Saving to travel the world doesn't have to be made into something difficult! In fact, it can be quite the opposite. When you're saving for travel, it is exciting and rewarding because you're working hard to get to your dream destination and accomplish your goal of traveling the world. Traveling when you're a student is a unique opportunity that only comes around once in a lifetime. It’s an opportunity to meet people from around the world and learn from them. It’s an opportunity to experience things you would never experience in your everyday life. And it’s an opportunity to explore and discover new places.
With these tips, you’ll be on your way to Machu Picchu in no time!
However, with all these amazing opportunities and experiences that lie ahead, it’s important that you're disciplined in setting up the right habits to achieve your travel savings goals to travel the world as a student. You don’t want to fall behind on your studies and have to worry about it when you're traveling, right? Disciplined saving to travel the world will make sure you hit your goals. When you have a dedicated savings account for travel there is less temptation to spend money on other things. You put the money aside, watching it grow in the anticipation of your trip. It’s one of the most exciting parts about having a travel savings plan, watching it grow knowing you're one step closer to achieving your goal.
The seven steps below describe how you can successfully set up a travel savings plan.
How to create a travel savings plan
Step 1: Set up a dedicated savings account.
It’s important that you have a dedicated savings account for travel. The reason behind this is that if it is separate from your current account you're less likely to spend out of it. Remember that saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”? That is what you should want to achieve. People segment things into different categories.
Being able to segment your savings account and accept that you might have a bit less money to spend on other things in the month is a good thing! Your travel savings plan might not have immediate value but if you can wait six or seven months—or however long you plan to save—to travel the world you will be rewarded in leaps and bounds! So, do the right thing and set up a dedicated separate savings account for travel. Don’t be tempted by short term gains!
Step 2: Figure out when you want to travel.
You could even go old school, and use a piggy bank! ;)
Deciding on when you want to travel will influence how long you need to save to travel the world as a student. It can also be a money saving tip if you travel to particular countries during their low season, when prices are cheaper and less school kids and families are around. You should also do research around the best time of year to visit a particular country is. You don’t want to be visiting Thailand in their monsoon month and stay locked up in your hostel!
Pro tip: Give yourself at least 6+ months to save for your trip. So if you’re planning on traveling next summer, now’s a good time to start saving!
Step 3: Discover how much you need to save.
Doing some research on the destination you would like to visit can help you set a clear travel savings plan. When you're researching you need to explore how much your flights will cost, the cost of accommodation and a suggested budget for spending money. Another tip, know what type of traveler you are. Are you somebody who likes to stay in hostels or luxury hotels?
Someone who wings it or someone who wants planned itineraries with escorted tour guides to show you around the destination. Knowing what you like, or your travel persona, will considerably affect the amount you need to save to travel the world as a student.
Step 4: Decide how often you want to save.
To stay disciplined, like we discussed before, it is a good idea to know how often you will be depositing money into your savings account for travel. Do you get paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly? Putting money aside according to when you're paid is a top tip for setting a successful travel savings plan. It removes temptation to spend your travel fund on other things.
Make sure to do your research, and consider adding in a small cushion for unexpected expenses.
If you can stay committed to a set savings plan you will be well on your way to achieving your travel savings goal. Coupled with the rough dates of when you plan to travel you can calculate how much you need to save each period and enjoy, stress-free, spending the rest of your money on other things. Confident that you will reach your travel savings goal.
Step 5: Set up automatic payments.
Remember the “be disciplined” part? Automatic payments, or standing orders, will help you be disciplined and stick to your travel savings goal. Try to align the standing orders with your income when you set them up. Save first. Spend later. Another reason you want standing orders is because it will make the experience seamless and something, once set up, you don't need to worry about again. Easy right? Successfully saving for your dream trip doesn’t need to be difficult, in fact it can be quite fun. Watching your travel saving fund grow is extremely exciting and rewarding, knowing that you're putting the hard work to get yourself to your dream destination.
Pro tip: Once you standing order is set up, keep it there. :-) If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to withdraw money for any reason other than an emergency, ask yourself, “Do I really need that?”
Step 6: Reward yourself as you get there
Saving to travel the world is fun! You could learn a thing or two about yourself in the process and set even bigger travel saving goals in the future. It is important to reward yourself along the way. Celebrate the small wins like reaching milestones toward your travel savings goal. Go have a beer with your mates (from your spending money, not your travel savings account) and tell them how excited you're about your upcoming trip. You might inspire them to join you!
Your savings will grow in no time!
If you want to save every penny, dance by yourself and jump for joy because you know you’re that much closer to achieving your travel savings goal and taking yourself on a once in a lifetime experience, travelling the world as a student. Rewarding yourself also makes the process more real, keeping you engaged as you save for your trip.
Pro tip: Rewards don’t have to be monetary things, just something that you enjoy. You should be proud of yourself each time you reach a goal!
Want to make it easier? → Try Moneycado #travelsavingshacks
Nowadays there are new technologies that can help you achieve the 6 step process above and make it even easier. A few of them are using chatbot technology to allow the whole experience to fit seamlessly into your everyday life. You speak to the bot, let it know your travel plans and where you want to go and it does the rest for you. One of these new products is Moneycado.
Moneycado helps you to understand what destinations you might like by answering six simple questions and the reward is 3 personalized destinations you can add to your bucket list. Alternatively, if you know where you want to travel to, the app can help you discover how much you need to save to get there with their Trip Calculator. Once you have discovered your travel saving goal you can automatically start saving at a pace that suits you. The incentive for sticking to your savings plan—personalized travel rewards intended to make your trip even better!
Other travel saving tips to travel the world
- Birthday and Christmas presents, get friends and family to contribute. Christmas is around the corner and who needs another cookbook from Gran? Although we love Gran and her cooking tell her that contributing to your dream travel experience as a student will give you lifelong memories that sit up there with your memories of baking together. She’ll like that and you get a top up to your travel fund!
- Set up flight price alerts. Most flight booking websites have alerts which you can subscribe to. Set these up and stay up to date with the changes in price so you can lock it in at it’s cheapest point.
- Broaden your horizon and discover hidden gems. There are 193 countries on this planet. Of those 193 there are a few untouched gems. Places like Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, or Malawi (voted the most relaxed country in the world) where you can really discover something new. Visiting these countries also won’t break the bank as they are significantly cheaper than more popular destinations like Peru, Bali or Japan.
Saving to travel the world is a cinch
Let’s be real. We’d put all our money towards a view like this if we could!
If you follow our suggested seven step process, or use goals-based savings applications like Moneycado, traveling the world as a student becomes extremely easy, fun and rewarding at the same time.
Traveling is about putting yourself outside of your comfort zone and creating memories that last a lifetime. Get out there and explore, you never know who you might meet and what opportunities you will encounter!
This article was contributed by Moneycado. Moneycado was started by two guys, Oli and Matt, who had very similar experiences from travel. They want to make travel financially accessible. Oli and Matt want to create a new and fun way to save for your trip, and make the process behind it connected to the trip. They believe we should be rewarded for putting in the hard work to save money to travel the world.
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