Tips for saving for an overseas trip

Spring from little corners of the world and travel. Here are the best tips to try and help you go on your dream journey.

First step

Your first step is knowing your goal. You need to know where you want to go and visualise yourself there (it also works if you have a poster on your mirror or fridge somewhere in your line of vision). This will serve as motivation every time you have a hard day.

Next, you have to calculate your current monthly expenses and cancel what you can live without. Find a monthly sum and give yourself AUD200 extra for “phantom expenses”. This sum is your strict budget. When you receive a paycheck the difference goes right into your new travel saving account. This account is to be dormant until booking your flight tickets (some banks have the option of giving you no withdrawal access to your savings account, use it if need be). This will be hard but it will get easier when you see how much you are saving for your goal. If you do have an emergency use your credit card and pay it off with your next paycheck.

Necessary Cuts

1. Homebrew coffee: That daily AUD5 coffee costs you AUD1,800 per year, that’s two months in Southeast Asia.

2. Learn to cook: Use youtube and farmers markets instead of cooking classes and grocery stores. Plus, now you can paper bag lunch to the office.

3. Cancel cable: get a cheap unlimited internet package and stream.

4. Ditch your landline and downgrade your phone package.

5. Replace your light bulbs: use energy-efficient options.

6. Buy second-hand things, if you dollar-wise or Daiso).

7. Use coupons

8. Have a garage sale.

9. Skip the cinema

10. Stop drinking alcohol, smoking and snacking (the amount spent on these things especially clubbing nights is not worth missing a carnival in Rio).

11. Reading: go to the library or use a kindle.

12. Make homemade gifts.

13. Cancel subscriptions and memberships.

14. Charge your devices at work.

15. Brand vs. Generic: You can make compromises according to your standards.

Things you can do

1. Get a travel credit card: along with huge sign-up bonuses, when used properly they can give you freebies including hotel stays, flights and other travel needs.

2. Get a Charles Schwab account: they refund all your ATM fees and has no account fees.

3. Sign up for travel newsletters to get deals.

4. Build a network on Couchsurfing to get free accommodation during your travels.

5. Find a roommate to save on rent.

6. Earn extra money by Airbnb, Uber and other odd jobs.

7. Buy a water bottle, refilling saves a lot of dollars.

8. Grow your own herbs, fruits and vegetables.

9. Get a change jar.

10. Choose where & when you exchange your money

11. Don’t buy new things for your trip. Borrow from family and friends instead.