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“How do you save money for travel?” “How can you afford this lifestyle?” “Are you rich?” Traveling the world doesn’t have to be expensive! As a 22 year old that has seen over 20 countries and territories on an incredibly strict budget, it’s possible to do more for less. Here are some easy and smart ways on how to save money for travel.
How to Save Money for Travel- Money saving tips
When I took my very first international solo female travel trip to my homeland of Jamaica, I got lots of people asking me how I did it. Was I rich? No, at the time I was far from it. At the time, I actually had just around $3,000 to my name yet I used that money to last a month in Jamaica, two months in San Franciso (one of the most expensive countries in the USA, 2 weeks in Hawaii, and another month in San Diego. Crazy right! The key to stretching my money so far was budgeting.
There are many different types of travel: group, partner, honeymoon, luxury. Lets explore all of the budget travel methods and dive into how to save money for travel.
Here are all the ways I have used (and still use) on how to save money while traveling.
Cook at Home
Yes, yes, yes, I know. When we travel to a new place we can hear the fancy restaurants just calling our names. However when you’re on a tight budget, eating out everyday can be your worst enemy. Cooking at least one meal a day has saved me hundreds of dollars while being on the road. Getting easy things like bread with jelly, pasta with sauce, and fruit keeps my belly full and always feeling nourished. If I’m in the USA I love to get ready made meals from Trader Joe’s. When I’m international I shop at local markets or grocery stores and whip up a tasty vegan meal and be sure to have leftovers.
Need tasty vegan recipes? Check out my food blog of vegan Caribbean food.
Monetize a Side Hustle- How to Save Money for Travel
Are you good at crochet? Building websites? Graphic design? There are so many ways you can earn and save money by monetising your side hustle. One of my favorite and biggest passions is cooking ital (Caribbean) vegan food. I decided to start a vegan Caribbean food blog and now its one of my biggest incomes and allows financial freedom. You never know what could happen, always invest in yourself!
Apply for a travel grant
Did you know you can literally get PAID to travel? Yeah, this isn’t a joke. Every year, thousands of dollars gets paid out to help people travel and accomplish certain goals via grants. There are many companies that give out free money (aka grants) for purposes like discovering a new culture, learning a new language, holistic health, etc, to people each year! Opportunities depend on what country you’re in, and they will have certain requirements and an application process. You can simply search for “travel grants in ___” or “paid travel opportunities for___”. Happy searching; you never know, one grant just may fund your travels for a whole year!
Dog walking- How to Save Money for Travel
If you love dogs then this next one is for you! Walking dogs is a great way to make money in your spare time and get a little exercise in as well. Wag Walking or Rover are great places to start your fog walking career. The site links you up with people in your area; lots of travellers make money this way! Keep in mind, the rate these sites take from your earnings is a bit high though.
Open a high APR savings account
If you’re not into finance like me, APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate. This is basically the amount of interest that you get paid from a bank with your savings account. APR rates with big name banks are usually crazy low (like .01%). This is where online banks come in! Banks such as Ally have higher interest rates which will benefits you! There is typically a requirement for keeping your funds and not touching them for about a year so keep that in mind. But with a decent rate, this is a great way to semi invest and use the extra money earned for travel!
Complete Surveys for extra money- How to Save Money for Travel
There are real websites that will pay you real money for simply answering questions! Companies like swag bucks and survey junkie are very popular. When doing surveys, its important to keep in mind you won’t be able to pay your bills with this cash. But its a great way to earn a small income for groceries when you’re bored and feel like turning on Netflix.
Sign up for swag bucks here and start earning money today!
Do a work trade
Did you know that you can have free accommodation when you travel? For the first 2 years of my solo female budget travel, I traveled with a company called WorldPackers and saved literally thousands of dollars. What you do is offer some skills (social media, receptionist, child care, etc) in exchange for accommodation. For example, when I was in San Francisco my work was 15 hours per week with one day off’ about 2 or so hours each day. I simply had to load the dishwasher, take out trash, change sheets, and I was able to stay in one of the most expensive cities in the world for FREE!
