Traveling more is always at the top of most people’s bucket lists, but many need help figuring out how to travel on a budget. Traveling is like therapy, and everyone should get a chance to explore new places and connect with new people. Money should never be the cause of anyone not getting to make new memories and experiences in new places. This blog post will share seven sensible ways to travel on a tight budget.

Save up

The first thing you want to start doing once you know where and when you’ll travel is to start saving money. If your trip is scheduled for six months, you have six months to save. The best thing for you to start doing is to ‘lose money.’ That means you act as if you’ve lost a specific amount of money each time you get paid. So let’s say you have a full-time job that pays you bi-weekly, then you’d need to ‘lose’ $100 every two weeks. If you do this consistently, by the time your trip rolls around, you’ll have $1,200 saved.

Find hotel deals

Don’t book directly with the hotel you plan on staying at. Instead, use an online travel marketplace that connects users with deals on hotels, flights, rental cars, and more. When you choose to book through sites like Booking and Expedia, you will surely get a better deal than booking with the hotel chain.

Nowadays, you have options. You’re not limited to just hotels. You can find amazing deals on accommodations using Airbnb and Vrbo. You could find a small house, apartment, or condo for half the price of a hotel room. It just depends on what you’re looking for.

Book flights early

Not only should you book your flights using a travel company, but to get the best deals, you need to book in advance. Do not wait until the last minute, or you’ll be sorry. Also, be sure to book round-trip. There’s nothing worse than waiting until the end of your trip to book your flight home. Not only do you risk not returning home in time, but flight prices are much higher the closer it is to departure.

Use cash

The best way to ensure you travel on a tight budget without spending too much is to only use cash while on vacation. Leave your debit and credit cards at home. When you only have cash, it ensures that you won’t overspend. When you have access to cards, you tend to swipe without thought, and then when your trip is over, you’re depleted and feeling buyer’s remorse.

Don’t eat up your cash

When traveling, don’t use all your cash up on food. Going grocery shopping and cooking some of your meals is ideal if you will be on vacation for 4-7 days or more. If you plan to do this, choosing the Airbnb or Vrbo route would be best to ensure you have a kitchen. It’s fine to eat out for lunch and try new places for dinner while on vacation, but you should only do it part of the time you’re there if you’re on a tight budget.

Split the costs

Of course, if you can split costs with others, it makes traveling on a budget easier. So, find some friends or family members who are down to travel with you. You all can split the costs and get a much better deal than traveling solo.

Earn while you travel

Lastly, if you are earning the entire time you’re on vacation, it makes spending less stressful. Having multiple passive income streams is the only way to earn while on vacation. Hopefully, you’ve already added some extra income streams to your life, but if you haven’t, here are some ideas to earn from anywhere:

  • Digital products — such as E-books, courses, memberships, printables, templates
  • Youtube ad revenue
  • Blog ad revenue
  • Affiliate income
  • Paid newsletter
  • Stock dividends

There are so many ways of making passive income nowadays. When you have money coming in all the time, no matter where you are or what you’re doing, traveling on a budget is much easier.

How much do you love to travel? What else would you add to this list? Leave a comment below!