Sick of being stuck at home, following the same old routine day-in-day-out? Well here are 3 amazing ideas that’ll help you save up some money for the holiday you’ve been dying to book!
With these strategies, you’ll be able to live your life the way you currently do (with some minor changes), all whilst working towards an awesome goal… that ever-so-needed holiday!
So, what are you waiting for? Dive in and learn how to start saving the dosh so you can get outta home for a few days!
Before Anything Else, Have a Savings Goal
The reason why most people struggle to save for a trip or run out of money on a trip is because they fail to actually set a savings goal before the trip.
You might think you’ve set a goal by looking at rough accommodation prices, flights and factored in some spending money, but so much more should go into it!
Okay, firstly you need a place to go! Check these out for some NSW inspo…
To set an accurate savings goal, I want you to do the following:
- Check accommodation prices and locations, find one you like and book it! This means you’ve now set a date, and a target for your goal.
- Check flights and book them. Now you have two expenses already under the belt, and you know exactly how much they’re setting you back by.
- Factor in getting to and from the airport for Day 0 and home time.
- Workout how much (on average) you’ll need per day for spending money (think food, water, transport, activities, etc.) and then add $10 for each day.
- Think about what extra activities you’ll do and factor the cost of them into your total number.
- Add 10% to that total.
Now you’ll be left with a nice, big number that ACTUALLY represents the total cost of your trip with a little wiggle room.
This should now be your goal!
Here’s an example from my recent trip to Yamba:
Now that you have a goal, write it up in HUGE letters, stick it to your wall and start actually saving money!
The Envelope Method
The first strategy (and my favourite) is what I like to call “The Envelope Method”
It’s super motivating and you hardly feel the money leaving your bank account!
So basically, here’s how it works:
- Figure out how many days there are until your trip
- Buy yourself a pack of at least that many envelopes
- Take your savings goal and divide it by that many days
- Write that number down on the first envelope (round it up to the nearest $1)
- Add $5 and write that down on the next envelope
- Subtract $5 and write that down on the third envelope
- Continue to add for a day and then subtract the same amount for another day until the number of envelopes = the number of days before your trip
- Shuffle the envelopes and put them in a box
Now you have a ready-made savings account! All you have to do each day is pull out an envelope, run-up to the ATM (or take out larger chunks every Sunday) and put the dollar amount (in cash) into the envelope.
By the time you go on your trip, you’ll have the exact amount you budgeted for!
Use this method to save for the bulk of your goal. This is gonna be where most of your money goes between now and the trip so keep it close by, secure and stick with it!
Here’s my Envelope Method for Yamba:
Use Raiz for Some Extra Savings
Raiz is another awesome way to save for a trip!
It’s basically an app that rounds-up to the nearest dollar each time you tap your card, and then invests those few cents into the stock market!
This is worth setting up before your trip so it can work its magic over the coming weeks and add to your spending money.
How to do it:
- Download and Sign-Up for the Raiz app
- Link your bank account and your most frequent spending account
- Set auto top-up to every $5
- Change your portfolio to match your risk tolerance (mine is set to aggressive)
- Sit back, then check and withdraw the balance 1 week before your trip (it takes a few days to get to your account)
Raiz is great for a few reasons:
- You hardly notice the money leaving your account
- It’s invested in the stock market so chances are it’ll earn much more than what it would in a normal savings account
- It’s hard to get to so you aren’t tempted to spend it before your trip
Remember though, there are always risks involved with purchasing shares (Raiz is a form of investing in shares) so it’s important to determine your risk tolerance and consider your own personal financial situation before investing.
There you go, you’ll have a couple hundred dollars by the time you go away, letting you smash that savings goal!
The Old-Fashioned Piggy Bank
The last strategy to save that money is one that you and I would probably call old fashioned…
It’s time to bring out the piggy bank!
If you don’t have an old one in the house, buy a new one.
The key here is to have a piggy bank that you can’t open until the day before you leave.
We’re gonna mix this and the Raiz money to use as additional spending…
I want you to put the piggy bank right next to your front door. Every time you come home, you have to put something into it (at least try). This can however much you want, $10, $2, $0.50, just make it something!
By the time your trip comes around, you’ll smash it open and watch the extra spending money flow out. Take it all to the bank, add it to your travel account and then enjoy that well-deserved break!
Boom! You’ve just booked a holiday and saved a few thousand dollars (and some) in less than 10 minutes! I’m sure that feels pretty good.
The best way to use these 3 methods is altogether as one larger strategy. Use The Envelope Method to save for the bulk of your trip, and combine the Raiz Method and Piggy Bank Method to give yourself a little extra spending money.
The envelope method is lot’s of fun and keeps you motivated with little goals every day, make sure you stay disciplined though!
I hope you got something out of this, and you’re starting to get excited about that trip away…
Here are some other posts you may want to check out before you leave:
- 10 Beautiful Experiences you Can’t Miss Out on in Forster
- A Beach Lover’s Guide to Crescent Head
- 3 Amazing Beach Getaways for a Broke Uni Student
Until next week,
Uncle N.