I was recently asked how I afford to travel so much after having a conversation with an old friend on my recent travels over this past year. Quite honestly, I get this question asked frequently. It’s usually with a snarky or passive aggressive undertone or comments such as “you’re going on another trip” or my favorite, “how do you have that much money to travel”. While I know most people mean well, it really can be quite aggravating. It’s not like I’m over here asking people what they do with their money or question why they spent 70k on a new truck. We all have different priorities and the way you prioritize your life is going to allow you to do the things that you most desire.
Yes, you really can take that trip, and yes, you really can afford it! It’s not a secret and I call it the three P’s; priorities, planning and preparation. I breakdown each P below to understand how you can afford that trip you’ve wanted to take in three easy steps.
Step 1 – Priorities
The saying goes “you can’t have your cake and eat it too”. Meaning, you can’t continue living how you are and also spend money on vacations. Sure, there are people out there who have the financial ability to travel as much as they want and still maintain a lavish lifestyle. However, for most families, we have to prioritize and budget to make our lifestyle work. We factor in bills, kids, unexpected expenses, etc. For my family, traveling is our priority so we prioritize around our vacations.
If you want to take a vacation because you haven’t taken one in five years or if you want to travel across the country because its been on your bucket list, you can! Make it a priority as you plan for the next year. Which leads me to my next step of planning.
Step 2 – Planning
Once you’ve made it a priority in your budget to take a trip, you need to sit down and draft a plan. Failure comes from not having a well thought out plan. The best way I plan is sitting down with my family and discussing where we want to travel the next year. In 2022 we discussed our travel plans for 2023 and wrote down our top places to visit. This doesn’t mean that all trips will work out or plans won’t change or fall through, but it’s a plan and you can tweak it along the way. Once I establish a plan, I sit down and estimate the cost for each trip. Once I come up with the estimated cost, I review it against my annual budget to see how much I would need to save. If you’re not good at planning or don’t enjoy it, then I recommend using a Travel Advisor such as myself to plan out the perfect trip. Your basic estimate for a trip needs to be categorized by transportation (car, rail or air), lodging (hotel, etc.), car rental, food, excursions, and spending. Again, it doesn’t need to be nailed down, just a rough estimate.
Some people pay different ways for their trips and it really is what you prefer. If you take the total estimate cost of your trip, you may already have the money up front and decide to pay in advance. This really should be the preferred way, but not everyone can pay for trips that way. Another way is to take your estimated cost for your trip and spread it out over the year to save. For example, let’s say you want to take a trip that is $5,000. If you divide the $5,000 by 12 months, you would need to save $417 each month to pay for your trip. This is how I usually plan my trips. I will pay for my vacation on my travel credit card which earns me points back to use for travel and turn around and pay it from my vacation fund where I put money in each month. Having a financial plan for vacation is the key to stress free travel
Step 3 – Preparation
The last step to taking that trip is preparation. Now that you made it a priority to take a trip and you’ve planned and came up with an estimated cost, you then need to prepare to book your trip. If you enjoy planning and booking your own vacations then you likely already know what to do. Some extra tips; always do your research, especially if it’s somewhere you’ve never been. I always recommend using Trip Advisor or Google Reviews for the most honest and accurate ratings. I also love google flights for airfare and it allows you to view rates for different days. I always try and travel on a date that offers the lowest airfare. If you’re wanting to book excursions, I recommend Viator and I book all my excursions through them. You can use my link to book directly, https://www.viator.com/?pid=P00011640&uid=U00220491&mcid=5808. Keep in mind as you’re booking, you may need to tweak your budget slightly as there may be price changes or you may luck out and find a great deal below your budget. I love when this happens and if I do save on hotel, car, etc. I will usually move the money I am saving to another category such as food or spending.
If the thought of planning a vacation makes your skin crawl, then I would recommend using a Travel Advisor to help. Although I am a Travel Advisor, I am not trying to sell my service. I am simply advising that we all have different strengths and utilizing a Travel Advisor will take the preparation of added stress off of you. Travel Advisors handle the research, booking and all those annoying details. Most Travel Advisors like myself may provide you a detailed itinerary to keep yourself organized. Once you have prioritized, planned, and prepared, sit back and let your dream become a reality!
It’s time to get planning and going! There’s adventure out there waiting!
Your Journey Starts Here 