So you’re trying to figure out how to save money now that you want to travel.
I hear ya.
It’s not easy, is it?
But let me tell you a little story first with some important details to pay attention to!
I had the opportunity to go on a two-month vacation: one month in the Philippines with family and the last month traveling through Europe with my parents on the way back to the States.
(I only had to take care of my flights but that was still a couple thousand dollars.)
Sounds awesome, right? But who has that kind of money?!
The Scenario
Especially when:
- You live in Queens, New York.
- One of your roommates isn’t (and hasn’t been for months) paying their share of the rent and since the contract has your name on it you’re responsible.
- Employment is a temp job. Which means, sometimes work is great, other times it’s slow.
With that being said, I also wanted to make sure I had at least one month’s worth of rent and bills in my savings so when I got back I wasn’t struggling and stressed about how to pay for them.
Now, If you’d ask me if I thought a person in this situation could possibly save enough money for not only their flights/souvenirs for a vacation and have rent and bill money in their saving while living in New York and paying their roommates share of rent with only a temp job I’d say it’d be pretty amazing!
Well, it’s time to be amazed lol!
Not only that but I want to say that if this is possible then whatever your situation is it’s possible too!
Variables
Granted, I know that are plenty of variables in our lives.
Medical bills, school bills, aging parents, children, etc.
This post won’t go into those but it will still give you some great options and ideas to help you save money while life goes on!
How to Save Money: In the Beginning
Evaluate
Your first step is to evaluate your life and your spending.
For me, my spending consisted of:
- rent
- bills
- groceries
- transportation (subway/bus) to and from work in the city
- eating out
- dance classes
So, just by looking at the list you can see at least a couple of that that can’t really be adjusted, right?
Rent and bills.
But transportation, eating out, dance classes and even groceries could be reworked into the how to save money picture.
Related Post: How to Pack
Transportation
In NYC, you can get single-ride ticket(s), unlimited rides ticket for 7 days or 30 days.
Of course, the more you buy the cheaper it gets but if you only need one or two days out of the 7-day ticket you’ve actually spent more.
So it’d be cheaper to buy the single-ride ticket than get the unlimited 7-day ticket.
Now, I can hear you saying, but I don’t live in the city.
I have to drive everywhere.
Do you?
Here are some other options to consider:
- Carpool – Do you have co-workers who live near you? Are they on your way to work where you could share the responsibility? Are you on their way to work? How about close friends or neighbors to share rides with if you need to get groceries or do some shopping?
- Public transportation – You may still need to drive a bit but is there public transportation near you that you could take to get around?
- Consolidate – Instead of making separate shopping trips try to do them at the same time. Is the grocery store on your way home? Do you drive by that retail store on your way to work? Leave extra time to make these in-between stops and you’ll really save money on gas.
- Get an app – There are several gas apps you can get on your phone to help find cheap gas prices in your area. GasBuddy (I’ve used this one and it’s great!), Gas Guru, Waze, and AAA TripTik Travel Planner just to name a few.
- Get a cashback app – I’ve researched this one but haven’t used it yet – GetUpside. This one will give you cashback on not only gas purchases but other travel/car-related items.
Groceries
This one I know can be tricky but don’t you find there are always those little treats we get ourselves when we’re shopping?
Remember, you’re trying to figure out how to save money so you can travel, which means cutting back on certain items.
Those little treats can really add up before you even realize it!
Not only that, have you ever found that you buy certain items for certain reasons and then end up not using them or they go bad?
Happens all the time for us 🙁
I’m not proud of it but it’s true.
The good, and expensive, stuff is always what it is for us, fruits and vegetables.
It’s so much money down the drain I don’t even want to think about it.
So if this sounds like you then check out these suggestions.
Our solution: buy frozen!
They keep way longer and they still are just as delicious as fresh.
Another option is to buy them in cans.
Be careful because sometimes these are filled with salt, sugars or other added ingredients that you may not be interested in eating.
How about buying the frozen and canned items in bulk?
We already know they’ll keep well and buying in bulk
Eating Out
Well, I hate to say it but this one really needs to be curbed.
And yes, this includes whatever coffee, sweets, or any other extras you give yourself.
But before you click away let me say one thing.
Go ahead and still treat yourself once a month.
I believe in moderation and so I still allowed myself once a month to go out with friends and have a wonderful meal out.
Usually, it was once a week but let me tell you, doing this alone helped me save around $160 per month and that’s on the low end!
I know that doesn’t sound like much but do that for six months and you’ve just saved $960!
Going out
So, I mentioned dance classes.
I normally paid for these as I went which in the long run was probably more expensive but it did allow me the flexibility to not go when I couldn’t or didn’t want to.
Needless to say, I either opted out of going altogether when I was trying to save money for my travels or only went once a month or so.
Movies were a no go for the duration of saving money.
So were any fun shopping trips involving clothes, shoes or other not-so-essential items.
Related Post: Travel Safety Tips
How to Save Money: Finding Your Trip
Needless to say, you don’t want to just pick the first option for your trip you find because there will almost always be a better deal to be found.
I recently heard from my brother that, these days, there is no ‘magical’ day to book your flights.
Book on a Tuesday
Yet, even within the last year, it was still thought to be best practice to buy on a Tuesday because that’s when you’d get the best price.
My suggestion: If you have the time, compare prices each day of the week and see how it compares the next week.
Book Weeks Out
With that said they do though, also, suggest you get your flights about seven weeks out, so if you have that timeframe you’ll be good to go on the experiment 🙂
“to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. ” ― Elizabeth Gilbert
Check Costco
If you’re a Costco member it’s worth your time to check their deals.
We were planning a trip to Disneyland and comparing different sites and even Disneyland directly.
It was actually the same cost as going directly through Disneyland but the benefit was the extras we received through Costco! Totally worth it!
Look into Bundles
If you’re looking at sites like Booking, Travelocity or Expedia, check out their Flights+Hotels, Flights+Hotel+Transportation, etc. section.
Bundling usually will give you a better deal just be careful because sometimes their options aren’t as flexible.
Check with Airlines Directly
Sometimes checking an airline’s website directly will actually give you a better deal than the discount sites.
How to Save Money: Other Options
Your Bank
Check with your bank to see if they have an automatic savings plan that will round up bank/credit card purchases to help you save additional money without even thinking about it.
Currently, I know of Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, and USAA.
Savings Apps
In this day and age, there’s an app for everything, right?!
Well, getting help with saving some money comes in an app too!
Check out Acorns, Chime, Digit and Qapital.
In Conclusion
The idea is that every little thing helps.
If you’ve ever known someone who empties their coins out of their pocket/purse every day, you know that even small change adds up over time.
When you set your mind to wanting to travel, sometimes figuring out how to save money for it can be daunting.
I hope these tips and tricks will help inspire you to make your travel dreams come true.
And remember, if I can save, even with my situation how it was when I lived in NYC, so can you!!!