7 Ways to Fit More Travel Into Your Life
We’re almost into the new year! Would you like to fit more travel into your life in this upcoming year? In this time and attention strapped world, finding opportunities to travel like we want to is tough. The phrase, “I want to travel more!” is very often followed by, “but…”. For many young families & young professionals, frequent travel is not just a luxury, it’s a way of life. Travel for many of us is not just an activity, it’s a way of living out our core values! Core values like:
Freedom, Inspiration, Adventure, Understanding, Compassion, Curiosity, Friendship, Autonomy, Beauty, Gratitude, Challenge, Growth, Achievement, Balance, Creativity, Growth…. the list could go on!
It’s no wonder travel is so sought after, it’s one of the single most powerful ways to live out so many of our core values at once. Travel recharges our spirit, leave us more fulfilled, and feeling more alive! Frequent travel throughout the year is a form of self care to help us live happier lives and avoid burnout (it’s all about balance). Travel has become even more important with so much isolation due to covid (remember there are covid conscious ways to travel as well).
The problem for many is finding the time and money to make it happen. As far as money, you don’t need to be rich to travel a lot (and I’ll show you why). As far as time, a little creativity can go a long way (and I’ll share ideas below).
If this article describes you, the “too weak” (2 week) vacation policy that comes standard in America isn’t going to cut it. Read on for creative ways you can fit more travel into your life!
Finding The Time
1. Create More Time
Negotiating for more PTO with your employer
Negotiate for remote work (even occasionally or for just a portion of your trip) to help stretch trips even longer
Reviewing your employee benefits to see if you qualify for a paid sabbatical
Start a Business: Even just a side hustle can give more flexibility in how you use your time or how much time you can afford to take off.
Being able to say “no” to obligations that no longer serve you
Take unpaid vacation on special occasion if you can afford to (last resort)
2. Use Existing Time More Creatively
If your company gives you 2 weeks of paid vacation per year, going on one long trip could wipe out your vacation days all at once. Here are some ways to do a lot more when given less time.
Take Frequent Mini Vacations (instead of wiping out your limited vacation days in one long trip)
Use 3 day weekends and holidays wisely
Extend work trips
Negotiate for remote work (applicable here as well)
Take Frequent Day Trips (camping, road trip through a neighboring state, great options during covid)
Road Trips to other cities/states for special events or to visit friends/family for a weekend
3. Change how you define “travel”
Stop thinking of “Travel” as just “Instagram-worthy” long trips to far off exotic places. Travel is about exploration, adventure, and learning — and you can experience that just down the street from your house. I’ve returned more recharged after a 2 day cabin trip with good friends (1 hour drive) than I have from a 1 week trip to another country (7 hour flight). The same could be said from a visit to a new museum or a camping trip with close friends. Get curious about what makes your area special, be a “hometown tourist”, don’t be quick to assume you’ve seen it all already.
“Variety is the spice of life”, you don’t always need to fly halfway around the world to scratch that itch for travel and novelty.
Finding The Money
4. Set an Annual Travel Budget
Take 1 hour to create a rough estimate of your household budget so you can back into how much you have to spend for travel.
Step 1: Determine your “discretionary income”
Start with your “After-Tax” Income (check your paystub to see what % of your income is left after taxes)
Subtract “Non-Discretionary” expenses (Rent, Insurance, Food, etc… things you can’t do without)
What’s left equals your “Discretionary income” (the leftover income that you have more choice in how you use it)
Step 2: Choose how to use your “Discretionary income”
Now that you know your Discretionary income, you have 3 options for it: spend it, invest it, or pay down debt. You must find a healthy balance between these 3 that works for you and your financial goals as it wouldn’t be wise to allocate it all to just one area.
Step 3: Back into your travel budget
After subtracting what you plan to spend, invest, and use for debt pay down, the remainder represents your travel budget.
Step 4: Start Trip Planning! :)
After determining how much you can responsibly spend on travel, see which of your bucket list trips are possible.
