Let’s face it… Traveling is expensive! But when it’s your passion, you figure out a way to make it work. I have grown up with many lessons on saving money and now in my adulthood, I use these lessons to save up for all our travels. I prefer to avoid the use of credit cards to purchase vacations. I have the stance that if your using debt to travel, then you probably shouldn’t be doing it. So rather than use debt, I save up until we have the funds to go on our next vacay. Here are some tips and tricks I use in my “How to Save Money for Travel” guide.
Tip #1: Sell, Sell, Sell
This is probably my biggest money saver. Sell items you don’t use or need and save up that money for your next trip. Obviously Marketplace and having a garage sale are two common ways to do this. I have done both. Garage Sales are a lot of work, but can be worth it. I use Marketplace for anything bigger that I wouldn’t ship. But clothes… POSHMARK! Heard of it?
I sell all my gently used clothes and shoes on Poshmark, and people buy them! When I work at it, I can make a couple hundred a week. This is an example of how I go about it… Click on each picture to see my Posh closet
Tip #2: Buy Thrift
This is a general rule for saving money, buy thrift. You don’t NEED NEW clothes! Plus, it’s good for the planet and environment to recycle… So thrifting it is. I actually LOVE to thrift. I compare it to hunting. My husband gets a rush from hunting that big buck. I get the same rush when I am thrifting and I find a gently used Lululemon jacket.
Due to my love for thrift, my tips #1 and #2 are somewhat combined. I save money in general by not buying many new clothes. I am an avid thrifter who has a secret talent for finding good quality clothes and brands with low ticket prices. Combine that with my poshing, now I am an unstoppable machine! I like to say I have a revolving closet that earns money. It’s an asset. And in life, it’s better to have more assets than debts.
Tip #3: Figure out how to get sky miles!
Saving up sky miles DOES take time. But after a while, you could get a free flight out of it!
One obvious way to get sky miles is to fly. I usually stick to Delta (if possible) so I have my Delta Skymiles that add up every time I travel. This is the quickest way to earn miles, if you fly frequently.
Credit Cards… Yes, I did mention at first I don’t like using credit to travel because I want my trip paid in full, that doesn’t mean I don’t use a credit card. I just pay it off each month. Get yourself a card that has a good miles program. I ended up with Capital One Platinum. I researched a few different ones and I liked the miles program with this.
Other tricks… Find companies who give miles with purchases. Two I use VERY OFTEN… Instacart and Starbucks. I don’t have to pay extra for these. My accounts are linked, so I get miles with every purchase (which I would be buying anyway, so why not!)
Tip # 4: Pack your Lunches
For me, this tip is good for my bank account and health! I started religiously packing my lunches last year. I do a whole meal-prep Sunday at the beginning of every week. This has prevented me from take-out lunches or Jimmy John’s delivery during my work day. If you don’t do this already, give it a try and watch your savings grow! In the near future, I will do a post on my meal-prep Sundays… I have it down to a science and by the end of my prep I have 15 healthy meals ready for the week for me and my kids. P.S. Not only will you save money, but the time you save throughout the week is huge too!
Tip #5: Drop all your unused Subscriptions
I went through subscriptions about a year and a half ago and I found it amazing how much you can save by cancelling subscriptions you no longer use and have forgotten about. What I would do is go through and figure out what you are paying for and no longer use. Cancel these subscriptions and add that money to your travel account.
Tip #6: Skip the restaurant
One of my favorite things is going out for dinner, so this is a challenge for me. But when our goal is to save money (or be healthy) this is where we look. If we are trying to save for a trip, we will intentionally skip a restaurant or two and put the estimated money we would have spent there in our travel account. When you’re skipping out on things you love, it helps knowing you’re putting that money into saving for something you like even more!
Speaking of being healthy… Here is one of my favorite systems for ultimate health. When I started Isagenix I felt the healthiest I have ever been and successfully lost weight. It does seem like a spendy system, but if you look at it this way… You are replacing 1 to 2 meals per day with a shake and you have 1 cleanse day a week. When you factor in the food you’re replacing, it evens out.
Tip #7: Shop my promo page!
I have to throw in a little self-promotion…. I have an Amazon Promo page and a Facebook Fashion and Home Savings Group.
My Amazon Promo page is updated daily with fashion, home and gift ideas that are up to 80% off with the promo code given. Unfortunately, I am unable to shop my own links, so I am not able to buy these great deals, but I can share them. Most of that I post are things I would buy myself!
My Facebook Group is the same idea but has more than just Amazon on it. I just post great deals I run into that I think others would like as much as I do. Finding deals like this is a wonderful way to save money!
Tip # 8: Do your research and find the best deals with Travel
One way I find the best deals with flights is being flexible with dates. Whenever we travel, I book flights first and try to chose the cheapest option. Sometimes extending the date can save you big. For example, when we flew to Costa Rica last year, we were planning on a Saturday to Saturday trip. When I rearranged the dates, I ended buying tickets for a Friday to the next Saturday and this saved us almost $200/ticket. With a family of 4, that is an $800 savings! And an extra day in paradise.
A lot of times it is beneficial to avoid peak seasons in certain destinations. We like to go to Florida every winter as a bonus trip to escape the harsh Minnesota cold and snow. That being said we always chose to make this trip in January or February . We are able to find much better flight prices and house rental prices, compared to March or April. The weather is still nice and the crowds are a little less, which is another big bonus!
Tip #9
My last and final tip… The $5 $1 plan.
This is a mindless way to save money and results come quicker than you’d think… At the end of everyday, take out the $5 and $1 dollar bills from your wallet. Keep this money in special spot and don’t dig into it! Eventually you will save up enough of these small bills to pay for your next vacation!
Happy savings to you! I hope these tips will help you save up enough for an epic vacation! YOLO!
Here are some travel inspirations to motivate you to SAVE SAVE SAVE!
ICeland guide
Read about how we spent a week in the land of fire and ice!
Ireland Guide
Every shade of green… I love Ireland for it’s shades of green and vast beauty.
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