The thing I hear most frequently from people is that they wish they could travel more, or that they wish they could afford to do what we do. But with both of us (together!) making less than 15,000 a year, we can tell you that if travel is what you want to do, you can find a way!
We have had to sacrifice a lot of “extra” things so that we can do what we love, so here’s our list of things you should consider giving up if you want to travel more often!
1. Going out to eat too often
This is the #1 thing that has saved us money over the years. We just don’t eat out very often! It adds up very quickly and we like to eat as much as we want, so eating at home is a better value.
If you do want to go out to eat, try to keep it to 2 times on the weekends and challenge yourself to stay on a budget of $5 per person. There is not a single place that we’ve visited so far where we haven’t been able to stick to this rule, so I know it’s possible!
2. Starbucks or whatever drink you can’t live without
Just simply switching to drinking only water is not only WAY better for you, but it’ll save you a TON of money. Even when we do go out to eat, we only drink water to keep the costs down.
Or just making that drink at home instead of going out every time is another way to keep costs down.
3. Going out to the movies
This one is a super-easy way to cut down on costs right away. With Netflix and Prime Video and Hulu and all the million ways to stream at home, there’s really not much of a reason to spend $20-$30 on going out to the movies.
If going out to the movies was something that you did just to get out of the house, there are tons of activities that are free that would be way more fun than just doing what you would do at home: stare at a screen for hours! (nothing wrong with that, but why am I paying so much for it? lol)
4. Getting your nails/hair done
Before we started traveling, I was dying my hair once a month. Although it wasn’t that expensive itself, I also bought specialized shampoo that made the color last longer plus special supplies so that it would be less damaging.
Once we started traveling full-time 2017, there was no way that I could keep up with it so I just let my hair grow out.
Turns out, it was one of the best (and economic!) decisions I would make! Since my hair is pretty thin, I had never been able to grow it super long before, but now it’s longer than it has ever been!
As far as getting your nails done, although I feel way more BA when I have acrylics, I just have never been able to justify the costs. Even before we traveled, it was definitely an “extra” that I could live without.
5. Getting new clothes/ new phones / etc. too often
Instead of going shopping when you’re bored, start planning a new trip! Or when you do go shopping, head to a second-hand shop to get a better deal.
With the rise of stores like H&M and Zara, it may seem like because something is really cheap, you should buy it. But just buying things that you don’t need because they’re cheap isn’t a good deal at all. It’s still money that you could be spending on baguettes in France or Pho in Vietnam!
Instead, try only going shopping when you need something specific. Also, try taking a boy. That’ll make the trip shorter and he probably won’t encourage you to buy extra things that you aren’t looking for lol.
So go start saving money!
If you need more convincing, just calculate how much you spend on each of these things per month and then multiply it by 12. How much would you save per year by skipping out on some of these things? Could it pay for an extra trip or two?
Plus, in each of these cases, not only are you saving money for future trips, but you’re also making healthier decisions for yourself and the environment! Wohoo for good decisions!
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Dayna Brockbank is a travel and language-learning blogger who has lived around the world but has now settled in Nice, France. She speaks 3 languages at varying levels of fluency: Spanish, Italian, and French, and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Spanish Education. She and her husband focus on making travel part of life by living cheaply and traveling on a budget.