What’s the next place on your bucket list?
Do you feel stressed and ready to just jet away somewhere? Then that b word comes in… BUT you have to work?
If you have the travel bug like I do too after going to Borneo with a great friend last year which was the last destination for her on a 3 month sabbatical, she had a lot of incredible stories and photos that really impacted me. She is a successful, corporate career girl at one of the big banks and one of her biggest passions is travelling.
So, what did she do to pull her 3 months off?
- Took her lunch everyday for 6 months
- Saved up by not buying any clothes or extras in life as she knew that the money saved was going to be spent on something that will give far more long term memories than a fun night out.
- She borrowed clothes when she had a fancy event to go to.
- She went camping as mini breaks through a year of not using any leave or money in the lead up.
- She planned her trip 1 year out so she could get the best deals.
Now, she is a great planner down to the minute detail of what to do at each location. I’m not like that when it comes to travel. I haven’t researched everything to the last minute as I am happy to leave some things up to the day and chance.
So what are my suggestions when it comes to getting yourself setup to travel where you want to:
- Open a travel savings account
If you have no budget for your holidays, you’ll always feel guilty when you travel. Without that pot of allocated cash to draw from, you’ll be forced to pay for vacations from your savings, your credit card or your latest pay check.
Then you feel guilty and under financial pressure which means you won’t be able to enjoy yourself when you are over there nor when you return because you will be paying the trip off.
- Travel with intention.
Be clear on what you want to get out of your holiday. You can enjoy the luxuries and fancy things that you see on Instagram and in Conde Nest Traveller mag on a smaller budget than George Clooney. If you want to indulge, then think about staying a little out of the main town in a cheaper place, then spend the splurge money on dining at the fancy places, or hiring that gorgeous wooden speed boat for a tour of Lake Como instead of the public ferry.
Forget what people say you ‘should’ do and do what makes you feel great.
- Find other ways to make the trip happen
When you know your goals, you know when opportunities that will support achieving them are right before you. I had that same thing occur when I was at a charity auction and there were Qantas points for sale (Yes only 2 drinks in and I put my hand up for ½ million Qantas points! I split it with a guy I was bidding with and bingo, there was my return airfares to this trip I’m on now, to Europe. I knew that was going to be a cheaper way to achieve my goal to go business class to Europe by using (and in this case buying) Qantas points. Outcome: I ONLY needed these points and got business class return flights. WOW!
What about renting your apartment/house or car out while you are away, let that pay for some of your trip?
Can you post a message on Facebook to your friends to see who might have a house they need house sat in xxx area you are wanting to go to for xx dates?
Can you house swap with someone using a credible website that help you do that.
Can you use points to book accommodation?
Have you got a credit card and chosen it based on getting the most amount of points? I do this and change it about 1 x year. Each time, I get around 90-100,000 points which then when I add that to the points I get from my main expenses of everyday living (but make sure you pay off your cc every month) then you can pay for a lot more than you thought with points (car hire, perhaps the new suitcase you need to take away, upgrades on flights, hotels and more).
- Set a budget
How much do you want to spend per day?
If you have had the set pot of travel money, you will know what this budget is based on that. This means you can choose to swap around things that really matter and those that don’t. You don’t feel guilty choosing the luxe wooden private boat Lake Como tour vs the ferry because you bought food and cooked at home with wine you bought, for the last 2 days which saved you the same amount, for example.
You will come home feeling great and without the financial stress many others have.
Set your travel goals (which include all the actions in the lead up)
Have an amazing time!
Goal Kicking wishes to you!
X Ange