Before you read this article I recommend you check out the context for my saving journey in the article How I Afford To Travel: 45 countries at 21-years-old. Here I highlight the details of my personal financial circumstances and an acknowledgment of important factors such as the minimum wage in Australia that are really important to consider for the articles I write on financing my travels.
So keeping that background information in mind – here are my top 5 tips to save money for travel!
Plan a detailed budget for your travels so you have a clear goal in mind
Plan extensively so that when you do eventually depart you no longer have to think or worry about money. By the time I left in 2015 for my year of travels, I was really confident in the hours of research and budgeting I did beforehand. Most importantly, a detailed budget will mean you have a specific goal in mind (mine was $20,000 AUD). This can give you the motivation to start making changes to your habits at home, leading to the next point…
Read more: The simple guide to choosing where to study abroad
Set a realistic budget for your lifestyle at home
Setting a budget leading up to the trip will ensure that your goal saving is realistic and attainable. Something I did was go through my account statement for the past month and assess all my expenses and whether or not they were necessary. Travelling makes you realise how little you actually need and how rewarding it can be to spend money on experiences rather than things. Basically, unless it was an inevitable living cost (groceries, rent, transport, fuel, insurance, staple clothing, occasional social outing, rego or car maintenance) I saved the remaining funds.
Read more: How to travel while studying at university
Sacrifice some luxuries
From age 17 to 19, I was in full saving mode. This was at a time when my friends were going out weekly (probably more!). Did I feel like I was missing out? Absolutely. Do I think I missed out now? No way! And remember, sacrificing expensive outings doesn’t mean sacrificing your social life! For example, going out to brunch is my absolute favourite meal but the reality is that in Brisbane eggs, bacon and avo toast will probably set you back $30 AUD. Putting that into perspective, $30 is equivalent to a one way flight from London to Barcelona. I settled for inviting people over for catch up’s as a way to cut down my social outing costs.
Sell the possessions you don’t need
Once again, travel makes you realize how little you actually need. I put everything I wasn’t going to wear or use on my year abroad on Gumtree. It was actually really ‘freeing’ to get rid of all the clutter and possessions I had accrued over the years. I kept items of sentimental value at my mums place when I left and the rest of my possessions I fit into my Suitcase, hence the blog name Suitcase And I 🙂
Work, work, work….
You will feel drained, it will get you down at times and there will be moments that you will question whether it is all worth it. I am back to studying full time, working full time (40 hours a week) and running my blog (20 hours a week) so I can definitely relate to this right now. If this was a permanent situation, working full time, blogging and studying full time would undoubtedly get overwhelming but knowing that eventually, I will graduate and improve my work-life balance.
This isn’t a silver bullet method, it’s very simply 4-years of work, saving, and budgeting; but I hope that my experience is proof though that it’s possible.
For an article that specifically looks at how to reduce the cost of travel in terms of accommodation, transport, and expenses, visit the article How to Travel on a Budget.
Feel free to comment any questions below!