19 Creative Ways to Save Money for Travel

Sharing is caring!

I’m a budget queen who loves to find creative ways to save money for travel. I’m here to help shed some light on how you can earn quick cash and master the art of growing your travel savings plan too!

I know it probably doesn’t always feel like it, but saving money for a trip really doesn’t have to be painful. You just need to have a bit of patience and learn how to hustle. The reward of that fabulous dream vacation awaiting you is oh so worth the wait!

As a broke af, travel addict with some hefty student loans myself, I’ve learned how to pay for travel effectively just by using these small and easy money saving tips. 

But just a quick disclaimer – there’s really no such thing as free travel unless you’ve made it your job and have gone crazy viral. Otherwise “free travel” is just clickbait nonsense. 

So, in the spirit of practicality and sharing the wealth of knowledge, I’m going to let you in on my little secrets to exactly how I grow my travel savings account – the real way.

Paying for travel can be easy – it just takes some patience.

Read more: Easy Ways To Travel: I Want to Travel the World, Where Do I Start?

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, if you click my links and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Learn more on my disclosure page. Thank you for your support!

6 Simple Tips to Help You Save for Travel

Before I jump right into sharing the creative ways to save for travel, here are some general tips that I think will help you change your mindset.

1. Separate Your Savings. 

Choose a designated way to separate your growing travel fund from the rest of your daily spending money. 

Whether as a separate account or a cash stash, when you move your savings from your normal spending account, it’s much harder to spend it.

Try putting it in a place that takes it out of sight, out of mind so there is zero temptation.

2. Set Expectations. 

Set a numerical goal that aligns with your trip expectations. It’s ok if you’re not sure exactly where you want to go, but having a vague idea of how much you actually need to save will help you better achieve your travel goals.

3. Be Patient.

Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to save. You’re the only one who truly knows your finances and budget situation, so be honest with yourself. There isn’t one set period of time that works for everyone.

It’s not fun, but the truth is that saving money can take time! Be patient when taking small steps to save money.

I personally recommend starting to save at least a year out for maximum saving ability and in case any unexpected finances pop up. And if you just get in the habit of always saving, that’s even better! 

Read more: How Do People Afford to Travel? 15 Ways I’ve Budgeted for Travel

4. Be Reasonable. 

Goals that are set too difficult are more likely to fail. If you’re really in a tough spot with a lack of funds but want to travel desperately, consider some staycations while you save for a big trip to satisfy the itch. 

As wonderful an as experience travel is, it’s not the end all be all to happiness. 

5. Decide How Often. 

I thrive in chaos and hate a stuffy routine, but when it comes to saving money, having a dedicated timeline for when you plan to put away some cash can help you stay on track with your travel savings goals. 

6. Change Your Habits. 

Small tweaks to the way you live can actually make a huge impact on your spending and therefore your savings. 

Things as simple as cutting out all bottled beverages and only drinking water, making your coffee at home, ditching take out, and going thrift shopping all can add up to big savings!

19 Simple and Creative Ways to Save Money for Travel 

Now that we’ve got the boring stuff out of the way, here are some small and actionable ways you can grow your travel savings. It’s time to start rolling in the cash!

1. Save Your Coins

You’d be surprised how such a mindless way of saving money can add up! I typically cash in my coins every year or two and have consistently gotten a return of $100-200+ hundred dollars with each dump – and I’m not even a big cash user.

I’m a bit of a dork, but I made it fun to save my coins by thrifting a super cool vintage glass jar that’s proudly on display in my room. It’s there as a reminder to save and as a sort of accent piece too.

2. Save Your $1 or $5 Bills

And I mean save every single $1 or $5 bill that you come into contact with. When it’s in the moment, a missing $1 or $5 doesn’t feel like anything at all. 

The savings you’ll find yourself with at the end of the year will surprise you!

3. 52-Week Money Challenge

Not a big cash user? I feel that. Another pretty simple savings trick is the 52-week challenge that will end up saving you $1,378 by the end of the year. 

