Have a passion for travel? Ever simply looked up plane and hotel costs? I know it can be a bit daunting when you see those price tags. If you have a dream trip or simply want to travel more, saving up is extremely important! If you're not sure where to start or simply looking for new methods to maximize your savings account, keep reading as we dive into my favorite ways build up that travel fund!

1. Assess Your Situation and Set Goals

You need to decide where you want to go and what transportation, lodging, food and activities will cost. Do some research to get a rough idea about what you need to save. You can create a spreadsheet or a notion template to track these items. If you're just trying to build a travel nest egg this is still a good idea to get a destination or dollar value in mind so you can make realistic goals about what you should work towards, though not mandatory at all!

Next, you need to set a goal or set of goals. I recommend setting a bunch of smaller goals if you have one large one so you can work your way towards that bigger one and not get disappointed early on and give up.

For example, say you want to travel to South Korea for two weeks & you need a total of $5000. You can set smaller goals of saving $500 by X amount of time then $1000 by another until you reach $5000. This way you have a bunch of little achievements along the way to keep you motivated & feeling accomplished! 

2. Create a Savings Plan

Wanting to save money is a good start but wanting to and doing it are not the same thing. You need to be realistic with your budget & what you can spare. Though we might not like to admit it, travel is a luxury, and our needs such as food, housing, & bills come first. Once those are handled each month whatever is left you can designate to wants.

Personally, I would set aside my travel savings before budgeting for any other wants (clothes, entertainment, etc.) to stay on track of my goal. You could designate a certain dollar value per month, such as $100, or a percentage of each check, such as 5%, to go to your goal. I would automate this transaction as this makes it much more likely for you to stick to saving rather than when you have to manually move the cash each time. If you want to have your employer auto-deposit your contribution into that savings account with each check you can set that up and make this even easier on yourself!

Keeping your savings away from your regular checking account is also super helpful so you aren't tempted to pull from it! The best strategy is to open a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA) which pays you significantly more interest than a traditional account. Think 4% vs 0.46% APY. That's HUGE! This way you're earning money on what you're already saving and that's basically free money towards your goal! Personally, I have my travel (and emergency savings) over at Marcus by Goldman Sachs but there are a ton of options out there, so pick what works best for you!

3. Cut Expenses

If you want to save money you're probably going to have to cut out some things to make that goal a reality. This isn't usually fun, but delayed gratification is worth it. You don't have to go extreme and can make small changes such as cutting back to eating out once a week instead of three. Making yourself miserable won't keep you motivated.

Other ideas to cut back on are:

• Cancel unused subscriptions
• Avoid impulse buys & window shopping
• Cook at home
• Turn off lights when not in the room
• Use coupons
• Buy store brands
• Shop at cheaper stores 
• Find free activities in your city instead of paid ones
• Take public transit or bike instead of drive (only if possible)

4. Make More Money

There are tons of ways to make more money these days! Even if you're super busy and short on time you can find ways to make an extra few dollars or more a week! The following are platforms and methods I use or have tried and can confirm they're legit and work well!

• Part-time job
• Babysit, pet sit, house sit
• Sell digital or handmade products on Etsy
• Sell unused items or clothes on eBay or Facebook Marketplace
• Freelance a skill or service 
• Start a blog or Youtube channel (this is more of a long game plan honestly)
• Affiliate Marketing (can be done with blogging or youtube)

• Take online surveys
• Prime Opinion (Has a great sign up bonus)
• YouGov (infrequent surveys but lots of points at a time)
• Paid Viewpoint (Surveys are short!)
• Participate in focus groups and testing
• UserTesting (I've made $160)
• Respondent (I've made $80)
• Cash for Walking
• Evidation (I've made $70)
• CashWalk (only works with pedometer on your phone, must claim points everyday or they expire)
• GeoSmile (Referral Code: Fv5qQMsW0)
• Mystery Shopping
• Market Force 
• Mock Jury
• Online Verdict
• eJury (I've made $13)
• Sign Up Direct
• Cash Back for Shopping
• Rakuten
• National Consumer Panel (Get 1000 free points! Referral Code: 142537)

5. Learn the Points & Miles Game

If you haven't already, make sure to sign up for all the frequent flyer and hotel programs of the brands you like to use. Those can lead to free or discounted plane tickets or hotel nights, add-ons, and/or upgrades for money you're already spending towards your next trip! If you like to book third party make sure to always add your frequent flyer or loyalty number to your booking to earn! 

Research credit cards that will help you towards your goals or learn about the rewards programs of the ones you already have! I'm not encouraging you spend extra money, but this is a great way to maximize how you're already spending to make it work best for you. Transferrable points are some of the MOST valuable currencies! If you're in the market for a new travel card with transferrable points, I'm a huge fan of my BILT Mastercard & it has NO ANNUAL FEE!

Please don't apply for a  credit card if you tend to carry balances or are already in credit card debt. This method is only for people who can pay their balances off every month! I'm not a financial advisor.

6. Stay Motivated

As I said in the beginning, the biggest thing is keeping that motivation. Setting realistic goals you can afford and maintain is key. Make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time Bound)!

Keep track of your progress! If you're visual you can use a spreadsheet, notion template, or even create a tracker in Canva! 

If you need to make adjustments, that's ok! Life happens and maybe you need to dial it back a bit while taking care of other matters. Try not to stop completely, if you can, as restarting can be incredibly difficult. Or perhaps you discover something new you want to do on your trip and need more money and you increase your monthly contributions. Seeing that balance grow is an amazing feeling!

For years I have always preemptively saved for trips so that when the time comes to start planning, I'm not starting from zero. This has been incredibly helpful in my life but I recognize is not possible for everyone.

If you have more savings tips or questions post a comment below!

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