How Do I Pay For These Trips?

How can you afford to travel so often? I didn’t know you were balling like that! How can I do it too? All of these are questions I get fairly often. Plus, I’ve been reading travel blogs for about a decade now and when I first started travelling, I too, was curious nosy as to how people did it. So, I thought I’d do a post on how I afford to travel. In the end, I came up with my own way to make it work financially as well as time-wise. I took bits from travel bloggers where their tips were practical enough for me. Who knows, my ‘formula’ might give someone a tip or two.

Now, first things first. My facts and circumstances may not be reflective of yours and that’s not lost on me, however there are some tricks that could work regardless of what your story is. I will be honest in saying its a little better for me now than it was 7 years ago when I started as I’ve now worked for a few years now and my finances are in a different state than they were then.

FACTS: I’m currently single, I have a fulltime job, I live in Europe so I’m close to several European countries, and I currently have no debt. I’m not high-maintenance when it comes to travelling (aka I don’t have to have luxury), I have other financial obligations, I don’t have a trust fund or sugar daddy (in case you were wondering, let’s just put it out there ).  Yes, I crunch numbers and keep a spread sheet and I compare budget to actuals. Judge me 🙂

With that in mind, here we go!

I Save for Travel, Plain & Simple

Early on, I realised that I needed to keep a separate ‘pot’ of funds for travelling otherwise ‘life’ would happen and other bills would show up and I would not be able to take the money and put it towards a trip. So, I opened up a separate little savings account and I started putting in $75 every month into that account. I also made it a point to put half of any bonuses or tax refunds towards travelling. Now that I’m living in Europe for 2+ years, I’m putting more  money monthly towards travel than I normally would, but this level of travel (on average, a trip each month) is likely not sustainable after I return to the U.S because …err…adulting calls! I don’t eat out much or spend a lot on drinks or shopping. As much as I love a wicked pair of heels, I can’t eat my cake and have it so I’ve cut back on my shoe shopping since I moved. It also helps that my favourite stores to shoe shop are not in the UK, thank you Jesus for less temptation!

I paid off  my Debt

I’m fortunate in that I do not have student loans or a mortgage (yet), but at the time I started working, I had a car loan and a decent chunk of credit card debt. I sat down and made a plan to pay it off in 2.5 -3 years so that I would have more ‘freedom’ with my salary.

I Travel Within My Means and book flights early

I’ve done hostels, but I’d be lying if I said I still loved doing hostels. Nah boo! After a while, it just aint cute or comfortable! I generally make a budget for each trip and then divide the budget into different subcategories. Flight and accommodation are the biggest ££$$$ eaters. It honestly pains me to pay for accommodation, I don’t know why but unfortunately sleeping in the streets is not an option. Why can’t it be free though? 🙂

I try to come up with a realistic budget for the big ticket items and then I pick and choose the fun stuff/activities. Yes, I do splurge every now and then, because sometimes ‘YOLO’.

These days I use Airbnb often as it saves quite a bit when travelling with people and sometimes while travelling alone. I don’t stay in five star hotels when my budget for a trip matches 3-star (unless I’m using points then yes by ALL means, please make it 7-stars with cherry on top, who no like better thing?). I also go with boutique hotels in local destinations as they often offer great value and don’t have the price tags of the bigger global brands. I try to book flights in advance when I can to get the best deals.

 

Sometimes, a good deal, offseason, or a cheap destination wins

You know, sometimes a good deal is a good deal is a good deal. Sometimes I see a cheap steal ticket and it’s a done deal, no need to waste more time analysing. Travelling during the off season or ‘shoulder’ season will save some £££. Shoulder season is the period just before or after high season. This means destinations are still in business but it will cost you less as they want your business since the crowds aren’t there.

Now, Southeast Asia is amazing and is such great value for your hard earned money. Thailand, Vietnam were so great. I mean, we paid $11 each in Chiang Mai at a bed and breakfast. Since we did that so cheaply, we were able to ‘splurge’ in Phuket for a beach front apartment at a nice resort that  cost about $50 per night per person (Luxury for less). I currently have this dream Villa in Koh Samui Thailand saved on my airbnb wishlist thatI dream of renting with family or friends. This place looks like it walked out  of a magazine and is affordable! Cheap destination for the win!

 

Taking Advantage of Work Travel & Points earned

I travelled more for work in the US than I do now, but I would often try to add on a day or two at the end of a trip to another state to get to see the area a bit. When I was in India for 2 months in 2014, since I was already way over on that side of the world I took advantage of my weekends to plan personal trips around the country to Kerala, Delhi and Agra. Plus, this was the only way I could get to the Maldives, a country what was on my ‘dream list’. I was only 1 hour away by air so I just closed my eyes and went for a weekend  at the end of my secondment (that’s all I could afford). I would do it again because after all, Yolo sometimes!

Since I’ve been in Europe, I’ve been to Amsterdam three times to teach training for work and I’ve added on weekend trip to Malta and Denmark where since flight is covered and I only need to pay accommodation, meals, and activities out of my pocket.

 

From my trips within the US, I racked up some miles so last year when I went back to visit the US, I flew on my miles, and that saved me at least $1,200. I usually make sure I use miles or hotel points on otherwise expensive trips. I also only have a few hotel points left (maybe 2 or 3 nights) so I’m saving them for when they’re needed the most this year or early next year.

 

Travel with friends or to cities where I have friends

It doesn’t always work out to travel with others, but when it does, the advantage of travelling with others is that you get to split accommodation which comes in pretty handy! Otherwise, if you have friends in cities you’re dying to visit, then stay connected (don’t just reach out the week you want to head over), give notice, make sure the timing works for them, and go visit them. Be nice and respectful, spend time with them if they’re available,  and please take a small gift or take them out to dinner at a minimum.

Multi-Destination Trips

I’m sure you’ve heard this before. Whenever I can, and where it logistically works out, I plan multi destination trips within the same region. For example, I flew into Prague and out of Bratislava in January and in between travelled by train to Vienna.  In 2011, we flew into Peru and out of Bolivia and then crossed the border by road (boy, that’s a story for another day) in between.  On my return from India, I routed my flight such that I made a stop in the Maldives, and another 3 day stop in Dubai before returning to the US. If it works, just do it. You’ll save on flight and that’s extra $$$ in your pocket! 

Sign Up for Free Activities

When my budget is tight and my accountant is about to issue me a warning, I look out for free (or cheap activities) at my destination. This way I still get to explore and do thing I enjoy without dipping into limited funds.

So there you have it. This is how I afford to travel. I do what works for me and sometimes when I don’t have the funds, I sit my butt at home. I prioritise keeping my funds for travelling over other ‘fun’ activities most of the time such as eating out, going out for drinks, shopping, etc.

How do you afford to travel? What tips/hacks do you have? Share in the comments below!

 

Xoxo

Dee.