Thinking about travelling to your dream destination or an epic trip round the world? You don’t need to be rich, but you’ll need to get creative about saving up money for travel. In this article, we’re sharing a few money-saving tips to help you achieve just that. By incorporating these good money habits in your day-to-day activities, you will soon be able to enjoy your dream vacation.

Track Your Monthly Savings

The most fundamental habit in saving for a trip is keeping track of your daily expenses. First, try to list down all your recurring monthly bills, as those are unavoidable. Next, create a travel budget sheet and write down all the neccessary check points like, flight tickets, accommodation, so on and so forth. Understanding how much you need for your trip will ultimately encourage you be to mindful of your daily spending habits. After accounting for all costs, take a look at the spending that you’re able to modify. For example, if your budget for monthly shopping is $200, you can start reallocating $100 from that budget into your travel one instead. Budget sheets allow you to monitor, and make adjustments accordingly. If you’re one who prefers to track your expenses via a financial management app, we’ve made a list of free financial apps you can download.

Reduce Unnecessary Spending

Although one of the most challenging aspects of saving money is cutting out unnecessary expenses, you’ll be surprised to how much you can save a month. While it may seem intimidating to save a huge amount in the beginning, you can start by taking small steps and work your way through to achieve a better financial state. For instance, list down your monthly recurring bills such as your gym membership, VOD subscriptions, phone bill, etc. Then, create a new list of your daily expenses that you think you can potentially cut off. An example would be, eating less at a restaurant, the daily cup of coffee you buy, and so on. Once you’ve cut out the potential expenses you don’t need, add them up. The total amount can be contributed to your travel budget.

Make Your Bookings Early

Another tip while planning for a budget trip is to make all your bookings ahead of time. Flights and hotel reservations can cost way more if you perform a last minute booking. Additionally, the extra tax charges that can add up quickly. A good way to look for cheap flights and accommodation is through comparison sites such as Bookings.com, Traveloka, and Google Flight search. Alternatively, you can sign-up for airline and comparison site newsletters as they often update you their latest promotions that you can take advantage of!

Stay Motivated!

Think about creative ways to help keep your goal in mind. It could be as simple as printing out a picture of your dream destination, or changing your phone’s wallpaper. The next time you’re thinking about food delivery or acting on a compulsive shopping spree, it could remind you to ask yourself if that “must-have” purchase is really worth chipping away at your dream destination budget.

Saving money begins with having the right mindset. This means that you will have to prioritise some financial goals over others. By practising the above suggestions and persevering towards your goals, you will be able to go on your ideal vacation soon. In short, think about it this way — dream vacation > weekends at bars.