5 Tips on How to Save Money For Travel

A lot of people think I shit tons of money because they see on my Instagram photos that I travel a lot. The truth is; I am even struggling to pay my bills. I am just a regular girl who is doing her best to feed her growling tummy and satisfy her hungry soul at the same time.

I have lived separately from my family at the age of 16, and have been working to support myself ever since. I do not have over-the-top dreams about traveling. I simply do not want to waste my time staying in one place my whole life, not ever trying to see what the world can offer.

Even though I do not wish to travel all the provinces in the Philippines nor visit as much as many countries in the world, I still need to have a plan, an organized financial goal, to achieve my dreams of just wandering around wherever my random mind wishes me to be.

So let me share you some of the tips I have learned on how to save money for travel.

1. Create a Budget Spreadsheet

Keeping track of your monthly expenses and income is, for me, the first thing that you need to do in order to save money for your travels. Create your own personal budget spreadsheet and fill it in with your monthly expenses and income. Make a budgeting guideline that suits you, so you’ll know how much money you can afford to allot for travel. Here’s an example of my own budget guidelines. Note: Figures below are sample only.

budgeting-guidelines

2. Open a Savings Account

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It is not a good idea to mix your savings funds to your payroll account. 99.99% of the time, you will be tempted to use your savings for other purposes. Unless, of course, if you are a disciplined person,which I am not. 😀 I have two Savings Account, one from BPI and the other one from RCBC, but I use my RCBC Wallet Card for my travel funds because the transaction fee is so high, it keeps me from doing any transactions with them every now and then. (100 pesos per transaction! Juskolord!)

Bonus tip: To make things harder for you to get tempted in getting your savings, do not enroll an ATM card. Do the old school passbook thing.

3. Learn the art of Simple Saving (Piggy Bank Method)

As a child, I have never filled any of my piggy banks. I just did not have the discipline and self-control to save up. I have almost given up on this when I realized that if I don’t bother trying, how can I even assure myself of saving for a bigger amount of money in the future?

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That’s why earlier this year, I started dropping my coin changes directly to my piggy bank. Any amount will do, but I specifically put five and ten-peso coins only. I am so excited because if I get to fill up my piggy bank this December, it would be a first for me. Crossing my fingers!

4. Make some extra money online

There are lots of freelance work you can get into nowadays.  Whether you are into writing, web designing, graphic designing, or basically anything, there are hundreds of online jobs you can apply , which can contribute to your travel funds. I worked as a Chat Support Specialist at Sykes before, but I also had several writing and designing jobs in Upwork.com that enabled me to have extra funds for travel. Other than that, I also earn a little from blogging.

Make some extra money out of your talents. I know someone who used to do calligraphy artwork to her friends for free, but she realized that her hobby is costing her lots of money, so she decided to make an Instagram account, posted her artworks, and offered her services for a fee. After that, she got to travel around Southeast Asia using the money she earned while doing what she love. Here’s the thing; one day, you just got to stop doing what you love for free.

If you’re traveling through Canada and planning to invest in property then try looking at the Toronto bubble today.

5. Cut unnecessary expenses

I lived in a shelter/orphanage for two years as a volunteer, and what happened during those years was the turning point of my life. I learned how to live simply and not over indulge myself with worldly things. Don’t get me wrong. I still go to Starbucks and buy expensive stuff (especially books) every now and then. But I do not do it all the time.

Treat yourself, but remember to #chillax on spending. If you are used to watching movies in the Cinema every weekend, try doing it once a month this time. If you are used to shopping clothes and shoes every pay day, try doing it once every 6 months instead.

Imagine the number of places you could have already gone, if you did not purchase that expensive hand bag you rarely use anyway.

Truly, there are lots of ways you can do to save up for that dream vacation. Dear readers, how do you save up for travel?