Vacation, who doesn’t love it? But with everything getting more expensive, so does traveling. Of course, you still have budget destinations, but when the way of coming there is also getting more expensive… yeah you know how the story goes on. So how to able to still travel? Financial planning is crucial in estimating travel costs and creating a realistic budget, ensuring you can anticipate all expenses and manage your trip effectively. This includes tracking your monthly expenses like rent, utilities, and car payments to gain a clear picture of your financial situation.
Well, luckily there are some tips that you can use to save money while traveling. They just take a little effort, but what’s that bit of effort when it’s super useful? In this blog I will be telling you more about my tips on how to save money on travel. So if you are ready to save some money, let’s get started!
1. The importance of budgeting
Let’s start with the beginning. Why should you even make a budget? My most important reason is to make sure you never have to stress about money during your vacation. With a budget you always know which amount of money you have ready to spend and ensure you have enough in your bank account before traveling. That way you will never be surprised when all money is spend. If you are budgeting correctly, you won’t even get to that point. Tracking all expenses, including car payments, is crucial to gain a clear understanding of your financial situation. Additionally, it’s important to pay off your credit card debt before saving for travel to avoid high interest rates and financial stress.
Ofcourse it’s not only important to make a budget, but also a correct budget. Be realistic and don’t fool yourself! Nothing is more worse than going over budget. Personally I always like to have a bit of room in my budget. Better to have budget over at the end of the day than exceeding the budget!
How to budget? I always use a spreadsheet to put down all the costs and to have a complete overview. Stay tuned for a budget template that we are currently working on. Coming soon!
2. Choosing an affordable destination
One of the biggest questions while planning a vacation, where to go? Although that can be an article on it’s own, budget wise this can be a very important step for saving some money.
Choosing a budget-friendly location will make sure that you can stay within your chosen budget. Personally I think it can be so much fun when traveling to a budget location. Vacations don’t always need to be super luxurious or extravagant. Each type of vacation has its own plus points. Earning extra cash through side hustles or selling personal items can help fund travel to budget-friendly destinations. Additionally, using airline credit cards to save on baggage fees or taking on part-time jobs can help you earn more money for travel.
Besides choosing a specific location, it could also making a big difference when you are going on vacation. Do you choose the high season or might you be able to travel during low season? Makes a big difference!
3. Booking flights and accommodation in advance
I’m a big fan of planning. So if you ask me if I want to arrange everything before the trip even begins, I will probably say yes please! Better so, because from personal experience I see that It can help a lot with the prices as well. You will see with booking flights that how earlier you are the better prices you will get. Besides booking early, I’m also a big fan of using Skyscanner for booking all of my flights. While using Skyscanner you will be showed different flights and the different prices making it easy to choose the most fitting one. Additionally, using credit card points and rewards can significantly reduce the costs of flights and accommodation, making travel more affordable. Credit card rewards, such as points, miles, and sign-up bonuses, can cover the cost of flights or other travel-related expenses, providing substantial savings.
4. Embracing local dining
How I love trying other local cuisines during my travels. Not only does it taste amazing, it also gives you a great insight into the culture. Besides that, eating local is not only a cultural experience but also a great way of saving money. Not crazy of course but a good thing to keep in mind while traveling.
5. Seeking out free and low-cost activities
Allright, your vacation is booked and coming up. You are counting down the days filled with excitement. Now it’s time to do some planning and choose different activities. All fun, but most of the times activities are the thing driving up the budget. Yes you want to use your time to the fullest and do all the cool things you have seen on social media. Consider also seeking out free or low-cost activities. Sometimes those are even more fun as they are probably more authentic. During my own travels I always love to explore specific area’s or neighborhood by foot and just spend the day wandering (free). Have a fun day at the beach and just chill on your own towel (free). There is something to do for not much or even nothing, just be openminded! Plan activities that don’t require you to spend money unnecessarily to take control of your finances. Consider alternatives to traditional rental car agencies to save money on rental cars.
6. Packing light and avoiding baggage fees
I couldn’t think of going on a long vacation without my suitcase. Not to say that you can’t save any money on your baggage. Last year me and my partner shared one big suitcase, that way we only needed to pay for 1 instead of 2.
When going on a short vacation or backpacking, you can even try to only take hand luggage. That way (most of the times) you won’t even need to pay any luggage fees. Avoiding baggage fees is a great way to start saving money for other travel expenses.
7. Capitalizing on travel discounts
Travel discounts, who doesn’t love it? Personally I’m a big fan and user of the booking.com genius program. For example with booking.com, when booking you will eventually level up in genius levels. Currently I’m in level two, what makes that I get a 15% discounts on hotels but also free breakfast.
So on you have many other options for travel discounts. Check if there are any in your country of residence and capitalize them! Some credit cards offer free hotel room certificates and other travel benefits that can outweigh the annual fee. It’s important to save enough money for international travel to fully enjoy these benefits. Additionally, travel purchased with certain credit cards can earn rewards and benefits.
