There are some things you can cut right now before your next trip to save a bundle for your vacation. Along with more money, these saving tips will also help you save time to more things at home. Cutting out a few of your non-essential but regular monthly expenses can open up a world of possibilities in any budget travel or otherwise. Some of the items suggested in this list may be painful to part with at first glance but not when you add up how much you’ll save month after month when you’re enjoying dinner on some of the top beaches in Europe. What is your priority – watching life on cable TV or actually living it?
Here are 8 ways you can save money before traveling and have more money for your next trip.
8 Ways To Save Money Before Traveling – Entertainment
1. Cable Television – Most of where you can save is by cutting out non-essential entertainment either partially or completely. Let’s begin with cable or satellite television if you subscribe to any level of it. We’d recommend cutting it completely so you aren’t paying anything to watch television. It may be a tough adjustment at first but one you can overcome by planning other activities in its place. You can also consider using your computer or laptop as a television as sites like Hulu offer recent network shows and plenty of older series on their site.
2. DVD and CD Purchases - Consider purchasing individual songs from iTunes or steam movies from other services like Netflix to cut down on your overall cost and reduce the amount of “stuff” you accumulate. That will make things lighter for you physically and also help you from overspending on things that you won’t use – like the junk songs on a CD or that DVD you’re not quite sure about.
3. Alcohol - A non-essential, albeit a fun, way to pass the time alcoholic liquids are expensive. Much more so than any other drink, and the same goes for tobacco. It’s tough to cut these completely out of your budget if they’re already a regular part of your life but you can certainly cut back for big savings. A good method is to set a weekly limit (i.e. 4 drinks or a pack of cigarettes per week) and stick to it.
8 Ways To Save Money Before Traveling – Trip Preparation
4. Luggage - Don’t bother with expensive suitcases or more bags than you really need. People tend to pick fill their backpacks, no matter how big or small they are. Save yourself the stress and expensive of buying multiple or sets of luggage because they don’t do you much good. Most people can get away with a 65 liter backpack. Here are some recommended RTW backpacks that won’t cost you much more than $200.
5. Communications - You won’t need your fancy cell phone overseas. Your digital nomad laptop can replace many of the small personal gadgets like cell phones that require monthly charges. You can use Skype to make free calls to other computers for free or to phones for reasonable per minute rates. Skype is just one of the great connectivity tools you can use to reduce your monthly subscription fees.
6. Lodging - We’ve already covered how to use layovers and sleep in airports to save money on hotels.
7. Camera - If you have an SLR or are passionate about photography and can afford a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera then go for it. However, for regular travelers a point and shoot digital will still take good enough pictures. The quality of these little cameras is improving and you can always edit them on your computer afterward. You’ll also save a few thousand by sticking to a basic digital camera.
Other Ways To Save At Home
8. Reduce the amount of energy you use around your home by installing a hot water heater timer, getting a programmable thermostat adjusted to the EPA’s recommended values, and insulate your home in the basic ways. Saving for your travels comes down to reducing what you already spend money and time on. Even modest reductions can result in big savings.
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