Saving Money For The Big Trip

Saving Money for a Big Trip
How can we afford our dream vacations?

Almost every day I am thinking about where I can go next. Whether a different city, state, or around the world, I have these big huge dreams of traveling. I really don't want the regret when I'm older that I never did anything because of money. 

Now, money has a lot to do with how far we can go, but it shouldn't hold us back from experiencing the most in life. I believe fully that travel can teach us so much in life. Learning new cultures, how people live, and that going can buy us more than we'll ever know. Growing up, I thought that after high school I would be traveling Europe. It didn't happen but in the next five years I plan on making a lot of trips. 

Places I would love to visit are: New Orleans, Los Angeles, Alaska, Canada, London, Venice, Greece, Rome, Italy, South Africa, (The Oasis Restaurant in Texas), Paris, and Australia. I'm sure that as I grow I will acquire some more interests, but for now I will focus on the saving part of the trips. 

So how can I save money?

1. Destination: 

Once you have a set destination you are more focused on how you are going to save. You now can research the currency, ways of travel, and things that you might want to do. Having this destination as a goal will help with the rest. 

2. Cost:
Research the types of activities or opportunities you will have in the place you are going. For instance, we knew that there was one big activity we were going to do at Myrtle Beach, when we went last weekend, and we set aside money for that. You are going to have to sacrifice something. Try and divvy out your money for the experience you could never had at "home base." Know the difference in currency. Something that costs 20 dollars here, might now cost in riyals somewhere in the middle east. 

3. Save the "fun" money:
While you are building up to that vacation you shouldn't be going out to eat every weekend before. Make time to make grocery lists the week before so that you buy only what you will need, before you leave the house empty. Try not to blow your money on things not necessary.. You may want it, but do you NEED it?

4. Use your Savings Account:

I used my savings account a lot when I was younger. As I got older I tended to freely transfer money to checking so that I could have spending money whenever I wanted. Well, when you are saving for a trip you need to put the money in the savings account and not touch it until you are on your trip. Factor in an amount from each paycheck, maybe 15% or more depending on how much income you are making. Even if it was $100 a day, that is good emergency money or at the most a days worth of eating out at restaurants.

5. Look for Deals:

When looking for hotels or activities check out Groupon app, Also if you are in an American city, you could always download the Uber App instead of renting a car. (That has helped me and Travis out a lot). Groupon gives discounts on hotels and things to do. 

6. Invest in Airline memberships:

It may seem crazy but frequent flyer miles can give you free tickets after so many miles. It's a great investment. 

7. Itinerary:

Write down the financial plan you want to stick by. Once you map out how much money hotel, air fare, maybe gas mileage, food per day you can plan the fun stuff. Multiply the food and maybe taxi fair by the amount of days you will be there. It will give you an estimated cost of what you really do need to save. Now save towards the goal.