How to Save Money for Travelling. Part 1

It’s fairly easy to make a little extra cash nowadays. The hardest thing about getting the money to travel is having the conviction to save it and not dip into it. If your planned trip is many months away it can be incredibly difficult to put aside a portion of your paycheque with the plan that you will use it in the distant future for that trip. But this discipline will be the number one thing you need in order to make your travel dreams a reality. Aside from that, I’ve come up with some other ways to help you make a bit of extra cash and how to help you save it.

 Start a penny jar- I began to collect the small change around my house, out of my pockets and left over in my purse. I was really surprised how much this added up and as I did it more and more religiously, (everything from 20p and under would go into one of my jars,) I found that my small change actually added up to around £300. This money could be designated as your ‘enjoyment money.’ I decided I wouldn’t use this extra £300 for accommodation or transport but as pocket money that I could spend on ice-cream, postcards, tourist attractions and drinks out, just frivolous things that I wouldn’t want to spend loads of my main budget on but that would help me enjoy my time on my trip. 

TRAVEL TIP: Lots of banks have automated counting machines now so you don’t need to annoy the teller with bags and bags of pennies, instead you can feed it into the machine and it goes directly into your account.

           Set up a separate bank account- Set up a savings account or separate account from your main bank account that you use to pay your rent and bills from. Having money constantly coming in and out of the same account can make it very hard to keep track of what you are actually saving. Having the money you can access and the money you are choosing to save apart from each other will allow you to evaluate how much you can afford to set aside and how long it will take to realistically reach your target amount. Seeing your savings total go up should also inspire you to keep up the good work and let’s not forget about potential interest on an untouched account!

   

Commit a portion of your pay cheque- Once you have a thought out plan of where you will travel to and for how long you can make a budget plan and work out how much of your pay cheque you should set aside each month for that trip. Then do NOT touch it! This is really tricky as you can never predict when you’re going to have to pay to get your car fixed or if you drop your iphone and need to replace it. But if you are serious about travelling, you need to stick to your plan and stick to your budget. Stay away from your savings until it is time to get on that plane.

       

Ditch the gym- You don’t need expensive equipment or a judgmental personal trainer to get fit. There’s a perfectly good outside that you can use to go for a run, do yoga, sit ups, stretches, whatever. If you feel you need a bit of guidance, there are thousands of workout tutorials on Youtube for free. Even though there are some guys that do ‘great deals,’ why pay out extra when you can do practically the same exercise for free. Use that extra money to do your push ups on the beach in Cabo.

     

Pack a lunch- Eating out is a lovely treat, but if you regularly eat out on your lunch break, you are spending out a sizable amount of your paycheque every day unnecessarily. Packing a lunch can save you a lot of money and it doesn’t have to be just a boring old sandwich either; use Pinterest to come up with some unusual packed lunch ideas and you could even start making food typical of the country you plan to visit. Getting a taste of your trip before you go should inspire you to save even more, plus… yummy!

     

Reduce the coffee spending- I love coffee and I love to treat myself to a coffee and a catch up with friends on occasion. Buying a coffee out doesn’t seem like it would drain your savings, but if it’s a regular occurrence, that £3.20 here and there adds up to hundreds. Fresh coffee is one of the most overpriced products in the Western world and it has become a mainstay of our culture to have coffee out. But unless you plan have your holiday in Starbucks rather than Paris as you planned you need to cut back on the coffee spending. If you really must have your caffeine fix every day, buying a decent coffee machine from Argos and taking it with you in a travel mug or thermos would still be cheaper than buying barista made coffee every day in the long run.

    

Reduce or illuminate your TV bill- Who actually watches TV now? Doesn’t everyone just use Netflix? It’s now easier than ever to legally watch shows and movies on your laptop and you don’t need a TV licence. Really think about how often you watch TV and can you get the same shows and movies through a legal internet service like Netflix instead? Breaking your TV contract earlier however may amount in a fine so do check out your options before clicking ‘cancel.’

    

Quit smoking- It’s 2016, smoking is no longer cool. It’s a habit where your budget goes to die and that may eventually kill you too. Most places that you travel to now will have strict rules about smoking anyway, with some countries banning public smoking or the transportation of Tabaco products so it’s worth quitting now. Need help? There’s a wealth of information available for free about how to kick the habit, try http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/smoking/Pages/Motivateyourself.aspx

Or http://www.helpguide.org/articles/addiction/how-to-quit-smoking.htm

    

Avoid expensive alcohol- Similarly to the coffee, booze is more expensive when buying it at a bar than from the supermarket. If a night out with friends is a weekly thing for you, perhaps suggest a few house parties or movie nights rather than a club or bar. You can take advantage of bulk buy deals of alcohol in supermarkets; you can find some really great saves in the likes of Aldi’s and Lidl and still have a great night without breaking the bank.

    

 Do you really need a car?- If you are planning to travel for a much longer period of time, say 6 months to a year, you may need to look at things like your car usage. If you are not planning on taking your car with you on your travels, maybe think about how you could make some money off of it. You could lend it to a friend whilst you are away and they could pay for the tax and petrol, or you could sell the car which would be a large injection of cash into your budget and you wouldn’t need to pay for it whilst away and it’s unused back at home.