Ten Ways to Start Saving for Travel
Greetings from Buckingham Palace in London, England! I get a lot of questions from my viewers who ask how I pay for all of the trips we take as a family. I’m not a millionaire, so we are always looking for new ways to save travel money. Today, I’m sharing my ten best travel savings tips so you can start saving for travel, too!
Travel Savings Tip #1 Cut Out Expenses You Don’t Need
Take a look at your monthly bills. Start with your cable, internet and phone bills. Are you paying for 500 cable channels that you don’t use? We save $180 a month by only having internet instead of a full cable package.
Annual Savings = $2,160 on cable
Travel Savings Tip #2 Eat Out Less
You’d be amazed at how much money you spend by eating out for lunch or dinner two or three times a week. We hardly eat out at all when we’re home. We cook at home, and use vegetables from our garden in order to save money. Then when we’re in an expensive city like London, we can afford to eat out.
Travel Savings Tip #3 Drive Less & Use Public Transport
If you have just one car, you can save a lot of money. Not only are you saving money from a car payment, but you’re also saving money on insurance, gas and maintenance, too. Our family only has one car. My wife and I carpool or I take the bus or bike to work. Even just cutting back on your trips around town can save a lot of money. Be efficient with your shopping trips and go once a week instead of a few times a week.
Annual Savings = $520 just by cutting back on trips to save $10/week in gas
Travel Savings Tip #4 Search for Deals
Just like shopping for travel deals, look for deals when you need to buy things at home. If you need a new TV, February is the best time to buy, thanks to the SuperBowl. If you are buying a new air conditioner, buy it in the winter months when sales are slow. Make sure you are comparing prices online and in stores so you can get the best deal possible.
Travel Savings Tip #5 Have a Travel Savings Account
I recommend this, especially for younger people trying to save money for travel. Have a little bit of money diverted from your paycheck every month, and it will add up quickly. Put it in an account that’s not so easy to access so that you aren’t tempted to dip into it.
Travel Savings Tip #6 Sell Your Old Stuff
Do you really need all those old PlayStations? No, get rid of them. If there are things lying around your house that you aren’t using, get rid of them. You might not make a ton of money on old items, but it can add up, plus free up space in your home.
Potential Savings: $200 if you sell just 20 items for $10 each!
Travel Savings Tip #7 Sign Up For Frequent Flyer Miles
Sign up for a credit card that has travel benefits. If you’re going to use a credit card to pay for things, you might as well earn miles for your purchases. Make sure you have a frequent flyer number for any airline you fly. The miles add up and we can usually get at least one free flight each year using miles we’ve earned.
How to Save Money While You Travel to Travel Longer
Travel Savings Tip #8 Travel in the Off Season
Consider going in the fall, winter or spring when airfares can be up to 30% lower than peak summer season. Hotels and restaurants are also less expensive in the low season. You might even have a better time when you don’t have to deal with so many crowds of tourists and long lines to get into major sites.
Travel Savings Tip #9 Compare Prices For Flights & Hotels
We all have a flight comparison website we like the most, but make sure you are using multiple sites to compare prices. I’ll check a couple of consolidator sites and then also go directly to the airline website to find the best price. There can be up to a $200 difference in airfares between websites. We have to buy four seats when we fly, so saving $800 on flights can give us several extra days of travel.
Travel Savings Tip #10 Book Hotels & Flights Early
For the best deals on flights and hotels, book early. Not only will you get better prices, but you can get better dates and locations as well. Having a convenient location can save you loads of money on transportation if you can walk instead of taking a taxi. Take all of these costs into account when planning your travel. You might save $20 on a hotel, but spend that much each day on taxis.
These are tips we actually use to save money for traveling. We also stay with friends, which can be a great way to save money when traveling! Check out some of our other travel tips in these videos: