Dreaming of leaving your job and travelling the world full time? We get it. We spent years doing that.
The key?
Don’t just spend your time dreaming. Start actually working on turning that dream into reality!
We know what you are thinking. “But how will I be able to afford it?”
Well, we’ve done it, which means you can do it too. Because we are here to help you!
In this post we’ll show you 7 different ways how YOU can start saving money for your travels today.
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please read our Disclaimer.
Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.
After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆
During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia.
And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful tips and info with you!
Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own adventures too!
Warning: none of these tips for saving money are complex, but that doesn’t mean the process won’t be painful or difficult for you. Don’t worry though. We have also included our own tips on how to make the process easier – after all, we went through the same thing!
So grab a cup of tea (because, as you learn in the UK, tea solves 99% of problems), a notepad (or anything where you are writing down brilliant ideas and plans for your travels) and let’s get started!
Intro tip: Coping with saving
Actually, let’s start with one of the coping tricks.
You have, probably, heard of this one.
Create a savings pot specifically for your travels.
It’s a well-known tip, so why are we talking about it?
Well, we want to explain how this hack will help you, in completing the list you’ll find below.
In the list you’ll find the 7 ways how you can save money.
As we warned you though, the process of cutting back might not be easy.
Having a travel savings pot helps.
How?
Well, for example, every time you feel like crying, because you have to actually cook your dinner, instead of getting some yummy Indian curry takeaway?
You won’t cry.
You will look at your travel savings pot into which you’ve just transferred the money you would have spent on the takeaway.
And you will see it growing.
And you will feel happy with yourself and your progress towards your dream.
And then you will go cook your sad pasta for dinner, BUT without crying.
Side note about saving money
You want a really good, modern bank to take care of your money when travelling, but also when saving for your travels.
We use Monzo as they have great options of Savings Pots, so not only are you putting your money aside for travels, but that money is also making you more money. And you know what more money means? More cocktails to sip on once you get to the beach!
Do check Monzo out and see what you think. You can open an account with them if you are a UK or a US resident.
And as our friend, if you use one of the links above, you will get an extra £5! All you have to do is create a Monzo account and make your first card payment in the next 30 days. We’ll get £5 too, so it’s a win-win!
Tip no. 1: Make travel your no. 1 priority
What is your no. 1 priority? Obviously aside from food, rent and all the life essentials.
Is it REALLY travel? Because we know many people say it’s travel, but in reality, it isn’t.
What do we mean by making it your no. 1 priority?
It means you don’t put anything ahead of travel.
That means NO spending money on NON–ESSENTIALS.
Now that’s a lot stricter approach than what most people do, but it also is how long-term and frequent travellers are able to travel so much.
Bonus tip
Here is a little tip on how to make travel your no. 1 priority (and how to make it less painful).
Find something you will use as your new currency or point of reference.
Mirka uses concert tickets for this.
It works like this:
Every time there is something non-essential we want to spend money on, she calculates how many concert tickets she could get with the money instead.
For example, a new dress costs £50.
That is at least one concert ticket, or 2, if you go to see smaller bands.
Will the dress make me happier than the concerts? No? Then I won’t buy the dress.
You can use the same trick for travel.
For instance, let’s say you want to learn how to surf in Bali.
Look up the cost of one surfing lesson and then use it as your point of reference when deciding on other purchases.
For instance, using the dress example again.
Do you really want the £50 dress? Or would you rather do 2 surfing lessons for that money instead?
Let us know in the comments if you already have a system like this that you use!
Tip no. 2: Get rid of subscriptions
First, a warning, this might be one of the most painful changes you have to make.
Do you have many subscriptions? You have to get rid of them.
Harsh, but true.
Subscriptions are one of the biggest money-eaters.
Here are two reasons why you need to get rid of them:
- Obviously, to save money. It will be painful, but trust us, money adds up and you will see the difference once you stop paying all these monthly subscriptions
- You won’t be able to use many of them, like a gym subscription, when you travel anyway, so you might as well get used to not having them
Bonus tip
Here is a little trick how you can look at this process to make it less painful:
It’s similar to the trick we told you about in the previous point.
Pick one of your subscriptions. Figure out, how much it costs you every year. Now compare that amount with something you will be able to do when you are travelling.
For example: are you on the Standard, £10.99 / month Netflix plan?
That’s £132 a year – you can fly in a hot air balloon in Vang Vieng, Laos for that and you will still have plenty leftover for a delicious dinner and cocktails!
Extra tip? Always give yourself an alternative for the thing you are giving up. Cancelling Netflix? Choose a traveller whose style you enjoy and watch their Youtube videos instead!
Gave up your gym pass? Why don’t you try home workouts that explorers and adventurers do? You can find many of these online for free.
Tip no. 3: Limit takeaway and eating out
Takeaways
It’s easy to fall into the comfortable habit of ordering takeaway, especially if you are working full time, taking care of kids, trying to plan travels, staying fit, seeing your family etc. etc.
We didn’t even know how it happened, but we realised we were spending awful amounts of money on takeaways, getting a delivery at least once a week.
You might think, once a week is not much, it’s a special treat.
It all adds up though.
Instead, what really saved us money (and time) was batch cooking.
Find a bunch of recipes that work well when cooked as a big batch – that means they are easy to make as a big batch (e.g. in one big pot) and they can be stored for days.
One of our favourites is a Mexican chili.
Stock up on all the staple ingredients when they are on offer and then allocate a day when you will cook the meals in advance.
If this is not possible for you, try the emergency food approach.
It’s perfect for those disastrous days when John at work sent you yet another request at 5 pm on a Friday, Amanda stole your parking spot and your dog managed to poop all over your beige carpet. The days when takeaway feels like the only saviour.
