At the end of every year, lots of people sit down and start thinking about their travel plans for next year. Sometimes it’s because the vacation calendar can get filled up pretty quickly at your job. Other times, it’s because you know there’s a special place you’re desperate to go and this year it’s finally going to happen!
Yet, for most people, the real thing that stands in the way of more travel is not always time but money. Traveling can be expensive, so finding ways to squeeze out that extra money for travel can be hard.
The good news?
It doesn’t have to be. In this post, we’re going to show you some of our best tips for saving money to travel in 2017. This year, make sure you can finally check off that dream vacation.
Let’s go!
1. Sign Up for Travel Deals Newsletters
There are lots of sites out there that highlight travel deals (like HotelCoupons.com!). Also get on the mailing lists of your favorite airlines and travel sites, often they will alert you to lots of money saving deals on trips. You can sign up here for the HotelCoupons.com email newsletter, which comes out every Thursday or sign up to get alerts when our new guides are released.
2. Save Your Credit Card Points
Lots of travelers are moving away from hotel and frequent flier points and paying more attention to credit card points. If you have a card that gives you points, focus on putting your expenses on that and paying it off each month to really rack up the points. If you don’t have a travel card, consider applying for one.
3. Pay Attention on Social Media
There are lots of brands on sites like Twitter that are dedicated to letting you know when huge deals are happening, especially when it comes to airfare. Get on social media and follow a bunch of them to see the deals.
Winter Deals to Europe from @airberlin. Travel Jan thru March. #airfare
— airfarewatchdog (@airfarewatchdog) December 13, 2016
4. Get on a Savings Plan
Most banks will allow you to have more than one account. Consider opening up a “travel” account and pay money into it every week or month. You can even coordinate it with your paycheck. Taking out even as little as $25 a month can add up to $300 in one year, which can cover the cost of a plane ticket to many places.
5. Use a Money Saving Tool
One great money saving tool that is relatively new is called Digit. You can hook it right up to your checking account and it will automatically take out money into a separate account. The cool thing about Digit is it only takes out what you can afford if you’re running low on funds you don’t have to worry about overdrafts.
6. Cut Expenses
This one is easier said than done. But if you want to squeeze as much as you can out of your budget consider some small things. Some popular ideas include: bringing your lunch to work every day, cutting your cable and using streaming, carpooling or riding a bike to work.
7. Clean Your Closet
Most people have stuff lying around their house that they just don’t use anymore. Instead of letting it accumulate dust, consider selling it. Have a yard sale, or even post your goods on sites like eBay and Craigslist. You can pocket your profit and add it to your travel account. And anything you don’t sell, donate to a local charity.
Hopefully, these tips will help you save money this year so you can spending on travel and experiences!
