This is for all of you with those summer travel plans in the works whose bank accounts are starting to cry already. Maybe you’re thinking about how the student loan pause is coming to an end. Or about how you won’t be getting that paycheck while you’re off traveling. Maybe you just know that you have champagne taste, but a tap water budget. All that means you’re now wondering how to save some money for your trip that is approaching. Here are the 4 best money-saving hacks to help you have a little extra spending cash on your trip:
1. Skip the drinks
We’re sorry for this one if you identify as a drink girly ✨🍹🍋 but it’s true. Water is free and drinks, whether soda or alcohol or anything in between, are just about always the pricer option. This also extends to those trips to the coffee shop. The average cup of coffee made at home costs as little as $0.16. Your Starbucks order is definitely not that cheap. Doing a little sacrificing on what you’re drinking now will help you save money for your trip easily. And then you can be spending it on nice cute drinks and coffees while you are away. Plus, switching to water for now will keep you healthy and hydrated.
2. Avoid temptations
The quickest way to convince yourself you need to spend money is to go where you enjoy spending. If you’re a habitual online shopper, avoid those sites or put a blocker on them between now and your trip. If you love walking around stores and buying whatever calls to you, avoid going to stores like the plague. And if you literally need to buy some things, whether for your trip or your daily life, make a list ahead of time and don’t wander around the store. Just go to the aisles you need and get out.
3. There’s food at home
The classic problem. Wanting food out in the world, but knowing there’s something to be eaten at home – even if it’s not what you’re dreaming of. While it’s fun in the moment to eat out or buy that fancy ice cream at the grocery store, those options are overpriced. If you’re living at home, the quickest way to save money for your trip is eating what’s being bought for you at home instead of picking yourself up fast food. And if you’re still at school on a meal plan, use that meal plan money. The cafe food might not be great, but the money you put into that meal plan isn’t coming back to you, so you might as well use it up and not be spending money on grocery trips. If you are in charge of buying your own groceries, look at the week’s sales for your local grocery store and make a meal plan around whatever is the current cheapest/best deal.
4. Set aside funds
Setting aside money purposefully is a great way to count down the days AND save money for your trip. You could try a challenge of putting $1 extra a day (so $1, $2, $3, etc) until you get to the total amount you need. Or you could do it on a weekly scale if you have more time or want to put in more money at a time. Putting in $10 week one, $20 week two, etc. would help you save $100 in just a month. If you need to visually see the what money you save for your trip, place each contribution into an envelope or jar so you can watch your travel budget grow. If the visual component isn’t necessary for you, you could keep track in a spreadsheet or notes app. Alternatively, you could open a separate savings account and deposit into that (but do so responsibly).
Ultimately, it’s important to keep in mind that traveling can be done cheap and there are plenty of ways to cut corners while your away, too. But getting to splurge a little on your travels is just fun and that’s okay! The best way to make that happen is to save money for your trip ahead of time.
For more travel budget suggestions, check out these blogs:
And when you’re ready to book some cheap travel, we’ve got your back with flight and hotel discounts 🙂
