Master Your Travel Budget: Tips That Work

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They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in something, so maybe I’m not an official expert, but I would have to say I have valid experience when it comes to a travel budget.

Growing up, my parents always made sure I had clothes, food & shelter. I never knew if/when we were struggling, because they worked very hard to make sure whenever a sport required a team jacket or new equipment, I never went without. I never went without anything I truly needed for that matter.

When I first got a job in high school as a Little Caesars sign shaker, I began to understand the costs of things and sacrifices needed to afford things like gas or meals. However, the real makeup call was during college when I was working as a barista for minimum wage + tips to self-fund rent, utilities, food, sorority dues, and other college festivities, as my parents forced me to become self-sufficient once I turned 18 (and thank god for that.)

Now fast forward four years out of college, with student loans that are never ending, a car payment and many other bills – there have been times throughout my early 20s when I thought I’d never be able to afford another trip (spoiler alert: I have traveled, a lot.) I can honestly say the last four years have taught me how to budget, and find a budget plan that works for me. Traveling regularly has been my twisted form of meditation and how I stay grounded.

As someone who’s watching people my age get married, have babies, and enter a phase of life where there’ll be more responsibilities and stagnancy, I’ve reflected on how important it has been for me to travel while I’m young and can be selfish with my time and money. All this to say, you don’t need a ton of money to travel. The important thing is just to go. You can get money back but you can’t get that young and selfish stage of your life back.

Sooooo all of this monalogue is to preface the simple fact that if I can do it, you can do it. Beyond that, I’m tired of leaving it to that one sentence. Instead, I want to dedicate this next portion on HOW to do it. 

**I want to preface that just because these things work for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you. We all have different interests and things we’re willing to cut out for other things, so I don’t want it to sound like I’m standing on a soapbox judging you if you like to stop for coffee on the way to work or get your nails done. There are things I do that many of you will think is wild to spend money on, and that’s okay. Some of these saving tips may not be for you, and that’s okay. But if you really want to know how I travel so much, here’s the inside scoop. The scoop is these six guidelines.

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Spending is a mental game.

Spending is a mental game. What do I mean by that? It means we as consumers are easily tempted by product placement, flashy branding, and convenience. It means going into the store for bananas and coming out with chapstick, a new laundry basket, and a soda, forgetting the bananas. A $3 purchase becomes $60. So how do I prevent this? By only going to the grocery store once a week. On the weekend I make my list, go to the grocery store, and won’t return until the following weekend. ?But Lex, what happens if you forget an ingredient for a meal?” Simple: I google replacement ingredients. If I need brown sugar for a recipe and forget to grab it, I mix my regular sugar with some syrup, or make something different with the ingredients I have. I don’t allow myself to go back to the store and be a victim to consumerism. This drives my spouse absolutely insane, but in the end we easily save $50-200 a month by abiding by this rule. 

A positive side effect of the rule has been being very thorough with our grocery lists and intentional with meal planning, which leads into my next guideline.

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Plan your meals

I can’t even fathom how much money this has saved me over the years. I’ve watched people order $10-20 for one lunch more than once a week, when that’s relatively what I spend on lunches for the whole 5-day work week. There’s no judgment on buying lunches if that’s what brings you joy, this is just my personal experience. (To my coworkers reading this, your lunches always smell delicious haha.) Making and planning my meals is just personally what I’ve grown to love about my routine. This has allowed me to save money while having lunches that are very balanced and healthy to match my fitness goals. With that being said, when we make our grocery list for the week, we plan out: breakfast, lunch meal prep for the weekdays, and 3-4 dinners. This leaves room for a dinner for leftovers and a dinner for date night. The last few months we’ve been experimenting with creative and expensive recipes, but our food budget has stayed the same. You can check out some of our favorite recipes here. Believe it or not our budget for the week is anywhere from $100-180 for two people. Here’s an example of a recent week:

Within this food budget, we buy organic meats, most organic veggies, and even the $6 dozen free range eggs. We don’t skimp out on anything other than limiting processed snacks and drinks. The ingredients needed for this week’s menu came out to be about $130 total, or $65 per person (we already had a few things like rice, potatoes and seasonings needed.) One big thing we also like to do is go for deals and items on sale that week. For example, we originally had on our Monday menu pork chops, but the steak was on sale so we capitalized on that opportunity. Over time, you also can think of recipes that pair well together in a week to reduce waste, like if you have tomato sauce but the recipe doesn’t require the full can, or if you want to make macaroni cheese and can pair that for two nights, etc. Like anything, practice makes perfect. I like to keep a note on my phone that keeps track of what we’ve done for inspiration.

