7 Easy Ways Save Money for Travel and Take a Dream Vacation on a Budget
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Travel is a luxury that many people believe they can not afford - but you absolutely can. We are mid-level budget travelers who travel at least 3-4 times a year.
Taking yourself and your family on thrilling adventures and exploring the wonders of the world often comes with a hefty price tag, but the dream of travel doesn't have to stay out of reach.
With strategic planning and a bit of financial savvy, you can turn your wanderlust into reality. In this blog, we'll unveil seven practical and proven ways to save money for trave. From smart budgeting techniques to travel hacks, discover how you can build a travel fund that propels you towards the destinations you've been longing to visit. Buckle up as we unveil the secrets to making your travel dreams a budget-friendly reality.
Here are 7 ways we are able to afford traveling more than once a year:
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Devin Castle -- Bratislava, Slovakia -- the oldest castle in Slovakia
Table of Contents
The Grand tetons, wyoming, usa
1) Be Flexible on Dates
We have decided trips based on flight prices. We use websites like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Going to see where the cheapest place to fly is during the dates we want to go. When using Google Flights, you can choose to be alerted if flight prices drop for specific dates!
the low-season in capitol reef national park was incredible
For example, we flew from our regional airport into Prague and home from Budapest for $715 a person. For our upcoming trip in April, we paid $615 per seat WITH upgraded seats on both long hauls. Flights are normally $12-1400 a person from our airport to Europe, but I was willing to leave and return on flexible days. This allowed me to take advantage of the low mid-week travel days!
READ NEXT: Ways to Save Money Booking an Airbnb
Antigua, guatemala
2) Create a Travel Budget & Stick to It
This can be very hard, but one of the best travel hacks out there is to have all of your travel paid for BEFORE you get on the trip. This is a simple travel budget spreadsheet that is easy to use.
Here are things to consider for your travel budget:
Lodging
Airfare/Bus/Gasoline
Car Rental
Luggage Fees
Tips
Tours
Visas
In order to travel more on a budget, you’ve got to know the budget. So, I like to set a realistic budget and then plan my travel based on those numbers. If you want to take more trips on a budget, then you’ve got to be willing to be honest about the cost and willing to stay, fly, and eat cheap too! I use an excel spread sheet to track every travel cost.
We stayed for 7 nights on the big island for free. We used marriott points! Click the image to sign up for the marriott bonvoy program and start accumulating points for your next trip!
3) Best Travel Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs
Be sure to join every loyalty program! United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, Etc! You can transfer credit card points to these airlines!
We’ve traveled to Washington DC, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and NYC without paying for plane tickets, stayed in hotels for free in Washington DC, Hawaii, Florida, NYC, and more. How do we get travel for free? Points and loyalty programs.
And no, I am not one of those expert travel points people - just a normal person, doing normal things and earning points. Airfare is one of the leading costs for travel for us, so utilizing credit card points and airline miles has allowed us to travel more on a budget.
Check out my blog on all my favorite day to day (non travel) loyalty programs to save you even more money.
When visiting arches national park and canyonlands national park, we used marriot points to get a free night at the fairfield inn and suites in moab.
When we lived at a Delta Airlines hub, we used the American Express Delta Reserve Credit Card to help us earn airline miles, get into the Delta Sky Club for free and we earn a "Companion Certificate" each year for a single BOGO ticket purchase. (We buy one domestic ticket and get one free with it) This card also gives us each 2 free checked bags on each flight!
accumulate points and signup bonus with southwest to get a companion pass. This means for an entire year, you and a friend can fly together (2 tickets) for the price of one!
When we lived near a Southwest hub, we constantly used our Southwest Rewards card to earn points and get free flights! After spending only $1000 in the first 3 months, you’ll get 50,000 rapid rewards! (about $600 worth of flights)
Have more views from the airplane this year
Hotel Card: I also keep an IHG Premier Hotel card for our travels. The IHG Premier card is awesome because I get a free night every year, every 4th night free, and I get a Global Entry/TSA pre-check credit every 4 years! When you sign up you get 140,000 points, which is about $700 in travel after spending $3000 on the card in the first 3 months.
On a recent trip to washington dc, we stayed in an Ihg hotel for free with my annual free night!
