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How to Save Money to Go Traveling

Lisa-Ann Camille
Oct 9, 2017
6 min read

I hear many working women talk about their dream of going to a particular destination. But, there is always a "but."

And that "but" is usually around money.

"I really want to travel through Asia /

Australia / Central America but I can't afford it ...."

Ladies, let's get off our "buts" shall we?

I have traveled to over 25 countries with less money in my bank account than many may earn in a month.

Checking out a glacier in Norway.

It's not about the money - it's about the mindset. So in this post I am going to open your mind to the possibility of taking off to go travelling by showing you exactly how to save enough money, so that you can do away with this money excuse once and for all.

Your life is about you - you living your dreams and doing the things that make you happy. We get caught up in excuses that make us miss out on those grand life-changing memories. Stick with me and I help you get packing into the adventurous free-spirited life you deserve.

Here are a list of tips and tools to help you save towards the trip of a lifetime:

1. Get clarity on your destination. First things first, decide where do you want to go. What spot on the map fills you with excitement at the prospect of just stepping off the plane?

Is it sand dunes of Morocco, the outback of Australia, the pyramids of Egypt? Which country or region has grabbed your heart?

Write it down three of your top dream destinations.

2. Narrow down that selection based on which one is the most financially viable in the short term. (We want to get you there sooner rather than later.) If you live in a developed country and earn an average living traveling might be far more affordable than you think.

If funds are tight start off with a region where the cost of living is lower than in your home country. For example, choose South East Asia over Australia or South America over Scandinavia. Google the latest listing of the cheapest and most expensive countries to travel in, to help you make a final decision.

3. Decide how long you want to go for.

There might be limitations caused by work and family commitments. For example, how many days annual leave do you have from work?

If you've already exhausted your vacation days for the year, consider taking unpaid leave. For a proper experience that allows you time to get over jet lag and get settled in, I would recommend trips of a minimum of two weeks.

Waterfall in Flam, Norway

4. Calculate what your skinny budget of how much you can live off in that country per day. When I travel, I work off an average daily budget of $50 per day. If I were planning a trip in Asia that would include accommodation, in Europe that would exclude accommodation. However it is a good rough estimate of what you might spend on the basics of food and day-to-day transportation. You could also budget an extra $500 - $1000 on top of that amount to accommodate for shopping, major travel and incidentals.

So if you were travelling in Vietnam for 20 days, your budget would be 20 X $50 = $1000 + $500 = $1,500 US / Canadian / Euro or Australian.

This will be your skinny budget that covers your basic needs. If you can pad it with extra funds, please do see by all means.

For more on the $50 a day budget, get this book by Matt Kepnes:

Exploring Koh San Road in Bangkok, Thailand

5. Set up a travel savings account

Ideally you should have several bank accounts that are not connected to each other. That way if something happens to one (like a fraudulent spend) the others are safe. Multiple bank accounts come in very handy for saving. I have six different back accounts and they are the lifeline of my savings habit. I siphon money away into bank accounts that I don't have everyday access to. The regular savings accumulate and are padded with interest from the bank. Money grows not quickly but consistently.

6. Set up an automatic debit of a manageable amount to go into your savings account when you receive your salary.

This is the magic trick to saving. Most people make the mistake of thinking they should wait until the end of their pay period and save whatever they have left over. The realty is that you will always spend what you have: the cash in your wallet and the numbers in your bank account often seem like they are just waiting for you to spend them.

So if you have money stashed away from your everyday chequeing account, it's out of sight and out of mind. It is busy growing in its secret place.

And yes you can live without that $100 or $200 every fortnight. You are much more resourceful than you think, you will make due. You will adjust your habits and be better for it. If you do not see the money, you will be far less likely to spend it.

7. Take a look at your everyday expenses and make a plan to cut back.

Here are some common expendable expenses:

Coffee - How many cups of coffee you buy per day? Among coffee drinkers, the average consumption in the United States in 3.2 cups per day. Each cup costs $2.70. That's a spend of $8.64 US dollars per day on average.

Where I live in Australia, a cup of coffee costs $3.50 Australian dollars purchased at about the same rate = $11.20 per day.

On a monthly basis, that equates to $259 in the US and $336 in Australia.

Transportation - Are you catching taxis or using Uber instead of taking the bus or walking. Spending $3 instead of $25 on a ride really adds up if you're doing it regularly. Yes, the bus may take a bit longer but you can make use of the time by reading about your destination on your phone.

Are you starting to see how your little daily habit add up? Even though it doesn't seem like much as an individual expense. If you just saved on coffee alone for 3 months, you would be more than half way to the goal of saving up your skinny budget.

8. Keep your wallet closed on a big night out. It always amazes me when I see women spend hundreds of dollars on a night out buying cocktails.

Is that really necessary? Is that a useful way to spend your hard-earned money? Saving up to go traveling is going to take some sacrifice and this area is one of the key ones. But what are you really sacrificing - a night which you might not even remember in the morning? Why not put that hundred or so towards your traveling fund instead?

Have a night out on the cheap by offering to be the designated driver. Have your friends be forever indebted to you and buy you mocktails all night.

If you really need to get a buzz, sip on a cheap bottle of wine before you go out and only buy one of two house wines when you're at the bar. A little sobriety never hurt anyone. Stash the $200 dollars you would have normally spent into your travel fund.

9. Keep Your Goal front and centre

Have a consistent reminder about your dream in front of you.

Create a vision board of your traveling through China / Nepal / The Caribbean ... wherever holds your heart strings ... Think about it. Dream about it.

(Australia's majestic Ayers Rock)

Saving enough money to go traveling is a achieved through a mixture of disciple, sacrifice and being goal-oriented. But you've got this!!

Millions of people have done it and you can too.

The skills you learn in the process of saving up and the magic of the experience you're going to have on your trip will forever change you and be immeasurably worth it.

Here are some great books to help you plan your trip: