You don’t need to be rich to travel but you do need to be smart. Smart about what you spend your money on, and smart about prioritising what’s important in your life right now.
All throughout our lives, our financial priorities change constantly. We start by saving pocket money for the latest gadget, sporting good or piece of clothing. Then we move on to saving for college, saving for fun and holidays, for our first car, and if we’re lucky for our first house.
Once we have kids, there are so many more bills to pay, and often less money coming in, which means usually it’s the stuff that makes our lives amazing such as vacations, is what disappears first.
So how do we afford to travel?
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For our family, every year is different, but no matter what, we have learned the benefits of making travel a priority. All the essentials in life come first like food, water, and shelter, but we know from experience that when things are really tough financially, this is the time you most need to get away.
Some years when money was seriously tight in our house, I became very good at cooking cheap cuts of meat and being creative in the kitchen to significantly reduce our food costs. We used less electricity, didn’t eat out, and made do with what we had. When it came to holidays, we visited friends and family around Australia, and if we saved enough we could rent a cheap apartment at the beach during the off-season. It wasn’t grand but it gave us the break we needed without putting us further into debt.
Over the years we have learned to save on everyday things like groceries, fuel, and electricity. I make good plunger coffee, so I won’t be as tempted to buy takeaway coffee. I make dinner in bulk, so I can freeze it for all those times when I just can’t be bothered cooking.
I say no a lot to the kids requests for new electronics, toys, treats etc and I love that they now understand and accept my saying no because they get how awesome travelling as a family really is.
Every family is different which you can tell from the experiences of these 10 parents from around the world who travel A LOT with their kids.
Sally saves around $5000 a year by changing where she buys groceries, while Kellie’s family saves a lot of time and money by not doing middle school competitive sports. Some parents use free flights from travel hacking, while others are great at seeking out amazing deals.
What ideas will you use to save for your next trip?
“Our love of travel has found me finding ways to save money on daily expenses to free up funds for more travel. The most expensive cost for our family of 5 has always been groceries. I had traditionally always shopped at Coles, as it is located closest to our home. I started to get upset when our weekly budget for groceries was pushing the $250-$280 mark.
“We are always asked how we manage to travel for the amount of time that we do. For us, it is very simple, but many people are confused by it. We make a constant choice…do we want it or do we need it. It was something that I struggled with for a long time, as most of my friends were constantly picking on our old house or our old cars. They didn’t understand that those choices worked for us, and helped us save to travel. We had a roof over our heads and we got from a to b. We also got holidays with our kids.
“We save money for travel by buying most of our things second hand. Most things that get cast out these days can easily go another round, and buying second hand is generally much cheaper. Not to mention that pre-loved products are more sustainable and eco-friendly.
This next one is for our North American readers, but others can adapt it to the loyalty programs in their country.
“We have credit cards associated to rewards programs: one for an airline and another for hotels. You can pay your property taxes with a credit card, that midnight call to the plumber, and when you need 35 stays or flights to maintain Elite Status, reaching a certain cash value on your credit card helps maintain your position. But…this strategy must be managed.
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