12 Ingenious Ways to Save Before Going Traveling

You’re about to go traveling. The light is burning bright at the end of the tunnel, you have a plan and schedule set in place, and the added motivation is there. For what though? Well, traveling is expensive, so tightening the belt now and getting used to frugal living could never be timelier. If there’s ever a period in your life when you can sustain an ability to resist luxuries in life, it’s the months leading up to a backpacking or RTW trip. So here are 12 cost cutting measures that can rapidly trim off excess expenditure that normally you may succumb to.

Cut off certain bills and cancel certain subscriptions
List out all monthly bills that you have, and then see which you can trim off straight away. Consider the time left until you go, as you may be able to cut some things earlier than others. For example, going without cable for 6 months can’t be too difficult, whereas your phone may be more important. If your phone contract comes to an end 2 or 3 months before you go, get a shorter, cheaper deal and cut down on your reliance on your phone.

Control your wallet
If you are going on a night out, place set amounts of money in your wallet and leave your bank card at home. This way, if you are out and get caught in the moment, you won’t regret overspending. It’ll also give you an incredibly accurate idea of how much you spend socializing, and whether you can cut this down.

Sell strategic items
Think of what you won’t be using when you are traveling. Things such as game consoles, dishwashers, your own washing machine, all take up a lot of energy. Don’t wait until you go traveling ,sell them 3,6,12 months before hand making cash in the meantime and reducing your electricity bill.

Buy second hand stuff
For anything that has to be bought in the months before you go away, consider getting it from the classifieds, online or charity shops.

Moonlighting
Consider odd jobs that you could do in your spare time. This doesn’t have to be limited to getting a bar job – try thinking of people in your networks that may have ad-hoc cash in hand jobs, or work online from home.

Cut down on heating and electricity bills
Set timers on your central heating, perhaps being stricter than you have in the past. Only have the hot water set for key times of the day, and be more rigorous with yourself, for example making sure lights are off upstairs when you are downstairs, and windows are shut to preserve heat.

Seek out local deals
Keep an eye out for any restaurants in your local area that run 2 for 1 meals on certain days, venues that offer money-off on admission on certain days in the week or month and what times are happy hour at your local bars. Often, venues will promote this through local businesses, so keep an eye open at work.

Change transport to work
Can you cycle or walk instead of going by car. You may have not thought out all the routes to work possible, and consider combining several methods. Using a bike can increase the train stations that are within reach to you.

Sell your car
This is not just to focus on getting money for selling your car, but to cut down on all the other costs associated with it. If your insurance runs out, then getting rid of the car will prevent the costs of insuring it for an odd amount of time until you leave. If you still have insurance, then you can claw back money on it by cancelling it early, similar to getting road tax back.

Nights in
Put more effort into hosting nights in at your house, and try and encourage your friends to do the same. You can still socialize but you’re not having to pay to go out or eat out. Offering to cook for people can often encourage them to get on board with your idea of hosting nights in.

Food wastage
Draw up your shopping list and cut out the most expensive items on it. Look at bulk buying where you can, perhaps teaming up with your friends, and cook with your flat mate to help split costs. Plan meals so that you use ingredients before it goes off, or start cooking new meals that use ingredients with longer lasting life which means you will be throwing food away less.

Packed lunch
Take your own lunch into work and on days out. This is a key area that can instantly cut down on a considerable daily expense.

Author Bio
Matt used many of the above tips before he went on a 4 month travel adventure last year, and appreciated the extra pennies saved towards the end of the journey. His recent Florence holidays were a shorter affair and are part of a series of shorter trips planned to keep the travel spirit alive.