Cancel unused subscriptions:
Review your list of subscriptions and see which ones are no longer useful or have less benefit to you. You may have some app or software subscription whose service you are no longer using. Also review memberships that you are no longer interested in. This could still add up to your travel fund.
Master the art of cooking at home
Instead of ordering every meal or eating out, you will save a lot by buying groceries and cooking at home. This will also teach you how to plan your weekly meals through meal prepping. Additionally, budgeting for groceries which can save you both time and money!
Find Free or cheap entertainment
There are a lot of activities that are offered for free by local organizations that you may join in instead of paying for other activities to save money for travel. These include school activities if you’re a student, local festivals or activities led by local organizations.
Commute if you can
Paying for a car and gas is expensive than commuting to reach your destination. If you are not in a hurry, you can also choose to walk. You are saving up while staying fit and also reducing your carbon footprint to help preserve our planet!
Step 3: Supercharge your savings
Consider a side hustle
If you have a spare time or a profitable skill that you can offer, you can try doing part time jobs or gigs. This can help boost your travel fund and speed your saving time!
Declutter and sell!
We tend to do impulsive purchases and end up not using them once or not at all. You can also try selling unused items for additional cash.
These are the financial tips for saving for travel that I can give. So yes, traveling will not only give you more memories but also teach you to be more disciplined with your finances! It’s a double win!
Do you have more suggestions or personal experiences in terms of saving for a travel? Comment them down below!