How to save money for travel.
Wait! How to save money for travel? With the pandemic and all? I know these might be the questions in many people`s mind-reading this blog post.
Look, this is just a passing glance and things will be back to normal long enough before you know it. Hang in there, do what you have to do to put that meal on the table and support your family where you can. If you have more share with your neighbours. Let us help each other.
I might not be a financial guru or the best in financial management but I improved my skills when I quit my 9-5 Job in 2017.
I lost a lot of my savings the first 6 months before it hit me I am on my own and I was expecting no salary from no employer.
This is when I started to drive interest in financial management otherwise, I was going to sleep hungry or start yearning to go back.
Here I will share how to save money for travel. After I learned the financial management skills the hard way.
I was on the right track and could even save extra for travel through these skills and tips am about to share.
But before that, did you know you should at least vacation once a year? It is good for your health, read more about Travel health benefits.
Without much ado, let us delve in and see how to save money for travel.
1.) Devote to Your Travel Dream.
Remind yourself why you need to travel so bad, picture yourself in your dream destination and this will give you unparallel motivation to keep on saving.
Set short goals, it could be per day I will save this amount or even per week on monthly basis according to your income.
If you`re salaried making monthly savings is ideal while others have daily financial income, then saving per day will amount to a substantial amount in a month and before you know in a year you will have saved enough for a vacation.
2.) Evaluate your Expenditure.
The first time I did this I didn`t believe how much I was wasting on wants over needs. Have a spreadsheet. Analyze all the Needs and wants.
If your wants out numbers needs then there is a problem. Cut all the wants and probably leave only the necessary wants but keep all your needs.
Needs are the things we cannot do without while wants we can do without or rather, we can call them luxuries. This tip will help you to save a lot of money for travel.
3.) Eat more often at home.
Whoever said, Restaurants put more holes in a saving plan than a woodpecker on amphetamines was right. How much is coffee in a fancy restaurant? How much will it cost you if you bought milk to cook it yourself?
I know restaurants need to make money and they create employment. I also know it is good to treat yourself but try and minimize. Unless it is making you money, most of the deals are cut in fancy restaurants then you can do this regularly.
4.) Embrace public transport.
I know in some countries it is almost impossible to do without a car but if you can take the chance and use public means mainly week Days. You will save a lot.
Gas prices have continued to go up a litre at the time of publishing this post was/is retailing at Kes122 or $1.146 in Kenya.
You have to impress no one and driving or owning a car doesn`t mean you`re rich neither is walking connote poverty. We all have different priorities let that sink.
5.) Ditch Cabled TV.
Okay, how do you pay up to Kes1500 or $15 a month for television channels? In a year that is a cool Kes18,000 or $180.
That money is enough to take you for a budget camp Joining Safari to Masai Mara in an all-inclusive Package. I.e. Accommodation, Food, Transport and park fees (Citizens).
You can have options for home entertainment like Show max or Netflix where you can share accounts up to 4 pax making it quite affordable and even better entertainment than that cabled TV denting your pockets.
6.) Cut down your Utility Bills.
What are utility bills and how can they help save money for travel? Well, these are the mandatory monthly bills like the electricity, water, gas, garbage collection, internet, phone bills etc.
Now, how economical is it to stay in the shower for more than 20 Minutes? Do you know how much you would save if you did a regular shower of not more than 5 Minutes? You`re leaving the house but you forget to turn off the lights, internet on.
You subscribe to a high-speed highly-priced internet package yet you only need regular speed internet at home. You are rarely there anyway.
If you took all the right measures of the above you would be saving not less than Kes23,000 or $230 in a year and this amount has a Beach Vacation for three days in an all-inclusive beach package. Is travelling still for the rich?
7.) Cancel Gym Membership.
Don’t get me wrong here, I know how important it is to have that toned body, furthermore, this is someone`s business and if you cancel the membership. It will be a loss to the gym proprietors.
However, look it this way. You`re struggling with the payment, maybe you were laid off or you want to travel to a certain destination so bad that you are willing to do anything to keep your travel dream.
You can take a leave for a year and opt for cardio exercise which can be achieved in the morning run before you head to work.
The cheapest Gym monthly fees are Kes6,000 or $60 here in Kenya. In a year, you will have saved around Kes72,000 or $720 enough money to take you on a Vacation.
