Follow these 10 Tips To Get You Started Now On Saving
If you are trying to save money for your travels, don’t get overwhelmed. You can do it once you set your mind to it.
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So you have decided on a destination for your next getaway. That’s awesome. I’m sure you have waited a long time to get here. I bet you’re excited to start planning for your trip.
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Now you will have enough time to save money for paying off this trip. There is nothing to stress about. You will have plenty of time to start putting away a little money each month, each week and perhaps each day.
CREATE A BUDGET
As soon as you book your trip, you should create a budget for yourself that will help pay for the vacation. You don’t want to go in the red before you even start your vacation abroad. Come up with a simple budget that you can handle.
With utility bills, you could get rid of certain cable tv packages that you don’t even watch. I watch out for everywhere I could save. I had all these channels that no one watches and I called our cable services and asked then to cancel the package.
Also, watch your cellular data plan. If you have older teens in the house, you know they are always on their devices. I keep track of my children’ data usage and if they are coming close to their allotted gigs per month or they go over, I shut them down. I am not paying extra for their data overages. It’s happened in the past but now I watch it like a hawk and give my warnings.
Bottom line, do your best in your monthly savings. Everyone is going to be different. I’m sure you can find some things in your life that you can give up for the time being or maybe even for good.
TRAVEL FUND SAVINGS
If you and your significant other put away a little extra money each month, that could help you significantly. You could open up a travel savings account where you would both put some money every day, every week, or even every month.
Another way to budget yourself would be to take a small portion from your paycheque, which is manageable for you, and set it up so that it is automatically put into a savings account. You would be surprised how much savings you can accumulate.
CREDIT CARD DEBT
I make sure to keep my credit card usage down to a minimum. Just the bare necessities. And when I get my statements, I pay the credit card company immediately. No partial payments. You will accumulate interest and these credit card companies’ interest rates are enormously ridiculous. So pay off your credit cards immediately.
REWARDS CREDIT CARD
You could gain some extra money or freebies when you apply for a rewards credit card. I have one or two of those. You get some freebies along the way as you use it. Whether it’s free groceries a month or some freebies at the drugstore, every little bit helps.
It’s awesome when I go get groceries and it comes out to a little over $100 and with the points, I accumulated all I have to pay is $20 or so, is fantabulous (new word lol) Go check out online what kind of rewards or cashback credit cards works for you best.
TRACK SPENDING
One way you could start is by giving up that Starbucks coffee if you drink their coffee. My husband and I used to go there almost every day for a coffee. Until one day we realized it was getting way too expensive and out of hand. Just think how much you could save. You could save close to $1,000 a year.
If you go to the hair salon often, do you really need to go every 2-3 months? If I need a touch up of colour I buy a tube at the closest beauty supply store and get my daughter to colour my hair. A tube of colour is good for two times, for me. At approximately $10.00/ tube, I would be saving close to $200-$300 at the hair salon.
I cut my husband’s hair. He wouldn’t have it any other way. If a man’s haircut cost on average $20 and you get a haircut at least once a month, you could be saving $240 per year.
FREE YOURSELF FROM EXTRA STUFF
You can sell off a lot of your belongings that you don’t need anymore or have not used in such a long time. We had a perfectly working sauna in the basement that we never used. We put it on Kijiji and sold it in a matter of a couple of weeks. I’m sure you can find some appliances in the house or even lightly worn clothes that you could sell on-line for a good deal. Give it a try.
entertainment
Perhaps you can cut down on going out on the town a little. We love to go to the movies with the kids once in a while. But going to the movies can be quite expensive. You don’t have to cut it out completely but not going as often will help you out with the savings. How about instead of going out to the movies, you could play some board games. We love getting together to play.
eating out
Now, this is a tough one. Eating out. We do this often. Whenever we don’t like cooking or we forget to take something out of the freezer, we go out to eat. And the 4 of us going out to eat is not cheap. How about cooking at home more often. You’ll see how much you can save.
hobbies
Some hobbies can be pretty expensive. My husband skis in the winter and in the summer he goes flyfishing. Both hobbies are very expensive. Ski lifts and rentals could cost around $100 per day. Flyfishing gear . . . expensive. If you have hobbies like these, you could probably hold off for a while to save money.
find free things to do
When the kids were young, every winter we took them out to the park which we neighboured to enjoy the snow. We built up a large snow pile using the park bench and created a mini ski slope for the kids to go down. They absolutely loved it. My husband initially taught the kids to ski on this slope until he took them to the real slopes. We even snowboarded on the little slope we had in the park.
think positive
If you follow these guides you will have every chance to save the amount you need to either use as travel money or pay for your trip. Don’t let this overwhelm you. You can do it. If you have to, write down your goals. Write down how you want to start saving and putting away extra cash. Make a plan.
Traveling abroad is well within your reach. By following these simple tips I have laid out for you, you will be able to save money for your travels.
