If there is one thing I hear more than anything it’s ‘Kirsty, how do you afford to travel so bloody much?’
Whilst sometimes I work in collaboration with brands, more often than not I pay for my travel myself. I don’t earn an incredible amount of money – especially since I started working for myself – so I thought I’d share some of the tips I follow to help me save for all these awesome adventures.
How To Save Money For Travel
Whether you’re saving money for a trip to America or a Kilimanjaro climb, here are some of my top tips:
Reduce the Cost Of Your Trip – One of the best ways to ensure you’re able to save the money you need to spend on your trip. The less you’re spending, the less you’ll need to spend. Although it may seem difficult at first, there are lots of easy ways to save money on holidays. From looking for deals and offers to shopping around, there are lots of ways to save money.
Create a Savings Plan – If you really want to start saving, particularly for a big trip, why not create a savings plan? This way you know exactly how much you’ll have in your savings at any given time, making booking trips in advance so much easier!
Cut Down on Day to Day Luxuries – When I was going out to work I would go down to Costa at least twice a day for a drink and my lunch. When I worked it out it was costing me almost £10 a day, for stuff I could make at home. I started cutting down how often I would eat lunch out and instead packed my own lunches, saving myself an incredible amount every day! Think about what you can cut down each day and you’ll be surprised how much you save – especially if you start putting that amount into savings each day!
Start Tracking Everything in a Spreadsheet – My Dad is an accountant so this is something I have been doing for a long time, especially since I started working for myself. Working out how much I need to earn to pay my bills and how much disposable income I’ll have each month really helps me see how much I have left to spend on travel. Okay, it takes time but it is so so worth it!
Start a Side Business – I know not everyone can do this, but if you’re anything like me you have one million and one business ideas that you can’t wait to get started on! Whether it’s creating cute gifts for Etsy or setting up a profitable blog, a side business can be a great way to earn extra money to travel.
Keep a Dedicated Travel Fund – Every time I earn a little bit more than I was expecting in a month I like to put a little bit away for a travel fund. That may or may not be all gone right now due to a busy period of travel, but it comes in handy when I need a little extra spending money to dip into.
Make Money Online – There are lots of different ways to make money online including becoming a mystery shopper, using affiliate links on social media and online gaming sites.
Get rid of Unwanted Subscriptions – I was SO guilty of this one as at one time I was subscribed to Now TV, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime TV AND Disney Life at the same time. I think all together it was costing me almost £50 a month, so I worked out which ones I used most and cut it down to just two subscriptions – Netflix and Spotify. So, are there any subscriptions you pay for that you can cut out?
How do you save money for travel?
Kirsty Leanne
xoxo