You can always resume your membership if you wish to.
8.) Avoid Clubbing.
This might be a hard one for some of you but if you have your travel goals in mind and committed to then this is feasible.
If this is inconceivable then do this, buy your drinks in A wholesale or online and take your drink at home.
If you need that feeling of away from home with friends then you can take your drinks outside the club`s parking area inside your car.
Drinks at the clubs are double or even triple the regular prices and all you have to show the following morning is a heavy headache and regrets.
9.) Have a Separate Travel Bank Account.
You see all these tips on how to save money for travel? Have a separate account for that cash since when you mix, that`s it. You didn’t go out clubbing, reward yourself with the money you could have squandered to that travel account. You used public transport for the whole week, deposit the cash you saved.
Remember it doesn`t have to be a bank, it could be Mobile Money (Locked Mshwari). Keep saving and you will be surprised how rich you are and how you can travel with ease.
10.) Sign Up for Travel News Letters.
Nobody wants a cluttered inbox but signing up to your favourite Airline or Tour Operators. You will be surprised how often they have good deals.
How many times you have heard a certain Airline has crazy offers only to rush to their website and find all sold out? If you were signed up for their newsletter you could have been among the first to get the amazing offer news. This is one of the surest ways on how to save money for travel.
11.) Buy a reusable Water Bottle.
Before you can ask, how this will help you save money for travel. This is matters of the environment be responsible and only leave your footprints.
So, a water bottle of one-use cost anything between Kes50 – 100 ($0.5-$1) with water and you could be using this daily.
Did you know you can get this reusable bottle with a LifeStraw meaning you can refill your water in any spigot and have not to worry about the germs, bacterial since the LifeStraw takes care of everything and your water is ever ready save for drinking.
Do you know how much you could be saving in a year? Especially if you are a frequent traveller. Buy the LifeStraw on Amazon.
12.) Lipa Pole Pole (Pay in Bits).
Some tour companies like Incredible Kenya Adventures have a program where you can pay Pole pole (In bits) until your package is ready.
This is also helpful since once you have paid you cannot go and request them to refund your money.
This is the reason why I advise you to have a locked account for a certain period of time since it is tempting to use this travel money.
Especially when your financial discipline is weak. This is one of the modern ways to save money for travel.
13.) Side hustle.
I think by now everyone has a side hustle? You don`t entirely depend on your salary, right?
What if you were shown the door? Especially this pandemic period? Am sure you are experiencing some pay cut and everyone is shifting gears into low spending.
You`re managing to survive with the 30% or even more pay cut, so, all along you could have afforded to travel the world eh?
That aside, back to side hustles. This is one of those trusted ways to save money to travel and other essential uses.
Make your skills pay, like I personally do SEO as a side hustle, what is your skill and how can you utilize it to earn extra cash? Some side hustles turn to main and you end up quitting your 9-5 Job.
14.) Don’t fix it if it hasn’t broken.
This is the 4th year in a row using my phone! It has never Brocken, it serves the job it is entitled to and we are on good terms.
I know the aura of getting every other new release of the item you own. From Cars to clothes to phones.
If it is serving you just right why the need to break the bank to get a new one? Where will you take the old ones? Keep it at home? Sell? and the way machines depreciates What is the rush for?
Okay I know you need to be up to date but if you have a travel dream, your new phone can wait. How will you be able to save money for travel if you are buying every new release on the market?
15.) Travel as a group.
Whenever you`re in numbers you have bargaining power. Discounts will be your topic in every destination.
Most of the tour companies will give out discounts since they can negotiate more with hotels and destinations.
Remember to always try and book your trip with a Tour Operator. Here are the reasons why? This will eventually save you money for travel.
If you`re not able to get friends to travel altogether, you can join strangers who by dark will turn into new friends.
So, it doesn`t matter, just reach out to your tour Operator and request for a group to join the Safari package.
Conclusion.
After you have saved money for travel, you can go through this guide on how you can travel on a budget. Remember you have to break no Bank.
Go explore your country and the world at large. Some save a lifetime to do a vacation but if you follow these tips I have given you. It won’t be long before your dream Safari or vacation.
Thanks for stopping by, let us engage in the comment section. How has been your saving game?
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