We always want to save money for our dream vacation. We love the idea of going to places that we’ve never known but oftentimes, we fail in doing the steps in making our dreams a reality.
And in this blog, join me as I make ways to save for a trip that I never thought will come true. Yes, claiming this already!
We are all wishing for a great vacation. Sandy toes, white sand beaches, relaxing ambiance in the middle of a lush garden. And most of all, no deadlines, no work stress, just you with your friends, family, or love one. Or maybe, just you alone.
Like each and every one of you, I am also fond of dreaming my own vacation.
Of course I love to travel with close friends and with my family, who doesn’t want to? But this time, I am going to my dream vacation.. alone.
I honestly don’t know if that thrills me, excites me, or scares me, but one thing is for sure, I have to go to this place.
Never thought that it will come true this early but yes, I will be going to the land of rolling hills and greens, BATANES!
I can still imagine the time I booked this trip. PAL had a seat sale last year and since I was not feeling sleepy yet, I tried checking a trip to Batanes. And luckily, after hours of booking, I never thought I would tick book and actually pay for the flight!
Thanks for the P3,042 roundtrip fare, PAL! Love kita!
THE BIG ‘HOWEVER’
So here goes the big ‘however’.
Like most of you as well, ta daaa! I still don’t have cash for my trip because I used it for our house in Cavite so we can move in already. Huhu but Haha!
We are not wealthy enough to go from places to places but I realized that a single dream can go beyond a thousand excuses.
And traveling is not just for the yayamanins, okay? We just have to plan and save.
Anyway, as much as possible, I don’t want to borrow money for this that’s why I am making this list on how I can make this Batanes dream vacation a reality and this is for you too, reader! 🙂
Read also:
PS: If you have other ideas, please don’t hesitate to share it with me by commenting below. Thank you!
10 Ways to Save Money for Your Travels
As mentioned above, I was not born wealthy and traveling for me before is a luxury. That it is just for the rich kids. And then TravelBook and the blogging world exposed me to a whole new different mindset. That anyone can actually travel if she/he has the right mindset.
So, here are just some of the ways we can do to save money for our travels. I highly suggest though that if you don’t have an emergency fund yet, better check on that as well.
1. Know how much you need to save
Of course before saving for a trip, you need to know how much you need to save for your dream vacation. Do you need P30,000? P20,000 pesos? P10,000?
You can’t actually determine a number if you don’t do your assignment – research.
TO DO:
- Make an itinerary listed with estimated expenses
- So this depends on what kind of vacation you want to have, how many months before the grand dream vacation, and on how many nights is your dream vacation.
- In my case, since I already have a round trip fare, I just need to know how much will it cost me for my tours, food, and lodging in Batanes for 9 days and 8 nights.
- I researched and still researching for my itinerary
- I suggest that you make the itinerary using google sheet because you can edit this anytime, anywhere. Just make sure you have an internet.
- So this depends on what kind of vacation you want to have, how many months before the grand dream vacation, and on how many nights is your dream vacation.
Personally, my estimated budget for my Batanes trip is P11,000 for 9D8N but will try my best if I can lower this amount. I have also started listing my itinerary in google docs sheet. Like my page here if you want to stay updated for this dream vacation. 🙂
2. Budget your money
Okay, guys.. You still need to budget your money even if you don’t have an upcoming trip, okay? If this is your first time to make one, I hope you’ll do this religiously ever if you don’t have a trip. You need to have one so you’ll know if you can cut on some expenses and for you to allocate your money effectively and efficiently.
TO DO:
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- Make a budget today! Grab a pen and paper, list your expenses, and income and assign amount on each category (food, transportation, rent, etc). Remember the golden rule thought. SAVINGS = INCOME – EXPENSES and not the other way around.
- I’m including a 50-30-20 Budget tracker here inspired by savingspinay.ph. This works for me and maybe for you too!
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3. Stick to your budget and track your expenses daily
Now that you have a monthly budget already, next step is to stick to your budget and track your expenses.
From here, you should really be focused to stay on track and not to splurge on things that you don’t really need.
TO DO:
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- Use the envelope budgeting system. This one helped me so much!
- Download an expense mobile app to track your expenses or you can also track by manually writing it down in a small notebook.
- Currently using iSaveMoney app on android.
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So now that you already know how much you need for your dream vacation and you already know how to budget your income, here are some extra sidelines and tips on how you can make your dream vacation come true.
