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How to save money for a world trip?
Have you ever dreamed about traveling the world and experience great adventures? But the amount of money in your bank account is holding you back? Well then you are definitely not alone…. we had the same issue! The good news is, traveling the world doesn’t have to be extremely expensive. As stated by travel guru Matt Kepnes from Nomadicmatt.com anybody can travel the world for as little as 50 dollars a day (on average). We can honestly say that this statement is true as we’ve done it ourselves! We are just normal people who don’t earn big salaries. In fact Matthias was still a halftime student when saving for this trip. With these 5 hands-on tips we want to help you save money and fulfill your travel dreams. They are easy to implement in your daily life, cost minimum effort and will definitely work to pay for your around the world trip! If just an average couple from Belgium can do it, than why wouldn’t you?
Here you can find 5 tips for cutting your expenses and save money to travel!
1. Get rid of costly habits
At my work, there was the habit to go and have some drinks on a Friday evening. If you have to save money, it doesn’t mean that you have to skip these evenings. Just being aware of what you drink and how much it costs will already help. For example, we are really fond of rum-cola but these drinks are really expensive. Instead of drinking rum-cola, we choose a cheaper alternative that we like just as much: Belgian beer. Almost equally as good, but far less expensive than the cocktails. Probably, you also have some habits that could be replaced by cheaper options that you like just as much.
2. Create a separate savings account
Maybe you will disagree with us, but there can be a lot of fun in saving money. We had a separate savings account, and every time the amount on this account increased, we were so excited! Again, we were a step closer to our goal. At home, we had a big pink piggy bank and every time we reached a certain amount of money, we went to the bank and had the money deposited on our account. It was always such a good feeling when we went to the bank. Saving money doesn’t have to be a negative thing, it can be really pleasant and rewarding!
3. Save money by selling stuff you don’t use anymore
Just look around you for a second when you’re at home. How much stuff do you see that you haven’t used in the last month? Just asking yourself this simple question can help you to earn money. How you say? Simple, just sell the stuff you don’t use anymore. Put them online on ebay, craigslist, etc. or sell your items at a flea market. We sold old CD’s, DVD’s, furniture, … . It was impressive how much we earned this way. In total we saved more than 2000 euro. But the best part is:
- We didn’t miss anything we’ve sold. We even don’t remember what we sold.
- You have to pack a lot less when moving out your house.
- We had so much fun at the flea markets.
Every time we sold something, our piggy bank was happy and so were we.
4. Use coupons and discounts
In Belgium (but we assume also in other countries) you have different websites that offer coupons. That allowed us to go indoor snowboarding at 50% discount, buy online lenses at half the price and got great deals on travel equipment. Feeling like going to a restaurant but don’t want to give up your money saving plans? Just look on groupon or other discount sites and give it a go. It seems a small way of saving, but it helped us still save money for our worldtrip without sacrificing the things we like to do.
5. Analyse your expenses for one month
This is absolutely the best advice we can give you. If you can only implement only one tip, than implement this one. We wrote down all our expenses for one month (car, taxes, energy, groceries, etc.). This has three advantages. First you become aware of what your biggest expenses are. Second by being aware of it you automatically spend less money. Thirth it will save you a lot of money in a smart and efficient way! Tip: use an app like monefy. It’s a great app to track your expenses with minimum effort and customizable categories.
Pro tip: one thing that many people forget is that you can save the most money WHILE traveling. Keep track of your expenses on the road and spend wisely. This is an example of our monthly expenses in Mongolia to give you an idea.
Conclusion: stick to these 5 simple tips and get ready for you world trip!
These tips worked for us, but maybe you have other tips that you want to share with other travelers? Leave a comment to help each other to save money, spend less and travel more! Thanks for reading and happy saving!
