There are many creative ways you can save money for traveling. People from all over the world are spending more and more money on traveling and less and less on fun items. This is especially true for the millennial generation. The trend that was once about having the coolest car, video game console, or most stylish dress, is now about making memories through travel.
You may often ask yourself, how can all my friends afford to travel, and how can I? There isn’t one simple answer to these questions. Some people might not actually have the money but do it anyways. Some people might have saved up for months. Here are five creative ways to save money to travel to that dream location more often.
5 Tips To Save Money For Traveling This Year
The first step to saving money for traveling is always to start by decluttering. And to buy used!
Sell your used things
Did you have moments when you’ve noticed that you don’t use half of the things you own? You can make money by selling your used stuff. Host a garage sale or go with the online route and post it all on craigslist, eBay, or Facebook garage sale groups. Facebook groups are very easy to use and reach a much larger audience.
Even if you are no minimalist but you do like to keep things decluttered, so every now and then you make sure to sell off the things you no longer need.
Marie Kondo helps people tidy up their homes in a new 2019 Netflix show, but if you don’t donate everything and feel like your used books and other small things, little gadgets you’ve piled up over the years, have some value for someone somewhere, then simply sell it!
You can use location-based apps to find what’s available in your direct area – much easier than dealing with shipping or the complications of selling via eBay. The Facebook Marketplace is also a great place to buy used and sell what you don’t need.
Sign Up for Rewards Credit Cards
One of the biggest expenses in traveling is airline tickets. The plane tickets to many of the great tourism locations around the world cost anywhere between $400-$1400. In the last few years, many credit card companies start offering flyer mile rewards to those who expend monthly fees on their credit cards and pay them off. After one to two years, you can earn enough points to travel places for free.
If you can put all your expenses on a credit card each month and not go over your monthly budget, then you should look into rewards credit cards. The important part is being able to pay it off each month, or it’s not going to be worth it as you’ll have to pay fees.
Track your budget
The number one thing every person needs to do is to track your money.
If you feel lazy, or keep forgetting to do this there are plenty of apps which make it easy to automatically track your expenses. Most of the credit cards provide a breakdown at the end of the month categorizing your spending.
If you know where you spend your money, you can better plan on how to save money for traveling. Read more about how changing 5 every day habits can help you save money for your next trip.
Open a Dedicated Savings Account
Another idea for saving money for traveling gis to open a savings account that is dedicated only to traveling. Make sure in the initial setup stage to see if there are any balance penalties, and then set up automatic transfers at the beginning of each month. By setting up automatic transfers, you make sure you save for traveling or emergency savings, and then the remaining amounts go towards other expenses. Each month your account will start to grow, and that money will be set aside specifically for traveling when the time presents itself.
Cut down on Amazon spending
Over 100 million people have an Amazon Prime account and they use it pretty regularly. We all love two days shipping from Amazon, but many times we order things we could avoid.
You can force yourself to physically walk to a store to buy something. It makes you stop and really think, “do I need this,” or even better, “do I need this right now?” Credit cards already allow us to spend money more easily, and Amazon with its one-click buying and same-day delivery have taken that tenfold.
There are some things that are just always going to be easier to buy on Amazon, but when you don’t need them, simply don’t!
Many stores will match Amazon pricing if you just ask: Home Depot, Best Buy, Target and Walmart will all match Amazon’s prices in-store if you find it cheaper online.
Photo by maitree rimthong from Pexels
