Travel Resources

7 Ways Of Saving Money For Travel

“If traveling didn’t involve money, you’d never see me again”

I can imagine how many of us would be so very happy had that happened. Who doesn’t like to go places, if it is coming your way for free ? Unfortunately it doesn’t. And it will never happen that way. So, we are left with no choice but to save money from our monthly pay checks, a small sum towards achieving our goal. Here I tell you from personal experiences and from the tricks I used (such that my wife got convinced & allowed me to travel SOLO).

Awesome Money Saving Tips

1. Set Up a NO-FRILLS Savings Account:

I recollect how in 1990s, there used to be a simple saving account and my father used to go to bank once a week to withdraw money or deposit money. These were the only 2 transactions then, that people used to do. No ATMs, no online transfers, no compulsory linking of insurance with accounts etc. This can happen today as well. Open a normal savings account (with passbook) with smaller or regional banks & consider this account as your TRAVEL FUND. Do not opt for ATM / Debit Card or have internet username & password. Keep depositing some amount every month, don’t withdraw for any impulsive need and see how it becomes possible for you to travel from this sum.

(Setting up a Travel Fund can help you to experience such beautiful sunsets off the Sri Lankan Coast)

2. Say Good Bye to Frequent Night-Outs:

A lot of us now have studied away from home, made friends in a different city, work away from home and in some way, are now not tensed on the kind of questions that would have been asked by our parents on our frequent parties every weekends. So, who’s to stop us from partying, right ? But if you want to fulfill your desire of seeing the globe, this one habit will have to take a backseat. When you party in a cool bistro bar or a nightclub, I can assume INR 5,000 would be gone in a month. And you are only going to make the owner of that night club richer by INR 5,000 🙁 Stop ! And if you still feel you have to, think of ways to reduce it’s frequency… better still, can you do it at your or friend’s house, like a house-party ? Nothing wrong with that too ! Think about it !

(Sacrificing only 2 night-outs a month for 5 months can help you land up at Coral Islands, Pattaya)

3. Say Good Bye to Impulsive Shopping & Other Purchases:

Strolling in a huge shopping mall is fine but visiting them for buying anything & everything, just because it looks cool, is NOT COOL ! If impulsiveness results in big bills, it gets equated with immaturity. Wanna do shopping, think of going to a stand-alone shop (if “brand” is of so much importance), but not in a mall. Such ways, you can save quite a few bucks !

4. Throw Your Credit Card:

My first job, post my MBA, in a renowned MNC helped me get that “Credit Card” and I was on top of the world, thinking that I am making it right in my career and gradually (but fast enough) getting into a high-flying lifestyle. No sooner did I realize that every month I ended up buying something or the other, even though at times I didn’t have corresponding money in my savings account, and assuming I shall pay this from next month’s salary. Thankfully, I realized just in time that this is getting me only misery. May be I didn’t know how to use a credit card well enough. But today, I am having some kind of phobia of credit cards & I am happy that I have. “Fake richness & living on credit, when I actually can’t afford something today, is over… for me !”

(Coorg, India)

5. Research & Compare:

Before you set anywhere, research. Do some researching on the kind of place you want to visit, how do you intend to travel locally and where do you want to eat, where do you want to stay etc. If your Travel Fund shows INR 75000, you should aim for some place in India or Nepal or Sri Lanka, although yes… you can make a trip to Istanbul (Turkey), spend 2 days there & come back in a hurry, in that much money. You wouldn’t be able to even see anything and I can guarantee you shall come back feeling empty… So, prefer the former choice in that much money. Also, compare on various portals on the internet for the same hotel or airlines before you directly opt for any one. Benchmarking is the key !

6. Foreign Exchange of Last Trip:

I found this amazing way of finishing off the last exploration trip within budget and keeping the saved foreign exchange as it is (w/o converting them back to INR) and then using this, to fund some of the expenses of next trip. Eg: I went on a 8-Days solo trip to Sri Lanka in June 2015 with a realistically-planned budget of USD 700 all inclusive, still managed to save USD 200. Didn’t convert this back to INR and used this USD to fund a part of my next trip 🙂 How does it sound to you ?

7. Volunteer for Some Monetary Consideration:

There are a lot of jobs that are typically “Work-from-home” or “work online” etc that require marginal time and energy on your part, that help you with good money. Gone are the days where such job ads were scams. Today, there is a genuine need of people to work from home on data entry stuff or proof-reading etc. Other than this, can you be a part-time consultant in your field of work to somebody, especially a start-up ? Think… Once you get into a tie-up, give your best service and gain the amount of money you require to travel. Whether to tell this to your close-ones, is your call.

You may also like to read on my Solo Travel here:

And if there are any other ways & means you know, please do let me know too 🙂

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