My absolute favorite credit cards for travel perks are:
American Express Platinum
Both of these cards have incredible travel perks such as Global Entry waived fee, $200 hotel credit annually, Priority Pass Membership, access to American Express Lounges, $20/month entertainment credit, travel insurance, annual travel credits (CSR is $300/year), and much much more.
Our Credit cards get us into airport lounes across the world. They have free food, drinks, kids rooms, sleep rooms, wi-fi, comfy chairs, and most importantly - CLEAN BATHROOMS. Be sure to check out the chase sapphire reserve or the american express platinum for details!
4) Travel in Non-Peak or Low Season
Every place has high and low seasons. Our first family trip to Europe was in Late October through Early November to Germany, Austria and Italy. Everywhere was on the cusp of closing for the winter.
The view from our room. my husband and i traveled to banff national park in february. We used hotel points, credit card perks, and the low-season prices to stay in the world class fairmont lake louise. (something we normally couldn’t afford) We had free breakfast every day, got one night totally free, $100 resort credit for food/drinks, and used the airport lounges and global entry on both flights.
Amalfi Coast November 2015 (the beaches were empty)
What did that mean for us? Fewer crowds, cheaper lodging (even Airbnb's get cheaper in low season), and cheaper attractions. For instance, we hired a driver to take us along the Amalfi Coast. Not only did we pay significantly less than we would have in peak season, we had the highway, towns and beaches basically to ourselves. It was incredible.
Our second, third, and fourth family trip to Europe were also a low season; early-mid April. I’ve used the same shoulder season tactic for a 5 week trip to Costa Rica, Hawaii, NYC, and more.
Playa Linda , costa rica during the rainy season (low season)
5) Create a Bank Amount Only for Travel
We keep a bank account that is only for travel. Every single pay period, we put a set amount into that account. When deciding what to save for vacation per month, it will depend on your income and monthly expenses. Each person will have a different amount. Remember that only $100 saved per is $1200 after one year! That’s a great travel account.
When I book tickets or accommodations with my credit card (get those points), I immediately make a payment from my travel account. Remember, we don’t go into debt to travel. We pay for travel BEFORE we travel.
If your looking for how to save money for vacation in 6 months, you’ll want to take a hard look at your frivolous spending and set a realistic amount aside each paycheck in your travel account. This same logic applies if your how to save for a vacation in 3 months. Check out these tips for day to day ways to save for travel.
atop the rostro maya hike at lake atitlan, guatemala.
If you spend $5.50 on a coffee, Acorns will automatically deposit $0.50 into your account - -making your entire purchase an even $6. You don’t need to think about anything.
My Acorns account is always growing passively. Acorns is an investment account that you can get a debit card for, so the money grows AND you have access to it. Acorns is one of the best vacation savings account — but in the form of investment!
Click HERE to learn more about Acorns. If you sign up (free and no obligation), they’ll put $10 in your account to get you started!
I have many many guides on the blog to help you explore national parks on your own, saving money on a guide!
6) Make Trips Out of Mandatory Travel
Grand Canyon
We visited Tucson, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada because my husband was already there for work. Since we was there working, he already had a plane ticket, hotel and rental car. We just flew out (got our flight on points!) and met him there, woke up early and drove him to work, went and toured, then picked him up from work and hung out. He extended his trip by 2-3 days to make a family trip out of it. We saved a lot of money and have seen some cool places this way.
trip to grenada where my husband has work
7) Travel with Others
Find a friend or family member who wants to travel with you! My mom and step-dad have gone with us each time to Europe and they stay with us in the same apartment. We typically get a 3-bedroom place. We are able to split the cost of the Airbnb, which actually saves both our families a lot of money in lodging cost. This doesn't mean we have to spend every waking hour together either! We often split up to eat or tour and then meet back up later! Thanks Mom & Ed for sharing our wanderlust! Cost sharing is a fun and easy way to save money on travel.
a family trip to nyc
Travel doesn't have to cost your first born child. You can see some of the far corners of the world for a reasonable cost if you take the time to search and plan. If you ever have any questions about traveling with children or how we do it, feel free to reach out and connect with us!
Fly Brave, Travel Often, See Everything,
Tavia
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