How We Afford to Travel More

Five strategies I use to save for travel before I even know where we’re going.

Sunshine and Savings, Issue No. 2

Fall break is coming, and I have absolutely no idea where my family is going yet.

This is not unusual for me.

Maybe we’ll chase a little fall magic in the mountains. Maybe we’ll squeeze in some theme park fun. We could take a road trip somewhere up the coast and find a great hotel within driving distance.

Or…

We might go camping.

I know.

Camping.

To be fair, camping in the mountains didn’t sound completely horrible when my husband pitched the idea. Give me gorgeous scenery, crisp fall air, a campfire, nowhere to be, a good book in my hand, and I’m happy.

It’s really just the sleeping outside with the bugs part that gives me pause.

But I’ve decided to be a trouper. (And maybe we’ll compromise with a rustic cabin!)

So no, I haven’t planned our rapidly approaching fall break trip yet. But financially? I’ve been preparing for it all along.

Plan the money before the destination

You don’t have to know where you’re going to start saving for your next trip.

I like to put money aside each month and let it earn a competitive interest rate while still keeping it easy to access. I also build up points and miles in the background on nearly every purchase I make and keep close tabs on the travel perks I already have. That way, when it’s finally time to make my travel plans, I’m not starting from scratch.

And this week, I made you a little something to help you do the same.

Download the free My Travel Game Plan to take stock of the resources you already have, figure out what you want to build, and choose one step you can take today.

If your current travel game plan is basically “put it on the credit card and figure it out later,” I’m not here to judge. In fact, been there, done that. I’ve also learned from those mistakes, and I’d love to help you make a better plan for the future.

Because I know from experience that after the vacation ends, that debt doesn’t magically go away. Instead, those credit card balances can add hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest to the cost of a trip. Even worse, high credit card utilization can hurt your credit scores and the payments on that debt can eat into the money you could be saving for your next adventure and other financial goals.

The goal isn’t to stop traveling. It’s to build a system that helps you afford more of it.

5 ways to make your travel budget go further

If it were up to me, I’d probably travel a few times a month. I love it. There’s something magical about getting away from the normal routine, seeing somewhere new, and making memories with the people I love most.

Alas, I live in the real world. There are bills to pay, kids to raise, groceries in near-constant need of resupply (hello, teenage son!), and plenty of other financial goals competing for our money.

If I relied on cash savings alone to pay for every trip I wanted to take, we simply wouldn’t travel as often as we do. So I’ve learned to combine the money I’ve saved with a few other strategies to make our travel budget stretch further.

Start building your travel fund

You don’t need to overhaul your budget to start making more room for travel. Here are five strategies that can help you stretch your travel dollars further.

• 💰 Set aside money for travel. Give travel its own place in your budget, even when you don’t have a trip planned. I put money into our travel fund throughout the year and sometimes add a portion of extra cash when it’s available. For example, if we spend wisely and have $200 left in our budget at the end of the month, I might put $50 of that toward travel. My kids and I also fill a large family piggy bank throughout the year so they can join the fun and learn good saving habits, too.
• 📈 Make your savings earn something. Keep money you’re saving for future trips somewhere it can earn a competitive return without making it difficult to access when you’re ready to travel. I use a high-yield savings account for this.
• ✈️ Earn rewards on your spending. Credit card rewards can cover a meaningful chunk of your travel costs, but you shouldn’t have to spend more to earn them. I build ours in the background on everyday purchases and save them for redemptions that make sense. Remember, credit card interest can easily offset the value of any rewards you earn, so this strategy works best if you’re able to pay off your statement balances in full every month.
• 💳 Use the travel perks you’re already paying for. Check your cards for benefits such as travel credits, free hotel nights, checked-bag benefits, hotel perks, airport lounge access, and more. I keep tabs on ours so valuable benefits don’t expire unused. Because I stay on top of these perks, I’m not afraid of cards with annual fees when I can get far more value from benefits than I pay for the card. On our last family trip, I saved over $1,000 thanks to credit card benefits, including free checked bags, a much-needed rental car size upgrade, a room upgrade, complimentary drinks, late checkout on a travel day, TSA PreCheck, and CLEAR. And that’s not counting any of the points I redeemed.
• ⏰ Give yourself room to be flexible. You don’t always have to pick the destination first. Sometimes I start with the points, cash, perks, or deals I have available and ask: Where can these take us? That’s pretty much where I am with fall break right now. Mountains? Theme parks? A great hotel somewhere we haven’t considered yet? Apparently camping? I’m keeping our options open while I see what kind of trip I can put together with the resources we have.

You don’t have to plan everything

I realize my Type A friends may be breaking out in hives at the idea of getting this close to fall break without a destination. They would probably disown me if they knew that I have literally gotten into the car with my husband and kids for a weekend getaway without accommodations booked. More than once.

And I’ve still booked near-free rooms with credit card points or found great last-minute deals paid for with cash from my travel fund.

So if you’re more of a Type B mom, or you’re simply overwhelmed by the approximately 4,782 other things on your to-do list like me, then my approach might work for you, too.

Plan the finances ahead. Wing the destination and final plans a little later.

The good stuff

You know I love a good deal almost as much as I love a good trip. So before we wrap up, here are a couple more ways to save money on your next adventure.

☀️ Give your travel fund a little boost

If watching a savings balance slowly creep up doesn’t exactly thrill you, let’s make it a game.

I made a free Travel Savings Challenge you can use to stash away a little extra for your next adventure. Pick your challenge, check off your progress, and enjoy the tiny dopamine hit every time you get one step closer to vacation.

Trying the challenge? Come find me on Instagram (@creditwriter) or TikTok (@credit.writer) and tell me what you’re saving for. I’d love to cheer you on!

✈️ Let Google Flights keep an eye on prices

I love finding a good flight deal, but with three kids and a business to run, I don’t have time to check airfare every day. Thankfully, I don’t have to.

With Google Flights price tracking, you can search for a route and turn on Track prices. Google will email you when prices change significantly. And if your travel dates are flexible, you can even track “Any dates” and get updates when prices are low.

It’s one of those simple tools that lets me keep an eye out for savings without actually having to keep an eye on anything myself.

Want MORE of The Good Stuff? Sunshine and Savings subscribers get extra money, credit, and travel tips delivered straight to their inbox, plus free access to my growing CreditWriter resource library.

Spread the sunshine

Know someone who could use something BRIGHT in their inbox? Send this issue their way. Maybe they’re always dreaming about their next trip, love finding creative ways to make travel more affordable, or they’re the person who texts you every time they find a great travel deal. If you think they’d feel at home here, spread the sunshine and invite them along. ☀️

P.S. A week is a long time to wait! Come hang out with me on Instagram (@creditwriter) and TikTok (@credit.writer) between issues.