T raveling is one of the most exciting and eye-opening adventures that a person can embark on. But people tend to stay away from it for the sole reason of money. Traveling can be quite cheap and it is not hard to do. One of the first steps to take before traveling is to save up money and figure out strategies to stretch your dollar farther. You can start by setting up a travel account and putting money into it each month. Here are some basic and easy tips to stock up your travel account for the adventure and holiday you’ve been dreaming of.
Cut Down on Entertainment
This is an area that everyone spends more than they need to. Try not to go to every new movie out that you want to see. Movie tickets cost around $12 now on a good day. $12 dollars can feed you for an entire day in a lot of countries! Take the money you might be spending on your cover to a club or a movie and put it into a travel account. Be true to yourself and don’t touch that account until you’re ready to jet set. But then what should you do for entertainment? Watch a movie on tv or dig into your DVD collection for something. You can also try meeting at a friends place or having your friends to your place instead of going to the bar. Doing these just a couple of times a month can quickly build up your travel account.
Look Into Rewards Cards
No matter how you look at it, you’ll have to spend every month on things like gas for your car and food for your well being. Look into credit cards and banks that offer airline miles as rewards. This is one of the best pieces of advice you can get for traveling. Many banks offer cards that have miles attached to them and give miles as rewards. To see exactly how many miles you could potentially earn each month check the aeroplan rewards and calculator that TD has to offer. Since you’ll be spending money already, put that spending to good use. You could easily earn over 1,000 miles a month in rewards. This can put you on a beautiful beach or up in the mountains somewhere in no time and at no additional cost to you.
Cut Down on Going Out To Eat
It’s easy to hop in the car and go out to your favorite restaurant. It’s even easier to order a pizza to the house. If you can cut down on spending money out on food your travel account will grow exponentially. The $14 Cesar Salad at a restaurant will cost you half as much to make at home and you’ll probably be able to get more than one meal out of it. Stick to simple and cheap meals for home cooking and you’ll be able to save more money than you realize.
Take all of these steps one step further and take the money your would be spending and put it directly into your travel account. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll be on the move!