Because when these days happen (and you know they will), instead of spending travel money on takeaway, you can just dip into your freezer for a nice chili you cooked two weeks ago – no work and all the yumminess. And all the money you saved goes into your travel savings pot instead!
Eating out
This one can be tricky if it’s a social occasion. If you can, make people aware of your travel plans and explain that you are limiting unnecessary expenses.
If, like us, you are keeping your plans a secret though, you will have to get a bit more creative.
Here are some things you can do:
- Be proactive and pick restaurants yourself – that way you have control over the price level
- Offer hosting people at home – you can suggest making something special, trying a new recipe you found or doing a theme night
- Say you are saving money, just change the goal – okay, this is a bit of a lie, but you can always pretend you are saving money for something else. A house deposit? An expensive holiday? (African safari perhaps). A new car?
If it’s not a social situation and you just love eating out as a treat, tough, you can’t do it anymore. As of today, no more eating out.
We did warn you, this process is not painless. But trust us, it’s gonna be so worth it, once you are free and on the road, exploring the world.
Tip no. 4: Swap going out for house parties
Depending on where you live, going out culture can be quite strong.
In general, people love to meet up outside of their homes, and we get that.
If you are in the saving-money phase though, you do have to cut down.
The funny thing?
Often others admit they would also prefer to stay in, once someone else suggests it!
The truth? Even if they aren’t saving for full-time travelling, they might have other reasons to save!
So try bringing up saving money and suggest doing more budget activities or having a house party instead.
And yes, we know, house party sounds like we are 19 and raving it up at uni halls again.
Side note 1: For all we know, you are 19! Just because we are not it doesn’t mean our advice doesn´t apply to other age groups.
Side note 2: House party is really just a term, we mean any sort of gathering happening in a home. It could be a grill party. It could be a board games night. It could be a DIY murder mystery dinner. Or an online escape room Sunday brunch. Lots of options!
Tip no. 5: Stop gift-giving with your travel partner(s)
This one is one of the easiest, if you think about it the right way.
Swap material presents for future experiences.
Yes, it can be quite sad, when your partner has nothing waiting for them under the Christmas tree. We’ve been there and it somehow doesn’t look right.
But what if, instead, you create a voucher for them?
You don’t even have to buy the official gift cards, like Airbnb or Virgin Experience. Pick an experience or an activity you know your partner wants to do. Or find one yourself to surprise them.
And then create a nice voucher telling them what they can look forward to once they are travelling.
It could be that you are gifting them surfing lessons, once you are in Bali. Or a hot air balloon flight when you get to Turkey. Or a pasta-making class in Italy. Endless options.
Alternatively, if your partner does get excited about travel gear, you can start doing research and gift them something that they will use once they are travelling.
We, for example, gifted each other solid perfumes, in anticipation of our travels.
Btw, solid cosmetics are an amazing travel hack, so note that down if you are not familiar with them.
If you want to have a peak, this was the perfume Daniel got as a present and the one he bought for Mirka.
Tip no. 6: Sell your possessions
There are actually 4 ways how this will help you – making some extra money is just one of them!
Let’s have a look:
- So the obvious one, making a little bit of extra money that you can add to your savings pot. Or a lot of money, depending on what things you own and how much you sell.
- If you still have a long way to go before you can set off on your travels (for instance you still have to save up a lot of money), it will make you feel like you are actively working on your dream. We decided to go travelling just as the pandemic hit. We got stuck in Scotland for 2 years because of it and it was tough, but the whole time we were actively working on leaving. It helped ease the frustration of not being able to actually go.
- Once you start decluttering and selling, you will be less likely to buy new. Trust us, once you see how much stuff you actually own and start trying to get rid of it, you will think twice before adding any more items to your home. Temptation magically gone.
- Sorting through your things to see what can be sold will, most likely, uncover items you forgot you even owned. You might discover things that will be useful for your travels – a forgotten backpack, a sports T-shirt or even a paracord (yes, you should travel with a paracord. If you don’t know why, you’ve got to read this).
So get sorting and selling!
Tip no. 7: Research, research, research
Everyone wants to know how to get the cheapest flights. Best value-for-money insurance. Amazing deals on accommodation.
We’ll tell you how.
Research.
That’s all it takes. There aren’t any grand secrets to share.
Basically, you shop around, sign up for newsletters, so you know when a sale is happening, join loyalty programmes, so you collect points or get discounted rates and you research cheaper ways to do things.
We think we are pretty advanced researchers, having travelled on a budget for many years now (including almost 2 years of full time travel!) and we love to share the tips we’ve discovered.
For example, here is an awesome hack that might help you along in your research – and it costs just £1.34!
Warning – Don’t cheap out on this
Just a short warning here. We spent so long talking about saving money, but there are some things you absolutely should not be saving on, such as travel insurance.
Okay wait, that’s not true.
You should always look for a good deal.
If you are struggling to find a good travel insurance provider, we can recommend not just one, but two!
Crazy us, we researched 23 insurance providers when choosing the right one for our full-time travels.
In the end, we actually found two companies whose insurance we are happy with.
If you are not sure who to go with, definitely check out SafetyWing or True Traveller. They are both great, both were created by travellers for travellers, and both offer amazing value for money.
Something to consider
You might read through this list and think that none of these expenses are significant enough to make a difference.
And you are right.
Cancelling your Netflix subscription won’t suddenly allow you to travel full time for a year.
But everything adds up.
If you make all these changes and more, you will see a difference.
After all, your monthly spend is exactly that – a combination of many different expenses.
What’s more, by doing this you are training your money-saving muscle.
Once you start paying more attention to where your money goes, your mindset shifts.
You will find new ways to save money.
And in the end, it will all be worth it.
Are you already doing any of these things to save money for your travels?
If not, which one are going to start with first? Let us know in the comments!