Everyone knows that vacations cost money, but there are many ways that you can save for travel and they don’t have to be painful! There are many things that you can do to save up for your vacation. The more of these that you can combine, the faster you’ll be able to book that trip!
Monthly Subscriptions
1. Make a list of all your monthly subscriptions. This includes tv services like Hulu, Netflix, Sling, HBO, Starz, etc. What are you using? What are you not? Are there services that you haven’t used in months? If so, cancel them.
2. Do you have a subscription for books, makeup or clothing but haven’t read any of the books, used any of the makeup, or worn any of the clothes? If so, cancel it. You can always reinstate your membership if you do find that you are using the products you received.
3. Still Paying for a gym membership but not using it? Cancel it. You can always purchase a set of weights and resistance bands and exercise at home. There are a lot of free exercise videos on Amazon Prime and on YouTube.
Shopping
4. Be thrifty when it comes to buying new clothes using services like ThredUp, Patagonia Worn Wear or Poshmark.
5. Use Rakuten when making purchases online. If you follow a link through their site, you’ll receive cash back on the purchases you make and they’ll send you a check quarterly. The rates of cash back change all the time so always check before you make a purchase. You’ll even get an extra $10 off your first purchase of $25.
6. If you’re an impulse shopper, wait 24 hours before you buy something. If you see something that you like in the store, wait 24 hours and if it’s still on your mind and it’s something that you absolutely have to have, then you can purchase it. Most of the time, if it’s an impulse item, you’ll completely forget about it by the next day.
7. Reward yourself with something free. If you’re saving money and meeting your goals, then reward yourself with something free or low cost. This could be anything from a relaxing bath to extra screen time to a piece of chocolate. Knowing that there’s a reward for all your hard work will help you stay focused on your goals.
8. Comparison shop and don’t be afraid to ask for price adjustments. If you purchase something and it goes on sale within a few days, most stores will honor the price drop. Each store has a different time limit for price drops so make sure to check the policy. Additionally, a lot of stores will honor the price that one of its competitors is offering on items. So if you see something cheaper elsewhere, ask if they’ll honor that price. Best Buy will even honor prices on Amazon as long as it is shipped and sold directly from Amazon.
9. Use Camelcamelcamel to track price drops for items on Amazon. You can set an amount and you will receive an email notification if the item you’re watching drops below that amount. This is great for items you may not need right away.
10. Make your purchase count! When you do have to spend money, use a rewards credit card (responsibly) that you can use towards your travel miles, hotel stay, or cruise dollars.
11. Unsubscribe from email lists. If you’re an impulse buyer, unsubscribe from all the places you shop. If you’re not seeing the emails with the latest “daily deal” you’ll be less tempted to click on the link and purchase anything.
12. Look for additional cash back deals from your credit cards. Sometimes credit cards will offer cash back for your purchases from specific stores. If you’re already planning on doing some shopping at those stores, add the deals to your credit card so that you can take advantage of that additional cash back.
Monthly Expenses
13. Clip coupons for your groceries.
14. Limit how frequently you are going out to eat or grabbing fast food.
15. Bring your own coffee to work and make your own lunch.
16. Make larger meals and freeze the leftovers for later. Slow cooker meals are great for this!
17. Take shorter showers. Even washing your hair every other day helps save water and cut down on your water bill.
18. Unplug electronics when you’re not using them. Believe it or not, this will help reduce your monthly electricity use.
19. Adjust your thermostat, 2 degrees warmer during the summer, 2 degrees colder during the winter.
20. Put your bills on auto pay. Sometimes companies are willing to give you a discount for putting them on auto pay. Even student loans will offer a discount for being on auto pay.
21. Be your own bartender. If you still want to have an alcoholic drink now and then, have a glass of wine at home or mix your own cocktail. This can be much cheaper than single drinks at a restaurant.
22. Look for coupons for prescriptions. Sometimes the manufacturer offers a coupon to help lower the cost even more than what your insurance charges. If you’re paying out of pocket, use GoodRX to find stores that sell it cheaper.
23. Look online and see if there is a cheaper cell phone plan you can switch to. Plans change all the time and you may be overpaying for the amount of data you actually need.
24. Compare car insurance rates to see if there are better deals out there. Consider bundling insurance if you can for even more discounted rates.
25. Make sure your tires are inflated correctly. This will help you get better gas mileage and therefore save on gas. It’ll also help you get more miles out of your tires before they need to be replaced.
26. Use Gasbuddy to find the cheapest gas in your area. Take advantage of additional discounts by using your grocery store rewards towards your gas purchase.
27. If you have credit card debt, see if you can consolidate your balances or take advantage of lower interest rates through balance transfers.
Miscellaneous Savings
28. Keep money in a separate bank account that you can’t touch immediately.
29. Do your own manicures and pedicures at home.
30. Rent books and movies for free from the library.
Extra Money
31. Sell items you’re no longer using on Ebay, Amazon, OfferUp, Decluttr, NextDoor, over Facebook groups, or even at your own garage sale. You can also sell your used clothes to ThredUp, Patagonia Worn Wear, or Poshmark or to your local second hand retail store.
32. Start a side hustle. If you’re crafty, you could consider starting a small business on Etsy. Do you have basic office skills? Then you could consider becoming a part time virtual assistant to earn extra money. If you’re good at graphic design, you could join Upwork or Fiverr and do freelance work. Are you musically inclined? You could give music lessons. If math or foreign languages are more your passion, consider becoming a part time tutor.
These 32 tips will help you get started on saving up for your next vacation. Some of these tips may be harder than others, but just remember that when it comes to saving extra money for travel, every little bit helps!
