How To Save For Your Travel Fund

How do you save for your next adventure? First you must ask yourself… where are you going? Personally, I am a budget traveler. I like to keep my vacation cost to a maximum of $1000 a week all inclusive.

If you are flexible with timing, you can get some great last minute deals. Myself, I’m a planner and like to book 8 months in advance.

The old fashioned piggy bank

This is an oldie but a goodie. Fill that piggy bank with change collected from your wallet at the end of each week. $15-$20 in change weekly will add up to approx $780 a year. Use that for your vacation spending money. Gifts, food, drinks and couple tours paid for with loose pocket change.

Tax free savings account

I got a tax free savings account and set up an automatic deduction from my pay cheque. If I don’t see it, I can’t spend or miss it!! My vacation pay is paid out weekly, so I deposit that amount plus some. (If you get paid vacation you don’t need to do this) In the end, my actual trip is paid for as well as my time away from work.

The cost of a vacation

So first you need to do a breakdown cost of the vacation.

If planning on all inclusive, I recommend a 4+ star rating. That will average $1500-$2700 person. (add %50 if you are a single traveler as only limited pplaces will accommodate)

If you are a budget traveler and like to wander the country you’re visiting expect to pay $1000/week if you plan and time it right.

Now if you want luxury or at least business class you need to budget for about $2500 – $5000 per week.

Read: Where you should travel in your 20’s

How much to put away each week

Budget travel – (Flight, hostels or air bnb and a few tours) you will need to put in an account 39/week to have 2000 for your 2 week vacation.

Business – (Flight, air bnb or hotel and a few tours) you will need to put 96/week to have 5000 for your 2 week vacation.

Luxury – (Flight, hotel and tours) you will need 192/week to have 10000 for your 2 week vacation.

How to save and still have a life

As my friend Jodi always says you still have to live your life. Don’t just save for that 2 weeks and do nothing else. You can still have fun the other 50 weeks of the year. Just be smarter on how you spend. So here are some tips…

1. Still going to the bars – If you enjoy a few drinks on the weekend with friends try spending a couple weekends a month staying in and drinking. If you need to be out socializing, try having a couple shots before you leave instead of paying for them at the bar. (Please drink responsibly)
2. Need that caffeine fix – Instead of going to starbucks 2 or 3 times a day. Cut out one a day and you can save $15 a week just doing that. If you make your coffee at home you will save $30 or more a week
3. Like your fast food – Oh this was a hard one for me as I loved my fast food and eating out. But you can save 30 – 150 a week just eating at home. No joke most of my savings comes from homecooked meals.
4. Shopaholic – This was another one I’m so happy I cut down on. If you love your shopping think about one less shirt or shoes a month. This will save you lots in the long run.

Look for deals

So if you are not picky or have set dates that you can take your vacation, look for deals. The greatest way to get cheap flights is to start looking 8 months before your date.

Traveling off season is the cheapest time of year. I personally book at the end of the off season. Not only are the flights cheaper, the places are less crowded.

Go with friends. If you travel solo you will be paying for your nightly stays yourself.

READ: why you should travel solo

Look at Agoda, I love this site. I found it about 2 years ago and to be honest I find it cheaper then all the others for certain places like Thailand, China and more.

They say Tuesdays at 6pm you will find the best flights, I am not sure I believe that. I have however noticed that after the 4th or 5th time I have looked at a flight the price jumps. Now you can always change your VPN to another place but that doesn’t always work either.

Don’t break the bank

Now after all said and done you should try not to break the bank for a vacation. Yes we all need to take that adventure. However you can have just as much fun on a budget as you would luxury. Still in my 40’s will stay at a hostel. I save money and I get to meet people from around the world.

Saving $40 per week is truly not hard and trust me I am not rich. With my love of travel and for my sanity cutting out some things is worth it. So taking out a couple cups of coffee a week and not spending crazy amounts on shopping was something I was willing to sacrifice. Because when you get to that amazing destination all those small things you set aside will be well worth it.