When I was first considering starting this blog, I spent some time psyching myself out by looking at other travel blogs and going "But I don't go anywhere like these people do (yet)!" But I also would check out their advice for how to travel cheaply. Unfortunately a lot of what I found was along the lines of "You can go anywhere if you're willing to stay in free hostels while working as an English teacher" with a side of "If you can't find a way to do it then travel isn't really a priority for you." And you know, I'm not knocking their advice. There's some great stuff out there, but it's mostly geared towards people who can afford to take time to work in another country, who aren't tied down with jobs and families and debt.
I know a lot of people who think if they don't have a lot of money, they can't ever go anywhere. And that's not true. You might not be able to backpack around Europe or whatever, and you might have to settle and sacrifice some, but those of us without money are frankly doing that anyway, lol siiiiiigh.
In the last year I started figuring out how to do things and go places within my means. I got a lot of comments about "How is she affording all of this?" but it really wasn't costing me much. So here are some tips on how I did it. Your case may be different, of course, but this is just guidelines to helping you figure it out.
-Prioritize. My dad drilled one major lesson into me: "If you spend money on one thing, you can't spend it on anything else." Simple, but helpful. If you're getting a new spring wardrobe, that's money you're not saving. Ask yourself if you really need to get this thing, or if a cheaper option is available, or if you can get less of it. Using the wardrobe example, rather than getting everything, limit yourself to a couple new pieces, and also shop at Target.
-Cut out what you don't need. Go through what you spend every month. Look at your bank account and consider everything. Do you stop at Starbucks every day when you have perfectly serviceable coffee at home/work? Stop that, or cut down to once a week. Do you not go to the gym but keep the membership in case you start? You can cancel it, no one will actually judge. Drink water with your lunch instead of buying a soda, make sure you actually use all of things like shampoo of foundation before opening a new one, stick to your grocery lists... You'll personalize your own ways to cut back once you know what you're spending.
Also, protip: if you call your cable company to cancel services, oftentimes they will give you a deal to keep you. Just remember to note when it changes so you're not surprised when it jumps up again.
-Actually save, GDI. Start a separate savings account. Set it up so as little as $25 a month automatically transfers from your checking. In a year that $25 is $300. Or better, all the money you saved in the above step? If it gets taken automatically out of your account, have that amount transfer every month. If you've been spending that every month, you literally won't miss that money.
Also, the savings jar trick works. Fill a jar with the spare change and dollars you end up with. If someone gives you money as a gift, put it straight in there, or in the savings account.
-Use credit cards to your advantage. I had a lot of credit card debt so this made me nervous, but fact was I needed to rebuild my credit. So since I tend to fly American the most, I got a card that would earn me airline miles. And if you spend $3,000 in the first three months, you get 50,000 miles free. So now I treat my credit card like my debit card, never spending what I don't have and can't pay off immediately. Butting my bills on the credit card and then never ever touching my checking account except to pay off the card, voila, free round trip flight.
-Coupons! I suck at couponing, I really do. If you can clip coupons and keep up on sales, great. But for those of us who do suck, certain places make it easier. Target had Cartwheel, and my old grocery chain had something like it too. I could attach coupons to my card or app, adding things I knew I'd need of things I regularly bought, and then when I bought from there, I'd show my app or card and save without actually realizing I was doing it. It's great when you're not good at keeping up on stuff.
-Look for deals. Groupon has some pretty sweet travel deals, some including airfare and hotel. Sign up for alerts on special offers from airlines. See if a travel agent can get you some savings. Or you can do a deep dive in research. I was able to go to Catalina by doing some Google-fu and funding out that you basically get to go free on your birthday. Put in some time to see what you can find either deal-wise, or in case you can find a better time to go.
Look for stuff in your area.. I used LAist a lot in LA to see what was going on around me, which led to fun trips like heading to an animal refuge in the desert. Nick found a thing in Chicago that got us a day trip to Racine to look at Frank Lloyd Wright buildings for free. You don't need to go far to find something awesome, in a lot of places.
Split the cost. The more people you can comfortably cram into a hotel room, the cheaper it is for everyone. Same goes if you take turns paying for gas or ordering bigger meals that you can share.
Don't stay IN the city you're visiting. It's always more expensive. If you have a car available, try going about half an hour out to reduce costs.
Don't dismiss cheaper hotels. if it's at least two stars and doesn't have the word "bedbugs" anywhere in the reviews (for the love of God, read the reviews), it's probably good enough for a night if you're me. Note: I've gotten some truly awful hotels with this thinking, but also some great stories.
Hopefully that's enough to get you started!
No comments:
Post a Comment