This post is sponsored by Groupon Coupons, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I’ve spoken before about how I’m able to travel so frequently. It’s something I’m passionate about so it’s high on my list of priorities when it comes my budget. In fact, I made sure that I not only dedicated an entire savings account for it, but I have a rewards card that helps out with my adventures. I use the card like a debit card and just pay it off every month. Doing this not only helped my credit score jump up almost 100 points in a year, but it allows me to earn a lot of cash back! A rewards credit card is just one way I save money to travel; here are a few others:
Have a separate account – I have a completely separate savings account for my travels. A percentage of my paycheck is automatically deposited in there so I don’t even get a chance to miss the money, and I’m not tasked with the responsibility of making that transfer every month.
Use Coupons – I developed my love of couponing from my mom, she was truly the queen of couponing. We wouldn’t go shopping without her envelopes filled with coupons, sorted by store, manufacturer and item type. As I grew older and started shopping online I realized that it was so much easier to just use online coupons, but often times they aren’t centralized and I’d have to comb my email inboxes or even do web searches for them. That all changed when I discovered Groupon Coupons. I’d been using Groupon for a while for discounted mani/pedis, brunches and even cleaning services before I found out about their coupons section. I was able to find coupons for stores that I shop at all the time, stores like Nordstrom, Target, Booking.com, GoDaddy and Office Depot to name a few. There are in-store and online coupons and I’m able to use all of the money I save for my travels. It’s truly the best of both worlds!
Cut out what you can live without – This also works with a general budget, but I recommend getting rid of things you’re not using regularly. Whether it be cable, eating out every day, buying coffee every day, weekly happy hours, excessive shopping, etc. Do whatever makes the most sense for you. There’s no one size fits all option for this.
Find cheap (or free) local entertainment – You don’t have to become a hermit just so you can travel. There are so many free and low cost activities in Houston that you can do. Free concerts, museum days even low cost (or corporate) happy hours if you want to cut back on your bar tab.
Sell your stuff – Long gone are the days where you have to have a physical garage sale to get rid of the stuff you no longer use. With apps like Offerup and the Facebook market you can get rid of gently used items easily! And don’t forget about resale shops and consignment stores, they buy gently used clothes and purses too!
Join Team 1099 – We are living in the age of 1099s!! Start driving for Uber, Postmates, Door Dash, Favor, Instacart, etc. Drive a few hours a week and have that money go solely to your travels! Super easy way to build that travel fund up pretty quickly.
What are some ways you guys fund your travels? Are you already using some of the tips I’ve shared, or do you plan on implementing them to allow you to travel more? Comment below or tweet me and let me know!