Before you even begin to think that you cannot possibly save money or cut costs, stop. You can. It’s possible. First though, you need to ask yourself if travel is so important to you that you want to save money. Is the answer yes? If so, continue on!
Set up a travel fund
A piggy bank. A change jar. SOMETHING, ANYTHING so you can see how much you have saved. Your goal will be there and you can watch yourself get closer to it, which will only motivate you more.
Stop spending unnecessarily
You know that Starbucks you get every day (maybe even twice a day, if you’re really bad)? Cut back. Treat yourself once a week and put that $5 a day in a travel fund. One month without Starbucks = $150. Continue that for 6 months and you have round-trip airfare to Europe!
Limit your drinking
If you can’t go to the bar with your friends without ordering more than a few drinks, work on sipping your drink so it lasts longer and practice the art of pre-gaming. Beers at your house are about a quarter of the price of beers at bars, so you can drink twice as many for about half the price. LOGIC!
Attend free events
Chances are, there are some awesome, fun, and free events going on in your town and you don’t even know. Pick up a local paper, hit up your local chamber of commerce, or use everyone’s best friend, Google, to help you find things to do.
Go Out Less
Host a game night at your house, bust out those old board games or coveted N64, and tell your buds it’s BYOB.
Cook more and pack your own lunch.
Work on learning to make more than pasta or Cup of Noodles (you’ll be saving money and making yourself a hotter dating prospect- there’s no losing). Bonus points if you use coupons while grocery shopping. Put your pride aside and clip those coupons, or download an app with them. Just don’t get yourself on that crazy coupon show and never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.
Get a hobby that doesn’t cost any money.
nstead of heading to the mall on the weekend or going to the movies, take a hike, read in a park, gather your friends and have a pick-up game of kick ball. After all, the best things in life are free (well, travel aside).
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My last piece of advice: avoid Target at all costs. I don’t know what it is, but this store possesses a magical ability to make you spend $100 when you went in for a $3 toothbrush.