How I Afford to Travel: Budgeting Tips and Tricks

As I’ve mentioned before, I often get asked how Michael and I fund our travels, though rarely directly. Most people ask, “How do you get to do all that?” rather than, “How can you afford it?” But the underlying question is clear.

We won’t pretend we haven’t had some privileges in life, but we also work incredibly hard and make tough decisions to afford our trips. For example, we skip out on many activities our friends and colleagues enjoy to save for our next adventure.

We don’t take random days off work; instead, we save them up for a trip to Europe each summer. Additionally, we don’t have children, which would either increase our travel costs immensely or reduce our travel opportunities significantly.

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Reflecting on what truly makes us happy has been crucial in reframing our mindset around travel and non-travel spending. I’m fortunate to have a partner who shares this perspective. The things we don’t do are not nearly as rewarding as the experiences we gain from our travels.

Here are a few examples of ways we save at home so we can afford travel:

HOW WE SAVE FOR TRAVEL WHILE HOME

We don’t go out for lunch during the workweek

Instead, we bring leftovers or prepare simple salads and sandwiches. This is better for our wallets and waistlines. We rarely eat dinner out, opting to recreate meals at home that remind us of places we’ve visited. Dining out has become an occasional, special experience.

We’ve switched to cheaper forms of entertainment

We don’t go to the movies or have cable/satellite. Instead, we use an antenna, Netflix, and free video streaming through Amazon Prime. Occasionally, we receive free tickets to plays and concerts through my office, like the time we saw Les Ballets du Trockadero for free.

We’ve stopped viewing shopping as a hobby

While this was never an issue for Michael, it was a big money drain for me. I used to shop out of boredom but now approach shopping more thoughtfully. I only buy items that add value or meaning to my life, which saves money, reduces clutter, and is better for the environment. Also along these lines, I’ve found myself visiting the tailor or cobbler (or bringing out my sewing machine) to extend the life of the items I’ve purchased.

I keep my beauty routine simple

I get my hair cut twice a year, don’t color or professionally treat it, and rarely get mani-pedis. I do, however, treat myself to an occasional massage and a pedicure before and/or after long trips. Michael is even more low-maintenance, cutting his own hair (I’m not quite there yet!).

I seek out odd jobs

I spend some of my free time doing things that will bring in extra money. Though I’m way beyond traditional age at this point, I still babysit on occasion. Also, while I guess it doesn’t count as “income” because I’m selling things I’ve already bought, I joined Poshmark to unload clothing that is no longer working for me. I find I yield a higher return over toting everything to my local consignment shop.

We joined the budget gym

Instead of joining the swanky local gym, we joined our local YMCA and we love it. The facility isn’t sparkly, and it’s definitely seen better days, but we always look forward to seeing everyone’s friendly face and supporting this asset to our community while bettering our bodies.

We switched to an at-home brew

The hardest thing to give up was going to Starbucks daily. For the longest time, the $2 brewed coffee felt relatively painless and I could justify spending it because of their rewards program. But when you do the math, $730 a year is a lot of dough (that’s more than my last roundtrip ticket to Italy!).

Starbucks eventually made their rewards program less generous, and this was the kick I needed to purchase Chemex and a hand-grinder. And you know what? I haven’t looked back. (Update: I did look back, I guess, because I wound up buying an electric grinder to save time. Here’s my post on brewing coffee at home)

We grocery shop wisely (mostly)

I used to be a big couponer – walking out of the store with a cart full of groceries for mere pennies leaves you feeling almost high. However, I soon realized that not only is it incredibly time-consuming, but we were primarily bringing home junk food and either eating it (bad) or throwing it away because it expired (also bad).

Now we shop more seasonally, focusing on fresh and local produce, dairy, and bread items while staying on budget. We are fortunate to have a great local grocer in our area and fill any gaps at Aldi and Trader Joe’s.

I pay myself

As soon as my paycheck is direct-deposited, I make sure that a portion of it goes toward my vacation fund. Check with your bank to see if it offers this feature (my credit union will lock the money into the account and releases it on May 16) or better yet, open a high-yield savings account at a bank like Ally. I often use this as spending money on our Europe trip to pay for meals, souvenirs, and the occasional trip to the hospital – and it feels like bonus money.

HOW WE SAVE WHILE TRAVELING

Once we’ve secured funds for traveling, it’s important to spend them wisely. Here are a few ways we save money while on our trips:

We stay flexible

We’re incredibly flexible with our destinations; for the most part, we choose our destination based on the cost rather than the place and set a standard for what we’ll pay for each trip. Through Google Flights, we can search for flights departing from our nearby airports at our desired price points to see where we are able to go.

Our max flight price point for an overnight trip is $150; for a three-day weekend, we’re willing to shell out up to $200; a longer domestic trip should be under $300; and we’ll generally spend $500-600 for trips overseas. These are our maxes, of course, and most of the time our flights cost less than that.

We choose accommodations wisely

I’ve mentioned before that we use Airbnb frequently, but not always exclusively. On our recent trip to Boston, we stayed at the Hotel Marlowe as Kimpton was running a promotion on Boston-area hotels. This, plus the perks associated with their Karma Rewards program was enough to convince us.

A welcome bottle of wine, fruit, nuts, and candies from a hotel — A really great welcome from the Marlowe!

We pick and choose our attractions

We simply just don’t do everything when we travel. We pick and choose based on what sounds interesting, rather than someone else’s list of must-dos. After all, sometimes old, historic buildings are best enjoyed from the outside. And I always take a peek at a museum’s website before visiting – some offer free admission on specific days or nights, and that can be a significant cost savings.

Exterior of the Old State House in Boston — Boston’s Old State House

We are great at sharing

Michael and I tend to share any big “must-eat” food items to save money (unless it involves Nutella, then I get my own!). We’ve split a quintessential NY slice, Philly Cheesesteak, Parisian baguette sandwich, Chicago deep dish, and Italian gelato – and enjoyed them just as much as if we had each had our own.

Cappuccinos and croissants on a table in Italy — (this is where the part about the Nutella comes into play)

FINAL THOUGHTS ON SAVING FOR TRAVEL

While some of these may feel like sacrifices to some, or simply not worth it to others, they don’t feel so big to us because we know we’d never get to leave our state without doing them. At the end of the day, my brown-bagged lunch doesn’t feel so sad next to someone’s takeout sushi when I know we’re going to enjoy more authentic sushi on our next trip.

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Have you made any small or large sacrifices to travel? If so, what were they? If not, what’s one small change you’re willing to make in order to see the world?

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