How to Save Money for Traveling?

Regardless of numerous ‘how to save money” in the Internet, people forget that the most natural and effective way to save money is self-control. Let’s have a look at our practical advice:

How to Actually Save Money for Travel: 7 Steps

Step 1: Analyze Your Outgoings

Print out your credit card history and find out what unnecessary things you pay for every day. Keep your cash flow on track.

Step 2: Categorize Your Outgoings, Needs and Luxuries

Take two highlighters of different color and highlight only necessary things, such as rent, bills, gas, food etc, using the green one. With red one, highlight things for comfort: clothes, drinks, watches etc.

Step 3: Calculate Your Current Net Income and Your Ideal Net Income

Make the list of the outgoings. Then subtract them from the income. That’s what called net income. If it’s positive – good. If not, you might take some actions.

Step 4: Figure out Travel Costs

Look up the information about prices for food, tickets cost and housing prices. Sum it all up and add 20% to overall sum. Just in case.
While calculating, take into consideration the following:

• Off-Seasons Traveling. By using Airlines in the spring or fall, you can get up to 60% discount on your flight.
• Strategic Placement. You need to know whether you can stay around one place and be able to reduce transportation costs.
• Couchsurfing? Find cheap ways of traveling by using services, such as Couchsurfing or WOOFing.
• Track Free or Low budget attractions around your place.

Step 5: Explore Your Outcome

What are your highlighted luxuries? Are you able to stop eating out? Or there are some subscriptions you can cancel?
If you’ve already shortened your budget to a limit, we have a couple of ideas for you:

• Share: Try finding compromises while, for example, catching a taxi to work, split the cost of gas, etc.
• Fun: Of course, we all love to have fun, but fun is usually expensive. Host, for example, a ‘bring your own cookies’ movienight with people sharing their favorite snacks.
• Smart: Find this index on Living Well Spending Less source. You will explore lots of ways how to save up on everything.

Step 6: Construct and Manipulate Your Newly Formed Budget

Imagine your ideal trip is around $3,000. Your net income is $1000. Most of them you want to save for a future, right? So, we have $250 each month and a year to make your trip happen!

Step 7: Practice Makes Perfect

Once you did this, it becomes easier. In theory, your skills of a traveler and your income saving abilities will grow up systematically.

Money Saving is Hard but it’s Totally Worth It

Nobody can influence you as much as you can. Don’t forget, that you’re responsible for your outcome and be stubborn on your way of becoming self-restraint. No one will do this for you. If you really want to travel – make some real efforts.