Creative ways to save money for travel. Savings while traveling is not impossible, and even if it is difficult, with a little forethought, it can be done. Traveling makes you feel free, it opens your mind, it makes you live unique experiences and visit incredible places, your dream is to really live life and travel as much as possible, but you have to deal with your wallet and bank, which are of another idea.
So you may be wondering, how can I save while travelling? How can I go where I want and not suffer too much financially? We have the answer! So here’s how to save while traveling .
- Subscription Audit: Review all your subscriptions, such as streaming services, magazines, and gym memberships. Cancel or pause those you don’t use frequently and redirect that money toward your travel fund.
- Sell Unneeded Items: Declutter your home and sell items you no longer need or use. This could include clothes, electronics, or furniture. Use platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or local consignment stores.
- Meal Planning and Cooking: Plan your meals in advance, buy groceries in bulk, and cook at home more often. This reduces dining out expenses and helps you save money over time.
- Transportation Alternatives: Consider using public transportation, biking, or carpooling to save on fuel, parking, and maintenance costs for your vehicle.
- Freelancing or Side Gigs: Utilize your skills by freelancing, consulting, or taking on side gigs. The extra income can go directly into your travel fund.
- Automatic Savings Transfer: Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to a separate savings account designated for travel. Treating this transfer as a monthly expense makes saving consistent and automatic.
- No-Spend Challenges: Dedicate a week or a month to spending only on essentials. Challenge yourself to find creative ways to entertain and reward yourself without spending money.
- DIY Gifts and Cards: Instead of buying gifts for birthdays and holidays, create personalized and heartfelt DIY gifts or cards. This saves money while adding a personal touch to your relationships.
- Energy Efficiency: Implement energy-saving habits at home, like turning off lights when not in use, using energy-efficient appliances, and sealing drafts. Lower utility bills mean more money for your travel fund.
- Cultural Exchange or Work Abroad: Look into opportunities for cultural exchange programs or working abroad. This can not only help cover your travel expenses but also immerse you in a new culture and provide unique experiences.
Remember, saving money for travel requires discipline and commitment. Setting clear goals and tracking your progress can help you stay motivated. Mix and match these creative ways based on your lifestyle and preferences to build a substantial travel fund.
Search for accommodation on Booking or Airbnb
Once you have chosen the period in which to book your trip, decided how to reach your destination, and what type of accommodation to choose, all you have to do is search and book .
Using special apps and sites such as Booking and Airbnb above all, will allow you to search and carefully choose the perfect accommodation or accommodations for you to save while travelling. Here are our tips for doing your research:
Carry out your searches with incognito browsing
It is possible to open incognito tabs where each user remains anonymous and past history is not consulted, in this way the sites will not force your searches and will avoid raising prices based on your interests. This argument applies to all searches that include the use of these automations, use it everywhere to save while travelling.
Carry out your searches at night
As happens in the high season where hotel prices are subject to an increase, even search sites, evaluating user traffic , could raise their prices based on the influx of potential customers, searching at night can avoid sudden price increases , even after a few hours, and it can certainly help you save while travelling.
Use essential filters
Avoid looking for too particular accommodations and don’t use too many filters , or for details you may not see some options. Prefer filters such as: price, type of structure, on-site parking (in the city center it is a must), private bathroom, possibly free cancellation (so as not to risk losing everything due to unforeseen events).
Other platforms
In addition to the services described above, there are other platforms on which it is worth looking for a solution to save while travelling:
Trivago
If you don’t know Trivago , once you discover it you will start not to do without it if you really want to save money while travelling. In fact, Trivago is one of the most powerful search engines for choosing accommodation, it is able to carry out complex searches in each location and compare the choices of more than 100 booking sites , including Booking and Airbnb , returning the most advantageous ones .
Secret Escape
The platform that allows you to book luxury hotels at bargain prices . By registering you will have daily timed offers (expiring 10 days) even up to 70% discount in selected locations, while you will be able to find even more than 50% in locations of your choice , it is worth trying to save while travelling.
Choice of transport
Very important for a low cost trip is the choice of transport , obviously it all depends on what your destination will be. For example, if you have to go to Paris starting from Milan, you will have to choose between train or plane, if instead you have to go to Riccione, again from Milan, the choices will fall on car or train.
Here is some info on transport to save money while travelling:
Airplane
It’s the safest form of transportation , but it’s also the most expensive . It’s not easy to save on flights, especially if you have a specific location in mind for your trip, our advice is to be flexible enough and take advantage of the offers on the various airline sites. If that’s not enough for you, consulting search engines such as Skycanner , which examine the various prices of various airlines to offer you the best deal for that route, can be a great way to save money while travelling.
Another tip is to avoid the use of checked baggage as much as possible or the choice of places to sit, they are two options that will significantly increase the ticket price.
train _
It is the second means of transport in the safety ranking and offers shorter journey times at a more or less affordable price. In fact, if you don’t need to take a short time to reach Paris, for example, you can opt for a train journey at night , so as to get a few hours of sleep, and save a lot on transport. Using the Thetrainline search engine, you can simultaneously consult the offers of hundreds of companies to save while traveling.
