When your partner announces that the Maldives is the only acceptable location for your honeymoon, do you instantly say no? Some faraway travel destinations offer incredible luxury but at steep costs, proving the saying, “You get what you pay for.” But with enough time, you can budget for a trip that takes you anywhere in the world. Read on to find out how you can save up for your dream vacation.
Drive for Extra Cash
One of the easiest ways to boost your savings is to increase your monthly income by using driving apps to make extra cash. There are many different apps that you can join as long as you have a car and a valid license. Usually, you’ll also have to pass a background check. The setup time can take as little as 24 to 48 hours, and then you’re ready to deliver takeout orders, drive people around your hometown, or run errands.
If you want to determine whether getting a car would be worth it, use a car loan calculator to determine the amount of your monthly car loan payment. Since you can choose your own schedule with these freelance driving service apps, you can make a decent amount of money during any spare moment of the day.
Cut Out To-Go Coffee
While you don’t have to stop eating at all your favorite restaurants, you can choose to cut out your to-go coffee every morning to save money. Depending on what you order, you might be able to put away an extra $20 a week just by making coffee at home. Over a year, that’s more than $1000. This could easily cover most of the cost of one plane ticket to anywhere in the world.
Trim Your Streaming Services
As you start to think about your long-term plans for your dream vacation, consider relinquishing some of your streaming services and other digital packages you pay for. In today’s world of media overload, it’s easy to forget your budget needs as you sign up for one service after another. Before you know it, your account decreases by more than $75 every month due to streaming fees.
Over the course of one year, you are likely spending between $700 and $1000 on media alone. Add into this amount whatever you spend while going to the movies, and that’s a significant amount of income that you could put toward a dream vacation.
Consolidate Your Student Loans
Student loans play a major role in almost everyone’s finances, so it might be worth your while to investigate options for consolidating these loans. When you consolidate your student loans, you essentially take disparate loans and allow a company or the government to give you one single loan instead. With this strategy, you might be able to lower your monthly student loan payment, but it also means you’ll face a longer repayment period.
One important thing to note is that after you accomplish your goal of going on your dream vacation, you can always choose to increase the amount you pay your newly consolidated loan every month. It’s up to you how much of your monthly earnings go toward student loan debt. You can choose to pay the minimum for two years so that you can go on the trip of a lifetime and then increase the payments when the time is right for you.
Price-Compare for Large Items
If you’re an impulse buyer, now’s the time to reign it in and start comparing the prices of large items before you make a purchase. From a new television to a commuter bike and a juicer for your countertop, it can feel like there are endless options for filling up your life with stuff. Some things are necessary, such as replacing a broken mobile phone. But you can choose to either delay other purchases or at least find out where you can get the best deal.
Saving Money doesn’t have to stress you out. Use these tips to put away a little extra cash on a regular basis, and you’ll be heading for your dream vacation in no time.