cheapest ways to travel

How to Afford Travel: Steps & Tips

One of the most recurring responses we get from people about our frequency of travel is “but how do you afford to travel?” It’s an increasingly valid question but our answer has remained the same throughout our many years of exploring. It all comes down to prioritization. If there is something that is incredibly important to you, humans miraculously have the ability to make it happen. That’s what travel is to us… very important. Therefore, we commit ourselves to always afford travel by making it a priority.

In this guide, we dive into a handful of essential tips for anyone who is interested in affording travel.

Who Can Afford to Travel?

At one point in time, traveling was solely a luxury enjoyed by the wealthy. This era has long passed, and luckily, this just isn’t true anymore. Unfortunately, many people still think they need a ton of money to travel and often don’t even make it to the first step of planning a trip with these preconceived notions. If there’s anything we want a reader to gather from this, it’s this… anyone can afford to travel if they truly want to. For anyone truthfully committed and serious about figuring out how to travel more, that is really the only criteria you need to meet.

If you are a cautious optimist, we fully respect this and most will say you’re being smart about your decisions. It can still be extremely helpful to ask yourself “can I afford to travel, really?” before making plans to travel. Based on how we would personally approach this question, it’s worth assessing if other financial aspects of your life need attention. For example, if you do have substantial debt, it may be advantageous to work towards paying that off opposed to prioritizing travel.

Realistically, we understand it’s a privilege to travel, whether you spend time in 5-star hotels or couch surfing, the ability to travel the world is not a right. It’s easy to forget that much of the world doesn’t share this advantage. If you are lucky enough to even have the freedom to propose the idea of traveling more, consider yourself as someone who can.

traveling full time

How to Start Traveling

If you’ve been long influenced by the idea that you cannot travel with little money, the first step is to change your mindset. To travel more, you simply need to start by doing additional research. If you’ve made it here, you’re doing a great job so far!

Much of this comes down to budgeting and we’ll get into further details on this below. Still, initial research should determine critical information you need to know before you start travelling or planning a trip.

  1. How much will it cost for me to travel where I want to go? 
  2. Do I already have enough money saved for this? Or do I need to create a budget plan to save the amount I need for this trip?

It doesn’t matter if you are taking a trip for the first time or planning on traveling full-time. This first step is key and applicable in any scenario when you’re trying to find out where and how to start travelling.

The Two Fundamentals to Afford Travel

There are many different angles, opportunities and methods to making travelling a possibility. However, the concept of how to afford travel dwindles down to just two fundamentals. 

  1. Saving Money for Traveling
  2. Travelling Affordably

If you aren’t drowning in cash or were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you’re likely to be somewhat aware of how much you can spend on travel (or anything). This all starts and ends with budgeting. Figuring out how to account for travel in your everyday routine will allow you to create money-saving habits for traveling.

The second foundation is centered around how to travel affordably in the moment and what to do (and not to do) during your trip(s). Discovering and mastering ways to travel inexpensively is key for any eager adventurer looking to travel more or even full-time. This guideline is just as important as the planning step since it’ll actually contribute to how much you can save for future travel. It’s the classic and effective snowball effect!

ways of travel

Part 1: How to Save Money for Trips and Traveling

Adjust Your Household Budget

If you’re already tracking expenses and earnings on a regular basis, this tip should come fairly easily for you. For those who are new or completely new to budgeting, now is the time to start!

When incorporating travel into your budget, you should add a distinct savings goal towards travel as its own separate category. A good budget has specific groups of expenses and an allocated amount for each month. For example, you can start small and make it a goal to save $100 each month specifically for a future trip and nothing else. The same way you would allocate X amount towards groceries or Y amount towards fuel each month, you would put away a set amount just for travel.

The bottom line is, you’ll need to be aware of how to manage your money in order to afford travel.