Sunday is then for recharging and meal prep. I’ve grown to look forward to putting on my favorite playlist or tv show on my phone, lining up my glass meal prep containers, and carving out a couple hours to cook up a storm. Loading up the containers for the week and organizing the fridge shelves is rewarding and has eliminated the Sunday scaries for me, as I feel prepared and less overwhelmed in having one less thing I have to worry about.

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Find cheap fun

The reason this guideline even makes sense for me, is because my priority is to travel as much as I can. This reason alone has basically transformed my thought process on what I like to do in everyday life. I don’t find too much enjoyment in going out to eat (I like food but not a foodie), or meeting up for drinks, going to buy dessert, etc, but that’s just me. Over the last few years, I’ve prided myself in finding fun in my daily life for basically no expense (dog sitting actually earned me money while enjoying time with pups.)

The way I have found fun in the last few years that has cost me next to nothing is as follows:

1. Making coffee at home. I can always look forward to making a tasty beverage for the day without paying someone else to make it. We recently purchased a Breville espresso machine, so I can make my favorites at home. I have a list of everything we bought to make it easy. Pro tip: buy your beans at a local coffee shop so you can still support local.

2. Weekly game night with friends. We take turns hosting and cooking dinner, while the other brings a game to play. Every other week this is cost free and breaks up the work week. If you’re new to board games, I have a list of our favorites. If games aren’t your thing, maybe an activity. I hosted a candle-making night, and it was a blast!

3. Going outdoors. To be honest, living in Colorado has made a huge advantage of finding fun too, as hiking, camping, fishing, and just being outside can be relatively free. One weekend a month during summer we find ourselves camping somewhere new, and it’s just a mini travel experience.

4. Reading. I know this isn’t for everyone, but I signed up for a library card and have been on a reading frenzy. I had to throw this out there. I was gifted a kindle two years ago, connecting my library card, and have not paid for a book since. Sometimes I may have to be on waiting list for a popular book, but that’s not a big deal.

5. Experimenting with cooking. We’ve loved having date nights at home and trying new meals. It feels rewarding and gives us another new meal to cook for friends we have over for our game nights! It’s also pretty gratifying to get better at a skill, all while helping your budget travel goal.

6. Finding deals around you. Knowing that your neighborhood bowling alley has a deal on Tuesdays or movie theater does popcorn discounts on Thursdays can help you still get out of the house and create experiences, while balling on a budget. Just because you’re saving money for your travel budget, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at home!

7. Opting for a coffee date over dinner date. I love trying new coffee spots with creative lattes, and it’s cheaper than dinner! An added bonus is if I liked the shop, I usually buy a bag of beans to use for my coffee machine at home

I didn’t create a love for all of these activities overnight, but now I can’t imagine not gravitating towards these experiences. Sometimes it takes an extra step to save money, but if you have a goal to see the Eiffel Tower or swim with dolphins before the next year, then the extra steps can be worth it.

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Travel credit card

Capital One Venture – If you truly want to have a way to earn rewards for travel and while traveling, get a credit card that has travel perks. I first went with Capital One Venture card, and quickly earned 88,000 miles. This translates roughly to $880 in perks. We used these miles to reimburse one of our airplane tickets to Europe! You can earn points for groceries, gas, and booking travel related purchases. I just use it and pay it off every time. This card also covers the application fee for either TSA precheck or Global Entry, which finally me to apply, so I call that a win too!

