6 Ways To Save Money For Travel: Spend Less To Travel More

Did you know that you don’t usually have to pay for your vacation upfront? Depending on how far out we book your vacation, most of the time I can set you up with a simple deposit and get the rest paid by travel time OR even make monthly installments dependent on your credit score - so whether you have the full amount in hand right now, or want to pay that deposit now and pay as we go, I’ve got some ideas to help you make those payments and have a little extra cash for your dream getaway.

Although you know your expense sheet better than me, I’m here to layout some ideas, point out some of the biggest expenditures for most Americans and help you put away little-by-little to be able to afford that dream vacation. And, while some of my suggestions may mean less luxuries or comfort for awhile - it will all be worth it when you’re sipping Pina coloda’s and sunbathing on the beach.

Coffee

Coffee is actually one of the things most Americans waste the most money on. According to an abcnews.com article, the average American spends $14.40 a week on coffee at coffee shops. Maybe that doesn’t sound so bad - until you realize that doesn’t include the coffee drank at home and also means the average American spends $1,100 on coffee annually - and that’s only the average. If you live in the Pacific Northwest like me, you know coffee shops like Starbucks and Dutch Bros are popping up like daisies and addicting more citizens by the day - and you very well may be above the average.

What does your coffee addiction add up to?

While I’m not saying you should go without coffee(or whatever your preferred drink is) there are ways to make it much more affordable. Make your drinks at home! This was a learning curve for us that was more difficult than pressing a button - especially because my husband prefers cold brew coffee. But, once I made a batch I realized how simple it was. The hardest part was the overnight steeping - but all I had to do was put it in the fridge and wait.

My point is, this can save a significant amount of money AND doesn’t have to be difficult - it just takes a little extra time and is not as convenient. But if that doesn’t convince you, let’s look at the numbers. For us, we went from spending $3 a day at the coffeee shop for an Unflavored iced americano when he worked ($3 X 5 = $15 a week) to a $10 bag of coffee grounds and 64oz of water lasting us two weeks. ($5 a week, or $1 a day) and while those numbers may not sound all that different, that means instead of $1100 annually, we are spending more around $250 annually for my husbands coffee.

However, if you are someone who doesn’t have a coffee shop love or, you’re in luck. That’s not something you’ll have to adjust to!

Dedicating Money From Each Paycheck

So possibly one of the most common ideas for saving money for vacation is putting money away from paychecks into savings. But the pitfall for some when attempting to dedicate a daily/weekly/monthly amount from your paycheck or bank account can be hard - whether it is because you look at that total and would rather use that $5, $50 or $200 on coffee or a night out, or because you can’t remember to pull it out consistently. But I’m going to list a couple ways to get better at this tactic.

You may have seen some DIY or bookkeeping tutorials on money binders and bill boxes where folks will have cash in hand whether from a side gig or pulled from the bank account, and only a consistent basis, sit down and divy up their cash into envelopes or other containers assigned to different bills, expenses and savings goals. While this avenue is a smart plan to visualize where your money is going, it still requires some steps that may make this complicated if you don’t have the time to withdraw cash and dedicate time every so often to sit down and do it. That being said, if having cash in hand ads helpful for you to save money (like it is for me, much harder to hand over my physical money than insert my card), this may be a really good option for you to save money in general and in consequence, have more money to save toward that dream trip.

BUT if you don’t have time for this, like me, perhaps this one is more up your alley:

I started using an app called Albert a couple years ago - it is essentially a banking app. It allows you to link your checking, savings - all types of bank accounts - and all debts as well to be able to analyze your income, spending and debts. It is quite convenient when trying to keep track of money, watch your debts and even breaks down your spending in pie charts and what not. However, the bigger reason it can help you directly and intentionally save money for vacations (or any type of savings goal) is because you can make a savings account, set a goal and enter an amount you would like to be withdrawn from your checking account, as well as how frequently.

This was very helpful for me, mostly in the sense of forgetting about the money I had sitting in the account. It was especially a life-saver when I had a surprise expense, and I could draw out of the savings fittingly-dubbed “rainy-day fund”.

The only downside, is it will take a couple days to switch the money between accounts on Albert and linked banks. But there are many apps like this, and if you think this would be a tool for you, I highly suggest giving it a go.

Meal Planning

There’s a reason I didn’t title this one “eating at home” and it’s because plenty of our groceries go to waste. So while eating at home and avoiding eating out in any sense of the word can save you a significant amount of money, buying groceries we #1: don’t need, #2 won’t use and #3 don’t have a plan for, often leads to the throwing out of a lot of money.