Prioritise Your Savings

After taking the first step of including travel in your monthly household budget, you may come to the conclusion that there isn’t any extra disposable income left over. This is when it comes time to prioritize where you are spending and the opportunities to turn those spendings into savings instead. If affording to travel is of most importance to you, you’ll need to deduct elsewhere. In other words, it’s time to sacrifice in order to achieve your savings goals.

Saving money is always easier said than done, but if practiced with discipline, it can make a world of difference. Simple ways to save money for travel include:

  • Creating a meal plan for the week and sticking to a grocery list to avoid overbuying.
  • Purchasing more vegetables rather than meat will also lower your shopping expenses.  
  • Limit ordering food for delivery or eating at restaurants.
  • Cut down or get rid of streaming services entirely.
  • Audit the number of automated subscriptions you are paying for each month. Assess each monthly expense and decide if it’s more or less important to you than travel.

Do you really need Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video and Hulu? Probably not. Taking a look at recurring expenses you think are trivial is a good place to start cutting back. Before you know it, you will have saved a chunk of change to put towards a trip.

Use a Travel Credit Card to Earn Points

Particularly for Americans, using a credit card comes as second nature. Everything from takeout orders, daycare tuition to electricity bills can be paid with a credit card. So, why not reap the benefits and earn points which you can redeem toward travel? This tip is an absolute must for any avid traveller and it all starts with the right credit card.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is consistently ranked as one of the best travel credit cards, and for many terrific reasons. We have personally been using it for years and have been able to book international flights with just our earned up points (and $0 out of pocket). Seriously, this is the easiest hack to be able to afford travel. There are a lot of credit cards out there geared toward travel points, so it’s best to do your research to see what suits you best.

how to save money for trips

Earn Extra Cash

This savings tip requires the most effort but can have the largest payoff. Having a temporary side gig or additional job can easily cover your travel expenses in the shortest amount of time. Instead of adjusting your already tight budget to include travel, adding a secondary revenue stream will bump your savings up a notch. Do not underestimate the power of what even an extra $200 a month can do! Personally, we started dog sitting during the time we were saving enough money to travel long-term.

how to afford to travel the world
Dog watching as a side gig to save money for travel

Stop Paying Rent

If you are renting an apartment or home, you have the flexibility to stop doing so opposed to if you are paying a mortgage on a purchased home. For those who are just about to get out of a lease or have a flexible landlord, take advantage of the option to stop paying rent. A grand majority of any monthly budget is easily eaten up by the cost of rent. Of course, the second half of this equation is making sure you have somewhere to stay while you give up your rental. If you do have a lovely set of parents, family members or close friends who are happy to host you while you save money, do it. Leave your pride at the door and thank yourself later when you’re travelling more or even travelling full-time like you’ve always wanted to.

how to afford a vacation
Our prized apartment in Brooklyn, NY

Part 2: Traveling on a Budget

Budget travel is the most sustainable way to afford travel and to be able to travel more often. Tracking your expenses and staying mindful of where you can save doesn’t stop at the planning stage. There are so many ways to save money while traveling, and as you travel more, they become easier to master. Traveling on a budget also doesn’t mean you are consistently planning cheap trips where you don’t get to experience anything. Quite the contrary, traveling on a budget opens up the door to getting creative. In our opinion, unique and curious travel is far better than cookie-cutter itineraries.

Choose an Affordable Destination

If you’re not sure where you want to travel to, this is actually fantastic news and can be used to your advantage. In these cases, use a flight tool like Skyscanner, CheapOair or Google Flights to search for the cheapest destinations. Skyscanner’s tool is called ‘Explore Everywhere’ and essentially the perfect example of letting the lowest price lead you to your next trip.

