Step One: Start Saving - Tips on How I Save for Travel

So this past summer has been wild for me and since April 27th until the end of August I have had some sort of plan Every. Single. Weekend - I am SO over it! Lucky for me, it is time for me to really start saving for my big long term adventure coming up SO I am not going to be upset when I choose to say, stay in and watch Netflix with my girlfriends instead of going for dinner and drinks.

Now as a disclaimer, I am nowhere near a pro at all of this! Saving for trips will be different for everyone. I personally have a hard time getting rid of EVERYTHING of mine - I just bought a new bed set back in February of 2019 and it aches my heart to think of getting rid of it so I just... won't! This means that I might not have that extra couple of hundred bucks to say, sky dive in Australia, but I just simply don't want to sell it! :) Do what works for you.

MOVING ON! Here is where I start: I love budgeting and playing around with excel documents to figure out how much it should cost me to go somewhere for x amount of time. Here are a series of steps that I go through.

STEP ONE: Where do you want to go?

Of course Europe and Australia are going to be much more expensive than your trip to Thailand or Nicaragua so it's imperative that you have an idea of where you want to go.

STEP TWO: Research & Plan.

To get to know me a little bit better, you can CLICK HERE to see what kind of traveller I am, my past travel experiences and what travelling... well, backpacking... looks like to me. That will help you connect a bit closer to what I look for when I travel. Researching & planning is pretty self explanatory, but here is a more in-depth listing of WHAT you should research.

-- Cost of flights to get there (& come home, if you're planning to return someday)

-- Cost of living (read like twelve different blogs (LIKE THIS ONE) to get an idea of cost of living!)

-- Cost of what you need to buy to prepare (do you have a travel towel? a backpack? appropriate clothing for the climate of your destination?)

-- What do you want to do? (Psst: Drinking every night is FUN but it can cost a lot if you are gone for long periods of time!)

-- Cost of travel insurance, vaccinations, medications & supplies

-- What kind of traveller are you? (What are your standards of living? Are you a thrill seeker or a foodie? Are you comfortable with long train rides or would you prefer to fly?)

-- Is it safe for you to travel there?

Want to really save cash? Walk instead of taking a bus or taxi!

STEP THREE: How long are you going for? When are you leaving?

You can't just be like "Okay $7000 is going to be good" if you don't know how long you're going for. Sure that would be great for 3-6 months of travel in South East Asia, but it might not cut it if you want to hit up France, Italy and Spain for the same amount of time.

Also knowing when you are leaving is helpful because it let's you know how much time you have to save. If you don't want to have to dip into your savings right off the hop, that might help you set a goal of saving x amount per month.

STEP FOUR: Go Through Your Belongings.

I enjoy living a fairly minimalist life. This doesn't mean I only have three shirts and a pair of pants to rotate through BUT it means I don't have a lot of extra clutter. Preparing for a long term trip means getting rid of even more of your belongings than you may be comfortable with. Lucky for me, I can keep majority of my belongings at my dads place for free but remember to factor in a storage unit if you are unable to store your items with a friend or family member. So far I have sold a couch for $200, a Google Home Mini for $25 and a crockpot for $20 - that's $245 extra in my pocket to be used towards flights, accommodations or more!

STEP FIVE: Pick up odd jobs & change how you live before you leave.

I recently bartended a wedding (which is not my main gig) and made over $300 for the evening! I immediately thought: "okay this pays for my flight to ___." If you change your mindset to think "this $7.00 will get me one night in a hostel in San Juan Del Sur" instead of buying that Starbucks drink, you will see things start to add up. I am thankful because one of my besties is also planning a big trip so we are kind of all on board with hanging out and doing things together that doesn't cost money before her and I leave. If your friends are always going out to eat or attend events that cost money, it might be challenging to save money while still maintaining that social aspect of your life.

I hope these little tips help you as you prepare for an amazing trip! I want to know: what methods do you follow to save money? Do you do the change jar where you put any and all handfuls of change you stumble across into it and never take any out? Are you a cash-only spender or is credit/debit card your thing? Connect with me as I'd love to learn more ways of saving!

Stay wild,

T