Airline credit card – Since we live in Denver, I am extremely loyal to United Airlines. I upgraded from the Capital One card to the United Quest card. With this card, there’s an annual $200 United travel credit, free first and second checked bag, priority boarding, and more. You earn 3x miles on United purchases and 2x miles on any other travel and dining. Choose any United MileagePlus® credit card that is right for you. I can be rewarded too if you apply here and are approved for the card. Thanks in advance!

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Set travel budget goals

You’re probably thinking, ?How can setting travel goals help my budget?” Well, the answer is simple. When I sit down each new year and write down places I want to go, it becomes a tangible, out-in-the-universe goal. For me, once I say it out loud, it’s like I have to achieve it. From there we make our travel budget, and how much money we need to save each month towards travel.

Once I do this, I am subconsciously aware of my travel goals, and this comes into play in my everyday life. If I’m thinking of being lazy and wanting to go buy a coffee, I think of sipping a coffee in Italy like I planned, and it fuels me to save money for my travel budget. Further than that, I can research these places and plan which time of year is best for each place. I can track flights with the hopper app. I can ask friends if they want to go too, which can lower the cost of the airbnb; the list goes on and on. 

This past year my travel goals were to: travel to Europe, have a family vacation, see the Tetons, visit my friends on the east coast. It’s now July as I write this, and I’ve accomplished two of these four goals: Europe, and friends on the east coast. All while sticking to our travel budget.

Oddly enough, my family vacation will double as ANOTHER Europe trip, and I get a bonus family vacation with my partner’s family as well. As for the Tetons, we have family visiting us in Colorado, and will adventure with them to complete the final goal of the year. I’d be lying if this happens every year, but it can definitely help you stay focused.

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Create a staple wardrobe

There’s a reason this is last on my list. This is the newest guideline I’ve added to my budget, which is ironic because it’s cost me the most money besides my bills this past year, haha! Before I moved to Colorado, I was succumbing to the life of ?fast fashion.” Any upcoming event or trip would cause me to hop on websites like Shein to buy something cheap, knowing very well I’d wear maybe twice, and because of how cheap the prices are, I’d blink and my cart would be filled with 10-20 things I just didn’t need. When I started educating myself on what ?fast fashion” was and the damaging effects it has on the environment, I knew I needed to stop. 

After some research, I discovered the best thing that worked for me was to develop a color pallet closet. This means I picked 3-5 colors that I loved to wear, went through my closet and sold off/donated the rest of the clothes in my closet that weren’t in my color pallet. I’ve then spent the last year investing in pieces that I can wear for years that won’t fade, rip, or go out of style. I now look at my closet and have less clothes, but have way more outfits that can be pieced together.

Now don’t let this fool you, when it comes to events or trips specifically, I still have that desire for something new. But these days that looks like getting a new hat or accessory that I can wear multiple times instead of a new outfit, or I can create a new outfit with the staple pieces already in my closet. (There’s also no shame in asking friends.)

This doesn’t limit what you can wear or buy, it simply helps create more combinations in your wardrobe, eliminates clutter, eliminates waste, and when you do shop, you’re more thorough with your decisions which also eliminates draining your bank account. Your travel budget will thank you!

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To summarize, these weren’t habits I formed overnight. This is a summation of many trials and errors to find what continuously works for me in order to fulfill my travel goals. As I plan for my sixth European trip, the second for this year, I can without a doubt say that it wouldn’t be feasible for me without this list I follow above on a regular basis. 

Maybe there are few of you out there that just had that classic ?light bulb” moment, where you’re already brainstorming your own personal list to try and save. Maybe for some of you, you may be judging and think I’m crazy. You may think these steps aren’t worth it.  At the end of the day, I feel that I’m walking proof that you can do all of these things while living a purposeful life, and saving towards your dream travel destinations. 

Again, this isn’t me on a soapbox saying if you don’t do these things, you’ll never get to travel. My only goal here was to be transparent on how I do things, so it can inspire you to navigate your own budget guideline to fulfill your goals. I hope to see some of you travel soon. xx