You and your spouse are planning on taking an amazing vacation overseas. You’ve had the whole entire thing planned out for months. Then, you crack open your savings piggy bank and see you’ve only got a handful of dollars to work with.
You had to keep dipping into the savings account for little things and it added up. How do your other couple friends save money for travel when life is so expensive? The truth is they probably cut back on things and budget.
You can do it too! Keep reading to find out how you can budget your life and save up for that dream vacation you’ve been needing.
1. Start a Travel Fund
When you first start thinking about traveling overseas it helps to start a travel fund. Open up a separate account with your bank and put a little money in it each month. It will add up before you know it.
You can also hoard your money at home somewhere but if you do that it’s staring at you in the face. You’ll be more likely to dip into it because you don’t feel like cooking one night.
2. Don’t Spend as Much on Lunch
If you spend over 10 dollars each day on lunch those numbers can start to add up over time. Make it your goal to keep your lunch cost in the single digits by ordering a cheaper meal or partaking in free water.
You could also prepare your own lunch every day and put it in the employee break room. This may drive your grocery bill up a little but it’s cheaper than eating out every day.
3. Spend Less on Coffee
We know, you love your caffeine. Everyone does, but that doesn’t mean you should spring for a 5 dollar specialty drink at your local coffee shop every day. Get a cheap 2 dollar coffee instead.
You could also invest in a nice travel mug and take coffee to work with you every morning and cut out the coffee shop.
4. Eat Out Less
Going back to eating out, you would be surprised how much of a hindrance it is when you’re working on controlling your cash flow. It’s easy to eat out for dinner because you’ve had a long day and don’t feel like cooking.
Resist the temptation and cook a small dinner at home. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.
Pop chicken in the oven, steam a few veggies and make some instant mashed potatoes. You’ll have dinner in about half an hour out of fairly cheap ingredients.
5. Cut Back On How Much You Use Your Car
Gas prices are no joke. Besides, the less you use your car, the less likely it is to wear out and need a part replaced. Still, it is hard to not use your car unless you live close to work, the store, and other places you need to go.
If you live in a big city you’ll probably have access to public transportation. It costs to take it but it’s cheaper than gas or replacement car parts. You can also cut back on your vehicle use by taking your bike or walking instead.
6. You Don’t Need Cable
With all the streaming services you have available to you, it’s cheaper to invest in a few of those then tack on 90 dollars a month or more on a cable bill. Granted, all of the streaming services put together is around 90 dollars as well.
That’s why you prioritize and only invest in the ones you’re going to use heavily. Netflix puts an entire season of a show out at once so you can let it drop between waiting on new stuff too.
7. Watch Your Utility Bills
There are plenty of little tricks that you can do to lower your utility bills. If it’s cool out, turn off your AC and leave windows open. Bundle up and keep your heat turned down.
You can also cut down on the amount of time you spend in the shower. Slow down on the amount of laundry that you do. Doing all of this will help you take a chunk out of your utility bills to put towards traveling overseas.
8. Drop Your Gym Membership
Use the world as your exercise equipment rather than paying for an expensive gym membership. You can always jog down the street or do exercises that don’t involve equipment in your home.
If you live near any hiking trails take up hiking or other inexpensive hobbies that involve keeping you active.
9. Swap Books with Friends
Do you enjoy your fair share of books? Great minds attract each other so more than likely you have another friend who also enjoys books. Instead of heading to a shop when you need something new to read, swap with this friend and vice versa.
This practice works for more than books. If you and your best friend enjoy videogames swap back and forth instead of spending 60 dollars on a new one.
10. Thrift Stores Are Your Friend
There will come a time when you need to buy new clothes. Maybe you’ve got a job interview, maybe you’ve torn through your pair of good jeans. Whatever the reason, go to a thrift store.
You’ll find a lot of the same styles that you would shop for in big-name stores for over half the price.
Save Money for Travel and See the World
You want to see the world but your bank account has other ideas. That means you’ll need to start saving money for travel.
It’s not so hard once you cut back on unnecessary expenses. Try saving on some of the things we mentioned here and see life outside of your hometown.
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