How to save money for traveling? It’s no secret that travelling and going on vacation can be pretty expensive. Between flights, accommodation, food, excursions, transport and “fun spends”, it soon starts to add up–especially if you’re planning on travelling for a couple of months and not planning to work while you do so.
Luckily, we’ve been through this before and now we can help. We’ve had to scrimp and save and plan to make our travelling dreams a reality. There are some simple, easy-to-follow and easy to maintain saving hacks that are going to help you on how to save money for traveling in no time. Let’s check out how to save money for traveling!
Set Up a Saving Plan
First things first, you need to know how much to save. Go and do some research to find out how much average flights and hostels cost and how much it costs to have fun in the places you’re going to. There are plenty of resources like this online that can help steer you in the right direction.
Whatever number you find, add on at least another 20% for contingency money. On the road it is very easy to spend more than you think you will, and you don’t want to be left short or miss out on those amazing new experiences.
Once you’ve got a ballpark figure in mind, you can set up a savings plan where you create an automatic transfer to a savings account or bank account every month as soon as payday hits. Only put away what you can afford, even if it’s a lower figure, you can always top it up on months where you have money leftover after necessities and events.
By making it an automatic transfer just after payday, you don’t really see that money long enough to spend it on other things. It’ll be in your travel account, ready to be used for adventures and adventures alone!
Ditch Takeaway Coffees and Lunches
A quick and easy way to save a few quid here and there is by not buying coffees or lunches when you’re out or in the office. Tesco meal deals may seem like a bargain at £3 at a time but having them 5 days a week for a month costs you £60 – that’s like three nights in a European hostel and like a full week in a South East Asian one.
Buy a flask and some tupperware on the cheap and make the effort to make your lunches and coffees at home. You’ll save so much money and after a while you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing this sooner.
Use Loyalty Schemes
Loyalty schemes are a really good way to save money, especially if you’re saving money for travelling. Most airlines will have loyalty schemes where you can rack up points on flights, hotel and hostel stays, shopping, airport extras and more. Normally, these airlines will have a credit card attached to them which gets you more frequent flyer miles and points every time you spend in your normal life.
American Express, Tesco Credit Card and Virgin Atlantic Credit Card all run these kinds of schemes, and can be a quick way of boosting your points so that by the time you book your vacation or trip, you’ll be able to get some pretty big ticket items at a reduced rate, or in some cases, even free. Just remember to pay it off at the end of every month!
If you don’t want to use a credit card or can’t get one, you can get great discounts by sticking to one accommodation booking site. Often, these sites will give you a night free if you book 10 nights or have prearranged, exclusive discounts with hostels all ready for you to use. Our Hostel Card gets you up to 20% off amazing, high-quality hostels in Europe, all for just £19.99 per year.
These kinds of schemes are really useful for raking in the discounts and building up the points for a welcome reward at a later date.
Shop on Cashback Sites
In a similar way to credit card points schemes, cashback sites are a really easy way to get money back on the things you buy every day. Sites like Quidco or Top Cashback have portals to thousands of websites and give you a percentage back on your spends.
Many of these sites also have apps where you can scan your physical receipts as well, so if you don’t shop online that much, you can still benefit from great savings.
You can even get bonus cashback when you take your money out of your account if you want to get your money in voucher form instead of a regular bank transfer. These sites often have travel and hospitality companies as voucher payouts where you can get an extra 5% back for free. It all adds up!
Host Events at Your House
Honestly one of the biggest expenditures that we have is going out. Whether it’s for drinks, meals or a club, it can cost a lot to be fun and social. Now, this travel saving period isn’t about denying yourself happiness, like many aspects of life – everything in moderation – but there are cheaper ways to go out.
If you can, host events at your place, from dinner parties to Netflix nights with snacks and wine, to full house parties. Although the clean up is annoying the next day, having nights in with friends is a really effective way to save. If nothing else, embrace home-based pre-drinking before you go out to keep drinks bills down.
Did you like our tips on how to save money for traveling?
There are so many simple and effective ways to save money to fund your next travel adventure, you just need to be a little bit more mindful of how you spend and save your money. Travel is the only thing you pay for that will actually make you richer, so keep that end goal of relaxation and exploration in mind as you make your 25th lunchtime salad of the month!
Don’t have a Hostel Card yet? Click here to find out how you can save up to 25% on accommodation, tours, activities and more!