Bus
The bus is a valid alternative to autonomous transport, in fact the price of the route (toll + fuel) is divided among the passengers with a surcharge for the service. By consulting the Flixbus company it is possible to check timetables, times and prices to reach the main tourist destinations and save money by traveling in company.
Car
Personally we prefer the car , which allows us total freedom of movement and schedules, and even if we risk getting stuck in traffic every time, the convenience and autonomy of the car outweighs the negative aspects.
Blablacar
Blablacar, on the other hand, is a service that allows the cost of the journey (fuel and tolls) to be divided among passengers, without the surcharge that the bus journey requires since the vehicle used is private . In fact, if you intend to go to a tourist resort, you can amortize the cost by offering or asking for passage from other travellers, so as to make new friends, share the journey with someone and save while travelling.
Use your trading skillsThis is more a wish than a real tip to save while travelling, try to bargain and have a nose for business !
In many countries tourism is considered the only means of livelihood for the economy, but it is also true that there are smart people everywhere, so it’s up to you to understand when the price is justified by the service . We make you a:
Practical example
During our trip to Kenya , we met many times (every day at all hours) the Beach Boys, the beach hawkers who sell everything from carved wooden objects, to experiences and excursions. Documenting ourselves before leaving, we were able to discover that tourists are taken as living ATMs , in fact for 5 (five) wooden carved fridge magnets we were asked for 70 (seventy) euros, which we promptly refused. Those who really need ask for food, and as you can see for yourself on our Instagram profile , we took action right away.
Avoid incidental expensesVery underestimated are the so-called secondary if not tertiary expenses, those that are hardly taken into consideration when booking and organizing a holiday, but which by avoiding them you can really save while travelling:
Passport
Not bad if you already have one, but if you need to request it for your trip you have to count it in your budget, here is the guide and passport prices .
Telephone rate
Traveling in Europe you can use part of your standard rate at no additional cost, traveling abroad instead you will have to subscribe to a dedicated option or even buy a new SIM, to count in your budget if you want to save while travelling .
Switzerland is a sore point for Italians, so close and so expensive, even telephone traffic has its own story to tell, here you can find how to navigate in Switzerland .
City tax
It is not mentioned in the cost of the accommodation, and although the cost is generally low (about 2 euros per night), for 5 nights it will be 10 euros more .
Travel visa
Some countries admit tourists only after completing and paying for the visa. In fact, we had to count everything for our trip to Kenya .
Vaccines
In some countries vaccines are mandatory, or highly recommended, include them in the total expenditure.
Our advice to avoid these expenses is obviously to travel as much as possible in Europe, you will avoid further important expenses and you will be able to really save while travelling.
DIY vs travel agency?Is the do-it-yourself always worth it? No. Do agencies always cost more? Neither. Depends where do I go? Exact.
It is not always true that booking and organizing a trip through an agency costs more , it obviously depends on the type of trip, the destination, the ancillary costs and the security of the reservations.
We are fans of do-it-yourself , and we always try to inform ourselves independently regarding all the information, documents, forms, vaccines and insurances when we organize a trip but, as long as it comes to Italy there are no problems, but when we talk about travel abroad, things get more complex. It’s not so much a language problem, but price and reliability.
DIY PRO
Personalization is the strong point of DIY, you can decide EVERYTHING: accommodation, budget, excursions or activities, times and places.
Price , it is convenient if you give up, if you are looking for low-cost accommodation and experiences.
DIY VS
Dedicated time , it is certainly more complicated to organize a holiday on your own, especially in foreign countries where activities and reservations are managed differently from Italy.
No assistance , if you have problems there is no one you can rely on except the Italian embassies.
PRO agency
Consultancy , if you don’t want or don’t know how to organize a trip on your own, they do everything, just choose the destination and the solution most in line with your tastes.
Security , you always have a number and a contact person you can rely on for problems or requests, as well as travel and luggage insurance included or on request.
AGAINST Agency
Price is slightly higher due to the extra cost of the service offered, but it is justified precisely by the post-booking assistance.
Personalization , the packages are standard and slightly customizable, nothing to do with DIY.
Equipment and purchasesAn excellent tip for saving while traveling is to use discounts , offers and sales for the purchase of all the material you need for your holiday.
Don’t stop at the last minute to buy a camera, snorkel mask, rather than a mountain backpack or sleeping bag: move in advance and, if you buy online, put your purchases in your shopping cart and wait for the best moment to buy them.
Amazon, for example, warns you whenever an item in your cart undergoes price changes . This way you can always notice when your favorite item goes down or up in price .
ConclusionsWe have tried to share with you some methods and some tricks that we ourselves use to save while traveling , and this is precisely the secret that allows us to experience so many adventures with little money.
To live life by traveling we have changed our daily order , and our efforts are rewarded every time we experience unique emotions while discovering fantastic places