4. The Invisible Money Challenge
This is actually a technique I have been doing but I always fail to achieve. You will be putting aside specific money (20, 50, 100, 1000 peso bill, 10, 5 peso coin) for your trip and will regard it as invisible money.
TO DO:
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- Decide the specific amount of money that you want to be invisible for your dream vacation.
- I tried the 20 peso bill invisible challenge but I think I need to shift to P50. Pray for me! Haha!
- Set a coin bank at home or a savings account dedicated for your travel
- Every week, I plan on transferring to my travel savings account para less temptation. Mahirap na. Haha.
- Never ever use this for other type of expenses
- Never use this money for your skin care or make up buys! No. No. No. Learn how to discipline yourself and forget that you have this money for awhile. You’ll thank yourself after. I promise.
- Decide the specific amount of money that you want to be invisible for your dream vacation.
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5. Sell Your Unused Things
I am positively sure that you have tons of things at home or in your apartment that you don’t plan in using anytime soon. What to do? Sell them!
TO DO:
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- Check all your clothes, books, kitchenware, anything that you don’t need anymore and and sell them to friends and even strangers! If you are planning to do this from time to time, you can use these platforms to sell:
- Carousell
- Shopee
- Facebook Page
- Check all your clothes, books, kitchenware, anything that you don’t need anymore and and sell them to friends and even strangers! If you are planning to do this from time to time, you can use these platforms to sell:
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6. Sell Yelo and Ice Candy
I know it’s already rainy season while I’m writing this. But hey, still, if you have a refrigerator at home, go and make yelo and ice candy! Titila din ang ulan eventually. Haha!
Let your family know why you are doing this and for sure they will support you on this as well.
TO DO:
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- Talk to your family. Let them know the reason why you want to do this.
- And of course, know how to make ice candy!
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7. Earn Extra Cash Online
Your skills can turn into cash online!
Whether you love writing, designing, or if you have a knack in social media marketing, you can actually earn from it by doing part time jobs.
Sign up to different online work sites and look for a job that you can deliver:
Or if you love traveling, you can also sign up for a travel company’s referral program just like TravelBook’s wherein you can get referral fees when you refer TravelBook.ph’s hotels, tours, and activities to your friends and get up to 65% referral rate.
You can also use your referral code even in your own bookings! Talk about cashback! You can sign up here.
Yes, earning online is totally possible!
8. Solicit Cash From your Aunts, Uncles, Ninangs, and Ninongs
I know, I know!
Maybe you’re thinking what will they say because you already have a job and all that. But, why not try? Haha!
I honestly don’t know if this will work because this will be the first time I’ll try this on my Batanes trip but I want to do this. Hahaha. But possible, right?
TO DO:
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- Just try to ask but don’t get mad if they won’t give you. Okay? Haha! At least you tried. *wink*
- Oh, don’t forget to ask a small amount from your Mama and Papa too! Just a small amount please.
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9. Set up a savings account for your dream vacation and set an automatic money transfer
One of the things that I wish I did last year is to set a separate account for me and my Mama’s travels. Starting this year, I am planning to take my Mama on a vacation, inside or outside the country that’s why I am planning to open a bank account and request for an automatic transfer of money.
This will greatly help in your future travels. Just make sure that you still prioritize your savings rather than your travel fund!
TO DO:
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- Ask your bank that your current company is using for your salary (assuming that you are an employee) if they do auto-transfer.
- If yes, open an account solely for your travel fund
- Request for an auto-transfer of a specific amount
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Currently, I am using my then salary account from the Robinsons Bank. But I am already planning to open in Metrobank since we are using this bank for our salary.
10. Tell people about your dream vacation
..and how you will achieve it. Declare that you will be going there on these travel dates. Ask for suggestions to people who have gone to your dream place already. Ask for some tips, what to do, how to save, what are the things that they love about the place.. Tell people about your dream and for sure, this will fuel excitement and focus in helping you reach your dream vacation.
I am a firm believer that as much as God wants us to use our time wisely, He also wants us to enjoy living here on Earth. He made these beautiful places as a manifestation of His love for us that He wants us to also enjoy and marvel on these beauties.
Who’s going to Batanes this September? Let me know so we can share tour expenses.
Do you have tips on how to save money for your travels? Hope you can share below. We want to know too! 🙂
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