The truth is, traveling can be expensive and many people think that they can’t afford it. But that is not true. Sure, maybe you can’t afford that luxury Hawaiian vacation, but there are always alternatives, and trust me, they can make you just as happy. You just need to learn how to travel within your means. I’m going to teach you exactly how we do it. By the way, this is coming from someone who once believed that they couldn’t afford to travel.
So here it is guys. Our ultimate guide on how to travel on a budget. I promise to include every tip and trick we have up our sleeve.
How to Travel on a Budget
Determine your travel budget
First things first, how much can you afford to spend on a trip? Before every single trip we take, we sit down and look at our finances. In order to see our finances as a whole, we created a spreadsheet (We update the spreadsheet monthly). This spreadsheet lists all of our bills, income, savings account… You could use an app like Mint instead of creating a spreadsheet to make things easier on you. Then we will list out any possible expenses that may be coming our way in the near future and determine a travel budget we can afford. By afford, I mean, you can pay for it without creating more debt.
What if you can’t afford to travel?
Some of you are going to realize that your monthly expenses are more than your income. It’s ok. We were there once too. But I highly suggest that before you travel, you lower your monthly expenses. You don’t really want to add to your debt, do you?
How to cut back on monthly expenses
- Cut your grocery budget
We found we were overspending on groceries. Even though we had a surplus of groceries in our house, we still went grocery shopping the next week! We found Jordan’s method very helpful. - Stop with frivolous spending (eating out, Starbucks, unnecessary clothing…)
Before you make an unnecessary purchase, ask yourself, do I want this more than I want to travel? All of those frivolous purchases add up to hundreds of dollars over time. How many bills could you have paid off with the money spent on unnecessary items? - Replace your cable with 1 cheap streaming service
Cable is so expensive these days. Get rid of it and replace it with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or Sling. Only choose one! We are trying to save money not keep our expenses the same. Here is a free trial to Amazon Prime.
*Check with your cell phone provider to see if they are offering a streaming service free with your plan. For example, some Sprint packages come with Hulu and Verizon has packages that include Disney+. - Switch cellphone providers or lose the smartphone
We recently made the switch from Verizon to Sprint. Doing that alone saved us quite a bit of money. That being said, our reception is not the best. If you don’t want to lose out on reception, lose the smartphone. Switching to a basic phone could cut your phone bill in half. This alone could save you hundreds of dollars.
We just recently switched our cellphone provider again, saving us even more money. We now use Visible by Verizon. It is only $25 per line if you have 4 people and includes unlimited everything. Taxes and fees are also included in the $25. It is such a good deal. Once I’ve used it for a while, I’ll update this post to let you know about our experience.
Travel & what it means
The definition of travel is to go from one place to another, typically over a distance of some length. If you notice, it doesn’t specify a specific distance or even say that one must leave their own state or city. Even the definition of vacation doesn’t specify one must travel to a land far away. It states that a vacation is an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or traveling.
This means we need to simply re-think our definition of travel. And that leaves so many travel opportunities for people with little to no money.
Free or cheap vacation ideas to do in any city
- Hike
Use All Trails to look up some incredible trails nearby. I bet you’d be amazed by some of the places near you. One of my favorite trails ever is 5 minutes from my house. There are no waterfalls or mountains but it’s beautiful and unique. - Be a local tourist in your town
Research why people visit your town & do the activities that are free. You’d be amazed at how many free activities you’d find in your city. - Camp
Use this website to look up FREE camping near you. If you don’t have camping gear, ask friends and family or check second-hand stores. - Stay with family
If you have family or friends who live in a place of interest, ask if you can visit. - Day trip
Day trips allow you to explore places a little further away without the expense of a hotel. We are lucky to have the city of Chicago only a few hours away. This allows us to be able to explore the city without a huge cost.
How to Find a Destination That Fits Your Budget
Now that you’ve figured out how much money you can spend on your vacation. You’re going to need to determine what destinations will fit into your budget. We start this process by asking each family member these 2 questions.
What kind of vacation are you interested in ( National Parks, Beach, Camping, City…)?
and
What are your top destinations and why?
We then open an excel spreadsheet, give each destination a section, and start listing out everything we’d like to see and do under each destination. You will also want to include a section for the cost of accommodations, food, gas, airfare… Now you can start pricing everything out. We start by guessing the biggest expense for our destination. This might be hotel, airfare, rental of an RV…
For example
Hawaii– We live in Michigan, so right off the bat, I can see airfare being a costly problem. So, I’d look into the cost of airfare to Hawaii for our family of 4.
or
Florida– We would opt to drive from Michigan (we prefer driving and it’s cheaper). Most likely our biggest expense would be hotels. So we would start by researching the cost of hotels.
