The most important factor to consider as a traveler is money. There are several ways to save for traveling, we simply have to have a goal, and make the best use of resources in order to reach the goal.
Here are 12 ways to save towards financing a lifetime memory:
1) Sell things you don’t use.
We tend to buy things we don’t end up using. We just do, it’s human nature.
In order to travel, you need to have enough saved up to cover the trip and afterwards. Selling unwanted items is crucial in savings because it brings extra revenue. Gather things around the house and in your closet and list them on merchant websites like eBay, tradesy, vestiaire collective, or take it to a store like plato’s closet to liquidate.
2) Lease your cell phone from your service provider.
With leasing, after a certain number of months (depending on the carrier), the customer can upgrade their cellphone. This is method is cheaper than buying a new phone that you are stuck with for 2 years before being eligible for an upgrade. A lot of people end up buying another phone before the 2 years is over which is added cost. Why pay full price for a phone just to end up buying another after 1 year when you can lease a phone and change it in a couple of months?
Leasing a phone in the long run is an effective cost saving strategy.
3) Make purchases you can justify
I only started practicing this step myself.
I would have things in my closet I bought a year ago and never wore. The items usually end up getting sold for cheaper than the retail price or I end up giving the item out. It’s great practice to justify all purchases. If items are not needed immediately (for example groceries and toiletries), I try not to make a purchase.
An exception is if an item I always wanted goes on sale- Obviously!
4) Start an automatic savings account like Digit.
They have an algorithm that allows the program to automatically take a certain amount of money from your account. The money is saved up in their system and it can be withdrawn whenever it’s needed. The algorithm analyzes your spending and determines how much or how little to withdraw towards a Savings Account. They sometimes withdraw cents or even few dollars once or several times a day. Given time, the savings account builds up and you wouldn’t even realize they were withdrawing money except you pay close attention.
5) Cancel cable.
Victoria are you crazy? How can I cancel cable? How will I watch TV?
To be honest, we don’t really utilize cable except when we get home from work. A lot of working professionals get home after 5pm or 6pm and get too tired to focus on TV. What is an alternative?
Subscribe for Hulu or Netflix.
It is much cheaper and has a wide selection of shows. The most popular shows get released on Hulu the next day so why pay for cable when you can watch the same shows on Hulu for a fraction of the cost?
6) Open an online savings account.
What do I mean by this?
A bank like Ally which is solely based online has a 1% APR on savings accounts. This is high compared to other major banks. Their rate is high because since they are solely based online, they do not incur as much operation costs as banks an actual branch.
What does this mean for you? You get higher interests on savings. It is a good option to consider if you want to earn more on your savings account.
7) Cut back on dining out
Especially expensive restaurants. This is self-explanatory. You tend to save more.
8) Cut back on going to the movies
Movie tickets are expensive. A Movie ticket in Chicago for example can run as high as $15 and on the low end $8. Most people watch at least 2 movies a month. It is much cheaper to wait for the movie to get released on DVD so that it can be rented on Red box, or for the movie to come out on Netflix or Hulu. Online subscription services do a fine job at keeping up with popular movies. The fastest way to watch a newly released DVD movie is still Redbox and movies can be rented for under $2.
9) Living with parents
This is a very touchy subject especially for young adults. A lot of people prefer their space. If your parents live in the same state and city as you and you love to travel, it might be a better option to live with them and here is why:
Paying rent in some major cities can run as high as $1000+ for a 1 bedroom. This is rent minus utilities and parking. When living with parents, this cost could be cut to half or less. This is always a best option for people who want to save more of their income towards travel.
10) Get a side job
Uber, Lyft, a part time job, consulting, reselling goods or making money from anything you are good at. I never really understood the importance of having a second job till I took a part time job myself and I was able to start saving more money towards traveling. When you have more than one job, you have enough for yourself and also to travel without having to stress too much about finances.
11) Reduce credit card use
I understand that a lot of us have outstanding credit card bills. Sometimes it might be unrealistic to say “pay it off” because there are other avenues that money can be allocated to. The best approach is to stop using credit cards and Pay Outstanding Bills. When you stop using the cards, your monthly bill does not increase so you tend to pay outstanding bills off sooner. It is also best to add about $20 or more to the minimum payment so you pay more towards the principal.
12) Don’t be afraid to buy store brands
Groceries, toiletries and household items all fall under this category. Equate, great value, 365, essential everyday, etc are always cheaper than the popular brands. You tend to save more with you spend less on necessities.
How do you save for travel?
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