Get $10 off your first year of WorldPackers using my code THANKSTIFFANY
Get an Online Job | Work at night
There are so many jobs you can have that are fully online offering a digital nomad experience. I have taught English, sold freelance travel articles, and created e-books to create a stream of income while on the road. You can do this too! Getting an online job can also prevent fear of running out of money while on the road (no one wants that).
Here are a few jobs that digital nomads/full time travellers typically do:
Language Teach on Italki
Video Captioner with Rev
Full-Time Blogger
Social Media Influencer
Book Keeper
Freelance Writer
Set up a budget
How much do you want to spend on this trip? $1,000 or $10,000? Being intentional with your finances helps to accomplish goals a lot easier. Lets say you want to spend 2 months backpacking in Southeast Asia. This region is pretty affordable so anywhere in between $3,000 – $4,000 can comfortably fit a backpackers/budget travel budget for 2 months! However more expensive destinations like Iceland and Switzerland must be properly accounted for. Research your destination and your method of travel (budget/luxury) and budget accordingly.
The Opportun app is a money saving app for those who have trouble saving. It takes money out of your bank and distributes to your savings goal every day so you don’t have to. I’ve used it to save for my birthday trip and it was amazing! Join the Opportun app and earn a free $5 bonus here.
Eat local food- How to Save Money for Travel
Not only is it a great way to dive deeper in the culture of the country you’re visiting, local food is much cheaper to buy. Local food is definitely much cheaper than eating at international Pizza Hut, Starbucks, KFC, or other big name franchises. When I was traveling in Tanzania, I could get 2 chapati and vegetables for a couple of USD. I enjoyed the food that natives love without causing a huge dent in my pocket; I call that a win win!
Wash your own laundry
While this one is much less glamorous than going for the washer/dryer route, it’s much more affordable and gives a higher appreciation for amenities back home. I’ve come across some really expensive laundry prices while abroad. For example, in Costa Rica a hostel charged $7 USD for ONE load, think of how much that adds up after a month! When washing your clothes by hand, simply grab a bar soap or powder detergent and get to work.
Check out this travel washing bag that makes washing your clothes by hand easy and a breeze.⬇️
Do free or cheap local tours- How to Save Money for Travel
I very rarely do group/organized tours. They’re typically over priced and you don’t usually have much time to see the things you actually want to see. I love asking my airbnb host or hotel receptionist where the more popular local spots are and go there. I’m able to save sooo much money this way and have a more authentic, off the beaten path experience as well.
Book your flight on kiwi/hopper
I always search for my flights on this wonderful money saving website called kiwi. They’re an organised flight search engine that offers the cheapest prices on flights all around the world. Kiwi compares different airlines and tells you the cheapest day. The website shows even lower prices than Expedia so its a great resource for finding an affordable flight.
Hopper is another search engine that is slightly different from kiwi. They offer great prices for hotels, rental cares, and of course flights. If you turn your notifications on, the app will let you know when to book a ticket. This means it recognizes whether prices are dropping/raising or when they will stay the same. Hopper also has the ability to to freeze ticket prices if you’re not ready for the purchase. Its overall a great app/site.
Carry on luggage only- How to Save Money for Travel
I know I know, we love to bring everything including the front door when packing for a trip. However as a person that has been a full time digital nomad for 3+ years, less is more. Traveling carry-on only is not only more affordable but also provides peace of mind that your bags won’t get lost during the checked in transfer. Lots of plane companies like Ryan Air and Frontier have extremely cheap tickets but get pricey when it comes to the baggage. Learning how to pack less will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run, trust me! Being organised when it comes to packing is the world, I love to us packing cubes to optimise space efficiency as well. Grab some high quality yet affordable packing cubes here!
Get a local sim card
If you like talking on the phone as much as me (my friends and family and I will have hour long convos while I’m abroad), get a local SIM card. Using a local sim is one of the best ways to save money while traveling. International plans back in your home country are usually going to be more pricey than just getting a SIM card in your destination. This is especially recommended if you need to call Ubers or use minutes to call hotels and etc.
Just to note: to have a SIM card you must have an unlocked phone. This means that your phone must be fully paid off before taking our your sim and inserting another. However, some phone providers (like T-Mobile) will allow you to unlock your phone for one month, just ask to be sure.
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