Once a week you put aside a certain amount of money into your savings. In the beginning, it’s just $1 in week one. At the start of every week, you increase the amount by one dollar – so that means week two is $2, week ten is $10, and so on. Easy!

A tip I got from a friend for this challenge, is that she actually does it in reverse so when the end of the year holidays hit, you’re putting aside the lowest amount rather than the highest. 

4. Open an Online Savings Account 

With the right savings account, you can actually make a decent amount of interest off of the money that’s just sitting dormant. The key is to find a savings account maintained online because they can typically offer higher interest rates. 

Brick and mortar banks only offer small interest rates around .25% or less, but with a high-yield online savings account like Varo, you earn just over 1.6% – 2% interest each year.

That may not sound like a lot, but If you have a savings of $5,000 just chillin’, you may as well earn that extra $50 bucks each year.

5. Set a Weekly Budget + Save the Difference 

We obviously still want to enjoy life while saving our money, we’re only human after all! But a great way to live it up and save at the same time is to set a weekly budget and save the difference. Say you set $100 a week for eating out but only spend $80? Squirrel that $20 way into your travel fund. 

6. Take Your Weekly Budget Out As Cash

In tandem with above, a great way to help you budget and save the difference is by taking out your weekly budgets in cash at the beginning of each week.

It’s much easier to acknowledge what you’re spending as you’re spending it. And you’re much less likely to spend the cash you see dwindling before your eyes than you are when you pay with a plastic card.

7. Test Yourself With a Money Saving Challenge

Competition can bring out the best in us, so why not put that fire and spirit into your travel saving goals? I’ve already mentioned the 52-week challenge above, but other money challenges to consider include:

No Spend Challenge: Pick a day each week where you promise yourself not to spend any money. Or if you’re wild and crazy, I’ve even heard of people going for an entire week. I think you’d be surprised how much you probably spend on little things that aren’t actually necessary.

365 Day Challenge: The 365 challenge is very similar to the 52-week challenge above, but instead you’re saving a small amount every day starting with just $0.01. Each day you add another cent to your savings, ($0.02 on day two), and by the end of the year, you’ll have a total of $667.95.

Or you could go crazy and start at $0.05, increasing by a nickel which will total $3,339 at the end 365 days!

It can be annoying saving such a small amount every single day. So instead pay in what you owe weekly to save yourself the hassle.

8. Get Technical + Save Money With Apps

Effectively saving money can be tough alone, so why not take advantage of the numerous awesome apps on the market today that can make it so easy?

Qapital is a banking app that allows you to you link your account and set up specific savings goals, saving rules, investment goals, and you can see the way you’re actually spending your money in the app.

For example, you can set the rule that for every purchase, you wish to round up to the nearest dollar, with that difference being directly transferred to a savings account. And it’s all done automatically. Just set it and forget it.

Trim is an innovative app that automatically checks your email for any possible unwanted billings and subscriptions and analyzes if there are small ways you can save money on your internet and cable services, medical bills, and more. Once the program detects possible savings, it takes care of the work for you by taking on all of the negotiations for you!

Mint by Intuit helps you take control of your finances and effortlessly see where your money goes each week. While it doesn’t exactly find you ‘free money’ or help you get cash back from purchases, it does help you truly understand your spending habits and how you can improve.

9. Banking Opening Rewards

If you’re in the market for anything banking related, don’t open a thing before researching to see if there are any opening offers you can take advantage of. 

An opening offer or reward is a common way banks try to entice prospective customers and sometimes these offers are REALLY good. Whether for a checking or savings account, refinancing or taking out a loan, or opening a credit card, these opening rewards can range from $50 to hundreds of dollars of cashback. 

I’ve personally made over $2,000 in the past couple of years just from opening offers. Whether it’s been for a new credit card, a new savings account, or even refinancing student loans, I’ve managed to find the money baby! And you can too! 

10. Open a Credit Card with Rewards

Opening a credit card that rewards you for the everyday spending you do, is gold. There are specialty travel credit cards and standard rewards cards, both of which can help you earn cash back or enjoy special discounts and perks just by swiping your card.

