Originally posted on May 30, 2019 @ 6:45 am
If you love to travel, this passion has likely taken over a big part of your life. And while you might seem to always be prioritizing travel over other hobbies or desires, there will likely come a time in your life where you have competing interests for your time and money.
When you find yourself in this type of situation, you might wonder how you can save for things like buying a home or your own financial future while also allowing yourself to continue traveling. So to help make these compromises a little easier to manage, here are three tips to help you keep traveling while still saving for big expenses.
Try Using The 50/30/20 Rule
When multiple financial goals seem to be competing with one another, it’s up to you to find a budgeting plan that will help you accomplish all of your dreams. One option you might want to try, according to Christopher Murray, a contributor to Money Under 30, is the Balanced Money Formula, or the 50/30/20 Rule.
With this type of budget, you commit to spending 50 percent of your monthly income on your needs, 30 percent on your wants, and 20 percent on savings. By using this method, you’ll be able to put travel in the “wants” category and save for those purposes while also devoting 20 percent to saving for your other goals, like a down payment on a home.
Keep Your Travel Expenses Low
Another way you can allocate more money toward savings while also still being able to travel is to cut down the costs that you’re currently spending on travel.
According to DaveRamsey.com, if you’re able to keep your travel expenses low, either by using credit card reward points or miles to offset the costs or through simply finding deals to get things for a cheaper price, you can still find a way to scratch the travel itch without having to spend so much money on those costs.
Think About Your Priorities And Your Time Frame
Sometimes, the financial goals that you’re going to be saving for will be very long-term, like if you’re wanting to save for retirement or for the college educations of your young children. In situations like these, Kathryn Vasel, a contributor to CNN Money, recommends that you think about how to weigh your priorities with your available time frame.
For most people who love to travel, they don’t want to wait decades to take their next trip. Because of this, it might make sense for you to save a consistent yet smaller amount of money to those long-term savings goals while putting a bigger chunk of your money toward your travel budget that you’ll be tapping into much sooner.
If you’re wanting to save for some large expenses but are also wanting to use your time and money to enjoy traveling still, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you have the best of both worlds.