Travel, Travel Budgeting, Travel Tips

How Can I Afford to Travel? Budgeting Tips for Your Dream Vacation

I often receive the following comments about my blog or our travels in general.  It must be nice to have the money to go on those trips.  Or, I wish I could afford to travel like that.  Both statements frustrate me not by how they are being stated but by what they are saying.  The truth is that you can afford to travel like we do.  You just have to make it a financial priority.

You Can Afford Travel

We are by no means wealthy, yet we travel well.  In our seven years of marriage we have honeymooned in the Mayan Riviera, cruised the Eastern Caribbean Islands, enjoyed an anniversary weekend in Savannah, spent a week in Cabo, celebrated a birthday in Boston, visited Miami for a three day weekend, travelled to Thailand, toured New York City, ventured into dangerous territory in Colombia, Euro-railed through Bavaria, ate our way through Italy for two weeks, and returned to our honeymoon resort (because we could).  This is not a sponsored travel blog, so we actually had to pay for this travel.  (Although, I am open to sponsored travel.  Just sayin’…)

During these same seven years, I was also laid off twice from work.  The first unplanned sabbatical was for 9 months and the second was for 18 months.  That’s roughly 30% of our marriage bliss that I was not bringing in an income.  And yet, we went to all of those places without any debt.  How?  By prioritizing travel above other areas of discretional spending.  This meant making sacrifices elsewhere.  While I realize this is counter-culture to the American-way of entitlement, we understood what Paula Pant at Afford Anything means when she says, “You can’t afford everything. But you can afford anything.”  Travel was our anything.

We don’t spend money on designer clothes, the latest (overpriced) Apple gadget, a yearly new car, a boat, season tickets to the Panthers, concert tickets, lunch out every day (that convenience adds up), Starbucks (the coffee we make tastes better anyway), eating out more than once or twice a week, a house with a white picket fence, etc.  Not that any of those items are bad priorities.  They just aren’t our priorities.

Make Your Travel Dreams Happen!!!

Make Your Travel Dreams Happen!!! – The Opera House in Vienna

Early in our marriage, we forced ourselves to live on a budget.  Living on a budget helped us prioritize travel by knowing where all of our income was going.  Let me reiterate that this is a budget without debt.  Built into our monthly budget is money earmarked for a special vacation savings account.  We plan our travel goals ahead of time and save for those goals.

We ignore the instant gratification of being whisked away by the glossy and enticing photos from travel magazines.  Instead, we use the articles to find new destinations and plan dreams.  We then determine how much to tuck aside each month to afford those goals.  If we can’t afford a trip, we delay it until we can afford it.  Africa, after all, wasn’t going anywhere.  And yes, it is our next target.  In October we will be wining and dining in South Africa and safari’ing in Namibia.   Even when we don’t have a travel target in mind, we still save money each month for vacations.

To give you a glimpse on how we prioritize spending and save for vacation, I have included the chart below.  It is filled with percentages and not actual dollar amounts.  Retirement savings is not included as this chart is based on take-home pay after our 401k.  You’ll quickly notice a few items.  First, we spend the same amount on our mortgage as we do on travel.  That might sound crazy to you, but not to us.  We prioritize travel.  Second, the financial gurus tell you to allocate 25-35% of your monthly income to the mortgage.  We have cut that by choosing to live in a modest townhouse.  Third, there is not a single line item for debt.  Our debt was accelerated and tackled through Financial Peace University.  All that interest we were spending on car and student loans goes right back into our budget and savings.  Fourth, we tend to eat at nice places (you know about it because I blog about it), but dining out is a small portion of our budget.  Rarely do we go out to dinner without a coupon, Groupon, or Living Social.

Budgeting for Vacation

Budgeting for Vacation

Living on a budget and directing your money to what’s important to you is not easy.  I’d be lying if I said we never gave into consumerism temptations.  We made our mistakes.  I have spent more on car payments than I chose to admit.  But I realized that the gratification of impressing the stranger next to me at a stop-light wasn’t as satisfying as visiting an elephant refuge in Thailand.  I went from driving financed Mustang GT convertibles to driving a paid-for Escape.  Yes, I know it’s not as sexy, but it’s red and has chrome rims.  I call it my sport-truck and feel better.

If you are reading this blog, you are here because you have a passion for travel.  I want you to live that passion.  But I also want you to do that without debt.  You can make that happen.  Put yourself on a budget starting today and save up for that dream vacation.  Below are some resources to help get you started and provide encouragement along the way:

  • Financial Peace University – We preach it, teach it, and live it.  Find a class at a church near you or read one of Dave Ramsey’s helpful books.
  • Crown Ministry – We read Your Money Counts before we married and used the teachings to set the finances of our family on the right path.
  • Afford Anything – A great blog with practical money advice.
  • 48 Days – If you truly feel that you don’t make enough money in your job, get another one or find ways for passive income.  I have read Dan Miller’s 48 Days to the Work You Love and follow his blog daily.