I personally have a Chase Sapphire Preferred and love it. They have a $600 opening bonus* and zero foreign transaction fees! Learn more via my Chase Sapphire Preferred travel credit card review. 

11. Set Aside a Percentage of Your Paycheck

Does your employer let you split your paycheck between different accounts? Consider sending a percentage of every paycheck to a dedicated saving account for safekeeping. With direct deposit, it’s done without you having to lift a finger.

Something as small as just  3% – 5% can make a big impact over months without it hurting your daily life.

12. Sell Unwanted Things 

I recently took a long hard look at all of my material belongings and went through what I actually needed and what I didn’t. What I found was a pile of valuable things that were collecting dust. 

You’d be surprised how much money you can make back from the items laying around the house. Sell them on eBay and then put that money immediately into savings! 

13. Monetize Your Hobby

We live in an extremely entrepreneurial world where you can sell pretty much anything online. If you have a hobby or skill that you do in your free time, take the time to look into whether or not you can monetize it.

If it’s something you love doing it anyway, you may as well earn some money from it!

Some hobbies with money-making potential:

• Woodworking
• Personal Training
• Painting / Illustration / Any Art Form
• Jewelry Making
• Photography
• Knitting / Crocheting 
• Computer Coding 
• Graphic Design

You get it! 

Websites like Fiverr, Etsy, and eBay are all great websites that make it easy to market your goods and services.

14. Get an Easy Second Job Online and Make Money From Home or on the Road

I get it, you’re probably already super busy and the last thing you want is more work. But a second job doesn’t have to suck, especially if it’s online and means you don’t have to wear pants at work!

And that supplemental income can have a big impact on your travel savings account with just a little bit of extra effort.

So while I don’t recommend necessarily quitting your day job for these online gigs – although people can make a killing with these jobs – here are some recommendations that can help you earn that extra bit of income to add to your growing travel budget. 

Online Jobs You Can Do From Anywhere

• Earn money as a Twitch streamer
• Teach English Online
• Become a Virtual Assistant
• Offer freelance writing or digital marketing services
• An artist or digital creative
• Look for online customer service or data entry jobs

15. Teach English Online

If you have any experience working with kids, a TEFL certification, or a teacher’s license, or even if you’re just a native English teacher, there are many online English teaching platforms looking for new teachers! Teaching online is one of the easiest ways to earn extra money while saving for a trip!

And there are a lot of options for native English speakers when it comes to choosing a company to teach with. There are countless online teaching platforms to choose from that can allow you to earn enough to work while traveling.

Read more: How to teach English online without a degree

16. Freelance on Upwork

Upwork is an online platform that connects freelance writers, editors, and creatives with prospective clients. You must pay a small fee to access the job boards and apply for postings – Upwork’s way of weeding out less serious candidates –  but the potential for online gigs is endless.

Learn more about how to make money on Upwork even as a newbie!

17. Sell Your Skills on Fiverr

Fiverr is an innovative way for people to offer small but important services for a fee starting as low as $5. People offer anything from helping to create short jingles to graphic design, to resume writing, language translation, coding, photo editing, and more.

If you possess a specific talent that you think you could make a few extra bucks from, you should check it out!

See this list to see how you could earn money on Fiverr!

18. Master the Art of Couponing

You may mock, but couponing is an art form. When done correctly, it can save you a bunch of money in the long run. I personally am not privy to the magic of couponing, but there are plenty of helpful guides online to help you coupon effectively.

Another way to save money is by downloading the Honey extension for your browser. Honey is a website that helps you automatically save money on your purchases by connecting you with any available discount codes or sales as you’re checking out. 

Just don’t let coupons trick you into spending more than you had initially planned!

19. Take Surveys

My brother is the king when it comes to getting paid for online surveys and I’ve certainly dabbled myself. If you’re the type of person who twiddles away massive amounts of time surfing the internet, you should probably jump on getting paid for answering a few questions.

There are a few different websites that pay for online surveys, the popular ones being Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars, and Toluna.

And don’t forget to put every cent you earn straight into that dedicated travel savings account!

Have any other creative ways to save money for travel? Comment below!