After doing this for each destination, you might realize that some of the destinations are already going to be too expensive. If that is the case, nix them and continue pricing out the other destinations. After you’ve thoroughly priced out every destination on your list, let the family vote between the destinations that fall within your budget. If nothing falls in your budget, look for cheaper accommodations, take out some of the activities, and reduce the cost of your food…
Be thorough when pricing out destinations. If you are going to go camping and don’t have any gear, include the expense to purchase all your gear.
Helpful Resources We Can’t Live Without
Accommodations- We love and swear by HiltonHonors, but when we want to stay someplace different, we use Hotels.com. You can search for deals on hotels, cabins, houses & more.
Getting There- Roadtripping with our car is how we prefer to travel. That being said, Skyscanner has great deals on flights and RVShare has deals on RV rentals.
Other Favorites-
Save money on gas- Upside
Find pit stops on your route- RoadTrippers
Deals on local food & attractions- Living Social
Explore top city attractions at a fraction of the price- CityPASS
Looking for gear? See the best deals on clothing & gear here, & best travel essentials here.
Looking for road trip food ideas? Check out food for road trips you’ll love.
Learn how to travel on a budget.
See the best hiking apps
Tips for traveling on a budget
Use a Rewards Credit Card
There are so many different types of travel cards so make sure that you do your research and find the one that works best for you. Remember that what works best for someone else may not be the best for you. Getting a highly coveted credit card that offers cheaper flights isn’t going to help you if you prefer to road trip. The same can be said for getting a travel card that accumulates free hotel rooms when you prefer camping.
If you are going to do a reward card that charges a fee, I highly recommend doing the math to figure out if the card is really going to benefit you. We tried out 2 different cards before settling on our favorite Hilton Amex. This card doesn’t have a fee and gives us points toward Hilton hotels. This card works for us because our biggest expense when traveling is our hotel stays. Using this card typically cuts our trip costs in half by saving us hotel costs.
Some travel perks to look for when considering a travel credit card are:
-Free accommodations
–Free flights
–Free rental cars
–Free travel insurance
Skip the restaurants
One of the best ways to cut back on spending money while on vacation is to pack a cooler with your own food. If you can’t bring a cooler with you opt to buy groceries at a local market or grocery store. If you want to eat out choose local restaurants with local cuisine. Eating food that is easily accessible in your destination will be more affordable.
If you book a hotel, opt for one that has free breakfast. Getting even 1 free meal a day can save a lot of money.
Set a souvenir budget
We allow our kids a set amount of money to purchase a souvenir. If they want something more costly, they need to pay the rest.
Travel during off-season
If you have a flexible schedule you can save a lot of money by avoiding high season. Off-season varies by area but it’s safe to say school breaks, holidays, & summer are all going to have higher rates. Traveling during the off-season also means fewer crowds. Depending on where you are headed, you may even have your desired location to yourself.
Keep track of spending
It’s easy to spend more money than you planned while on vacation. Check your statements (debit card, credit card, cash) nightly to make sure you are sticking to your budget.
Book last-minute deals
Booking last-minute deals can save a ton of money. Companies will fill their vacancies by slashing their prices. Unfortunately, last-minute deals don’t work for everyone as you must have a very flexible schedule.
Travel with friends & family
If you are able to travel with someone, you can split the cost of the hotel room, rental car, and gas. It’s a great way to cut your travel expenses in half.
Use a budget airline
Budget airlines offer some of the best deals on plane tickets saving you a bunch of money. But beware of extra fees. What may be free with other airlines may cost money with a low-cost airline.
Be open to flying out of a different airport
Sometimes you can score a better deal on airline tickets by flying out of an airport that may be a little further away. Before you purchase that cheap flight, make sure you factor in the cost of getting to the not-so-convenient airport.
Bring your own reusable water bottle
Why spend money on something when you can get it for free? Bringing a reusable water bottle with you means you can get free water from water fountains, sinks, or anywhere else that has water.
Avoid taxis
Another great way to save money is to avoid taxis & Ubers when possible. Instead, opt for public transportation which is typically less expensive. That being said, the cheapest way to get around is to walk. So save yourself money and walk whenever possible.
Look for free things to do in your destination
The best tip for budget travelers is to look for free things to do. Many museums & zoos offer free entry. Free admission may only take place on specific days so be sure to look it up in advance so that you can plan accordingly. Some cities offer FREE walking tours which is a great way to explore. If your destination doesn’t offer that, plan your own!
Our favorite cheap places
Some of our absolute favorite travel destinations have been surprisingly affordable. They are St. Louis, Shawnee National Forest, & chasing waterfalls in New York.
It’s tough when all you want to do is travel the world & you are on a tight budget. By adjusting your priorities, redefining what travel means to you, cutting back on frivolous expenses, and following our method, you’ll be traveling in no time.
Now you know all you need to know about how to travel on a budget.
How do you travel on a budget? Let us know your best money-saving tips in the comments.
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