According to a Motley Fool service, The Ascent article, the average American household spends $2,375 on eating out annually. That’s a big number! That’s something that could be significantly cut down if you apply yourself to cooking at home more often. The same article points out that the average households spend $4,942 annually on groceries (in addition to eating out) - but that means the total for going out annually is almost half of the total to eat at home for the year. Insane! Imagine how much you could save by preparing ALL or MOST of your food at home.

*A side note: an article by hloom also shows that an average of $280 per person is spent on food that goes to waste. This is another area we could try to eliminate wasted cash by being more intentional with our grocery shopping and meal planning.

So, yes, don’t eat out and cook your meals at home - but more than that, plan your meals weekly or evenly monthly.

This leads to concise grocery lists, shorter trips to the store and little waste in regards to food because recipes give you measurements and guidance. But, it’s also a time-saver if you decide to prep your meals ahead of time. While I used to find this a difficult task to set aside time to dedicate toward, I now find it extremely useful in how much time it saves me the rest of the week - especially when it comes to my husbands lunches, who gets up at 4am for work.

And if you’re eager to give this one a whirl, there are many budget-friendly meal ideas on Pinterest that can help save even more money. Might as well go all out, right?

The added bonus of this is being able to focus on and potentially meet any nutritional goals you may have!

Side Hustle

This one isn’t for the faint of heart. A side hustle is a great way to make extra money - while this isn’t going to help you save money from your income, it is going to add to your income - which may be a great fit for those of you who have extra time, energy or already do the other things we’ve talked about in this article.

Some ideas for lucrative side hustles that don’t require an interview and the whole nine yards are:

Doordash, Postmates, Uber Eats, etc. - These offer flexibility in hours and pay depending on the area you live in. With good service, focus and gas mileage, you can make good money with orders and tips from customers - not to mention the application process is very simple and requires talking to no one.

Amazon Flex - This is a service where you can deliver small routes with Amazon with your own vehicle. Similar to Doordash, in that it offers flexible hours and good pay as an independent contractor.

Babysitting - A pretty common part time jobs, especially for those of us recent graduates. This offers a lot of downtime, flexibility and good pay depending on the job. While it can be emotionally and physically taxing - especially depending on the age range - this can be a great way to earn some extra cash, especially if you’re experienced with children.

Picking up side jobs or remote work as an independent contractor in whatever industry you work - With enough experience or education in your field, you could potentially start working as an independent contractor, taking on side jobs and work from home. Just make sure to check your states rules and regulations and get the proper certifications and such in place.

Use Coupons & Research Your Neighborhood Grocery Store

The idea with this one is simple: Shop based off what is on sale. I am heavily guilty of this, as are many of the people of my generation, I fear. It is something I’ve come to admire about my grandma and mother, and have made a point to correct in myself as well. And more than just using coupons, try shopping at stores that cost less.

When my husband and I got our apartment together, I quickly began to look for other ways to save money, as our rent was eating a lot of our income. We had come from a smaller town with one major brand grocery store (Fred Meyer) and moved into a much more urban neighborhood, where the nearest store was Winco Foods. After shopping there a couple times, I felt that my bill was smaller for the same foods I would buy at Fred Meyer.

After some research and reading some studies, I found that Winco was one of the best grocery stores to shop at price-wise without considering bulk-food stores like Costco or U.S. Chef Supply.

That being said, shop at good stores and utilize sales!

Record Your Expenses

This is something that made me realize where my money was going and sit down to reconsider our expenses. Like I mentioned previously, I found the charts and expenditure breakdowns within my banking app helpful - and what it showed was spending on several useless and forgotten Apple subscriptions for my phone and subscriptions to forgotten platforms and services, too large a number being spent on coffee and eating out and spending on things I would call fun, but unnecessary, like clothes shopping, accessories or “entertainment”, i.e. movies and the like.

This also helped me put into perspective where I was in regards to budget and where I wanted to be, how much we could afford to put into savings after bills and necessities and how long it would take us to reach our financial goals.

But needless to say, this practice can really put your spending into perspective (as painful as that may be) and help you save.

Those are just a few of my tips on some of the biggest money-guzzlers that we spend money on every week - sometimes without even thinking about it! Other costs you may not even be thinking of are things like unreturned merchandise, cigarettes, lottery tickets/gambling, and new clothes/accessories. Cutting out some of these things or avoiding them altogether will help you save money for your next big adventure.

Stay tuned for more articles on travel tips and reviews!

-Shae