Additionally, visiting a place where your travel dollar will go the furthest makes a gigantic impact on your overall budget. If you’re looking to afford travel regularly, visiting a destination where things cost less than your home country is the smartest strategy. Places like Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central America are notorious for cheap travel and ideal for traveling the world with little money.

hidden gem icon Skip overpriced destinations like Greece and choose a hidden gem like Albania instead!

travel affordably

Take Weekend Trips

An alternative to affording travel is to simply take shorter trips rather than long ones. Naturally, the less time you spend traveling, the less money you will spend. If you’re particularly interested in city trips (also known as city breaks), long weekend trips can still be done on a budget in addition to only paying for 2-3 days’ worth of hotels, food, and activities.

There are many remarkable travel destinations with 1-3 day itinerary options, and you may be surprised at how much you can schedule into just one visit.

clock icon Looking for inspiration on a short trip? Check out our guide on how to make the most of visiting Berlin in 2 days!

Book Lower Cost Accommodation

Accommodation tends to be the most expensive aspect of any trip. If you’re truly looking to travel more or planning on long-term travel, booking a lower-cost accommodation option is a habit that will make a big difference. To avoid sleeping at truly crappy places, finding an affordable yet pleasant stay takes a little extra time and research

Of course, choosing a lower-priced hotel or apartment means you’ll have to give up some level of comfort. Usually, choosing a lower-priced accommodation based on location ensures the actual quality of the hotel or apartment is still high. For example, having to take a quick 15-minute train ride into Rome’s center may cost you $75 a night opposed to $150+ a night if you stayed directly in Rome.

Cook Your Own Food

This advice mostly applies in countries where eating out is expensive, like Switzerland. During our trip to Switzerland, we probably ordered food just once because prices were truly shocking. Instead, we purchased groceries at relatively normal prices and cooked our own meals. Not only does this routine help avoid racking up expenses, but it’s also an easy way to shop and eat locally.

Shopping at grocery stores is an underrated way to experience a culture’s cuisine and often times where you’ll find traditional food without extravagant prices.

traveling on a budget

Don’t Overpay for Data

New travelers may be tempted to purchase “travel packages” when it comes to things like cell phone data. Yes, it’s critical to stay connected while traveling abroad, but take a moment to do your research before committing to the first offer you see. Your home carrier may have an overseas data solution for you, but it definitely doesn’t mean it’s the best deal. Without looking into alternative options, you risk overpaying by up to 50% for data with tourist packages.

Typically, the cheapest way to stay connected while traveling is to purchase a local SIM card. This means you are purchasing a temporary and prepaid SIM card from a local cell provider, which is often reloadable. If you have an unlocked phone, this is very easy to accomplish in any country.

For those who want to be equipped with cell data as soon as they arrive abroad, an eSIM card is the better choice for you, assuming your phone is compatible.

Keep Your Receipts

During your trip, it’s important to remain consistent and continue to monitor your spending. Unless you are only visiting major cities, you will likely use cash to pay for more things than you’d expect. If you’re not used to it, managing cash can be tricky, which is why you should keep the physical receipts.

Whether you use an expense tracking app or just your notes app, jotting each cash expense in your phone is a quick solution. Addressing credit card usage is much easier and doable with your bank’s online dashboard.

At the end of your trip, you’ll be able to compile all your cash and card expenses into one total amount. Use this total to see how your actual spending total compares to the budget you made prior to the trip.

If you really want to geek out (like us), then break down your expenses into categories to see what you’re spending the most money on. This will help you learn for next time and uncover opportunities to save.

how to save money for trips

Travel Resources for Budget Travel

travel insurance TRAVEL INSURANCE: EKTA or VisitorsCoverage

where to book flights FLIGHTS: Skyscanner, CheapOair or Agoda

car rental iconn CAR RENTALS: Rentalcars.com or Discover Cars

train icon TRAINS, BUSES, FERRIES: Busbud, Trainline or Omio

accommodation icon ACCOMMODATION: Booking.com, Hostelworld or Trivago

esim icon ESIM / CELL PHONE DATA: Airalo

booking activities TOURS & ACTIVITIES: GetYourGuide or Viator


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