How to finance your travels

Traveling is, sadly, an expensive hobby. Unless you’re filthy rich, if you want to pursue this, you need to save up a lot of money to sustain this lifestyle. Though airfare has gone down dramatically over the years, and more budget-friendly transport and accommodation packages have sprung up, traveling can still take a chunk of your savings. Weekend trips can be as low as P2,000, but do it every weekend for a month, that adds up to P8,000 per month! The figure goes up dramatically if you plan on traveling overseas and even more so if you plan to travel for a long time.

Do not fret! Traveling is still possible even if you don’t have a trust fund to rely on. Here are some tips to get you going:

Get a job

Having a steady source of income really helps a lot. The five days in a week that you have to report to the office might be tedious, but it means you’re getting a paycheck at the end of the month. Pay your bills and debts before anything else, then set aside a small amount for your travel fund. Try to contain yourself and make do with what you’re left with until the next paycheck.

You can also aim for a job that gives you opportunities to travel. That way, it’s the company that pays for your ticket and accommodation. Of course, you’ll be working most of the time, but see if you can file a leave and change your return date so you can spend at least a day exploring the destination.

Learn to say no

Get ready to start saying no to some luxuries and indulgences. The daily frappucino may be essential to wake you up, but if you go for a cheaper alternative (or even start making your own coffee at home), you can save as much as P2,000 each month.

On the other hand, these small luxuries and indulgences makes you happy, so give yourself a treat every once in a while.

Go on a working holiday

Traveling in first-world countries is really expensive. That’s why in most countries, they encourage hiring travelers who wants to earn additional money to fund their travel. Unfortunately, you might be required to have a working holiday visa, and most of the time, this visa class isn’t open for Filipinos. But if you’re holding a passport of qualified countries, this is one thing you can look into.

Sell your possessions online

Look into your closet and ask yourself: Do I really need all these clothes? If the answer is no, start sorting out what you can and can’t live with and start selling them online or hold a garage sale. As the saying goes, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, so someone must be looking in vain for that blue sequined jumpsuit.

This doesn’t just apply to clothes – check every corner of your room or your house and see if there are things that you don’t really need. Not only are you earning extra money for your trip, you’re also getting rid of useless clutter.

Set up a registry

Celebrating a birthday or getting married soon? How about instead of setting up a registry in the usual shops, set up a different one: a travel registry.

Here’s how it works: you plan a trip and ask your friends and relatives to sponsor certain legs of the trip. Break the trip down into its basic components – flights, accommodation, activities, transportations, meals – so they wouldn’t be daunted at the thought of shouldering a huge chunk of your trip. Here’s an example:

Roundtrip flight to Bangkok – P10,000

2 nights at Bangkok hostel – P3,000

Chao Phraya dinner cruise – P1,300

Thai cooking class – P1,500

6 meals – P1,000

Transportation – P1,000

These are just some ideas to help you start saving for your big trip. With a little determination, hard work and some sacrifices, you’ll be jetting off to your dream destination sooner than you think.