Everyone needs something to look forward to! Now that lockdown has ended (and hopefully over!) your next trip is right at the top of that list of things to look forward to. Here’s what we recommend for keeping within your own personal budget with your finances when travelling.
Here’s our guide to travel budgeting when you finally get to take your next trip:
- Do your homework. Researching what options you have is always step 1. There’s so much to explore online when planning your travels in this day and age. It’s best to start with your budget in place and prioritise what you want to splash out on. Do you value accommodation over your own personal spending money for shopping around? Or are you planning on doing some exploring and island hopping? Whichever you value the most is what you need to focus on when looking around for what to start with.
- Prioritise and Eliminate – Bucket lists for travelling and travel blogs are the way to go. If you have a long haul flight, your budget will be mostly spent on flights and less on accommodation and personal expenses. Which do you value the most when travelling? The ease of your daily exploration, or do you value more about leaving from an airport nearer to you with more leg room and first class lounges?
- Get Seasonal. Depending on your preferences for when it is suitable for your travels, you are best to decide which is the best time of year for particular destinations that you’ve had your eye on. It is definitely an essential factor to consider if you are wanting to save some money for your travel plans.
- Accomodation when you are on a tight budget: Hotels or hostels? AirBnB or couch surfing? If you are working with a tight budget when travelling, for your next trip it would be the ideal time for you to try something new and see what you can save on when it comes down to your accommodation.
- Clear your cache! This really is a golden tip and an insider guideline for a trick of the trade when it comes to buying flights online. Delete browsing history and all your cookies. If a site detects you are a returning visitor then it knows you’ve already been checking them out. By using incognito or experimenting with different browsers, you will see differences in prices! It can also detect if you are mobile browsing or from a desktop or laptop version and can even differentiate on desktop versions via apps. The variations can be rather significant and can make a huge difference in savings.
- Always get travel insurance for your trip and ensure they are appropriate for your trip. It goes without saying that this can make a huge difference and for your own personal reassurance, you will definitely want to be covered. Part of taking control of your own personal finances is taking control of things on a broader scale, and you never know where your adventures could take you or what circumstances you will find yourself in. By getting insurance before you take off, it’s a huge sigh of relief that you’re covered.
These are just a handful of our suggestions for how to optimize your budget and stretch it out to covering your needs. Travelling, whether it’s for business or pleasure, it’s always a bonus if you are saving some money. Think ahead about what you want to spend more on and where you can afford to cut back.
Millennial Genie 