Factor in flights, lodging, transportation, food, excursions, etc. Overestimate what you think you’ll need so you can jump on exciting spontaneous opportunities as they arise!
5. Automate Savings to a “Travel Fund”
Open a separate high yield savings account, this will act as your “Travel Fund”. If your annual travel budget is $1,200, then setup an automatic $100/month transfer from your checking account. Consider setting the transfer to take place on the days you get paid (so $50/paycheck if you get paid 2x/month if you wish to automate $100/month in savings). You may even be able to elect direct deposit straight from your paycheck as well. Once it’s automated, saving becomes far easier (one less decision or thing to remember each month). Further, it keeps your checking account balance lower which removes temptation to spend!
The same concept can be applied to other financial goals like a home down payment, emergency fund, etc. It’s a far more organized way to see your money at work rather than lumped into one convoluted pot (i.e. your checking account).
NOTE: I typically recommend having 3-6 months of living expenses saved into an “emergency fund” before devoting heavily towards a travel fund. Remember, one foot in front of the other. Traveling is important, but life is unpredictable, having funds set aside to cover emergency expenses is a wise decision.
6. Travel Hack to Significantly Reduce Travel Costs
While there are tons of ways to reduce the cost of travel, here are some pro tips on how to reduce the biggest costs (flights & accommodation).
Score Amazingly Cheap Flight Deals: (use for flights)
Flight deals at significant discounts are out there everyday but they usually last just a few days and finding them involves more work than the average person wants to invest. Scott’s Cheap Flights is my favorite resource, with them I found a $300 round trip “mistake fair” from San Diego to Sydney, Australia (a $2,000 flight!). Almost daily I get flight deals discounted at 50% or more emailed straight to my inbox from domestic to international.
Credit Card Rewards: (use for flights, accommodation, rental cars, and more)
Scored a 50% off flight deal? Great! Next step is to save your money and buy it with points!
I haven’t paid for a flight with my own money since 2017 and credit card rewards are the reason. In that time I’ve generated over $12,000 in flight rewards and secured a 2 year companion pass with Southwest. This allows me to travel often and for incredibly cheap! You’re already going to spend your money each month, it may make sense to spend it on a credit card (you pay off immediately after) that can earn you substantial rewards in the process. Not everyone is a good fit for credit card rewards, it’s something I can assess with my clients once we start working together.
You can take the quick route and go after large sign up bonuses or take the slower route and build up points with an “everyday cash back” type of card, or a combination of both. Chase Bank (my favorite line of credit cards) comes out with great offers often for those seeking flexible flight rewards (that can be used with most airlines) and BIG sign up bonuses. The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the most popular travel cards to start with. Further, you can transfer “Chase points” to other airline partners points programs (I did this once and increased the value of my points from $1,000 to $1,400 with that specific airline.
For business owners, you can get business AND personal credit card offers which together could mean way more opportunity to earn thousands of dollars in flight rewards!
Note: Know yourself, only consider this type of travel hacking if you can use credit cards responsibly (i.e. paying off your full balance each month and not spending excessively just to meet a sign up bonus).
Lets you set price alerts for specific flights if it dips below a certain limit. Another trick, you can select where you are departing from, but not input where you are going, and it shows you a map of the cheapest flights around the world (ideal for people who want to travel and are flexible with where they want to go).
7. Talk with a Financial Planner
If you’re still unsure how to prioritize travel in your life without jeopardizing other goals (buying a home, savings for a kid’s college, retirement), consider talking with a financial planner who is savvy with travel and travel hacking. Some ways a financial planner can help you travel more:
A partner to sit down with you and prioritize which goals are most important to least important (and discuss where travel fits in)
Review your budget to see how much you can responsibly save for travel
Provide custom advice based on your situation for ways you can travel more while still meeting other goals that matter to you
Share tips/strategies you’re not aware of and provide credit card rewards recommendations (custom to your situation) to help you travel more cheaply!
Provide a detailed savings plan for how much to save and to which account so knowing what you need to do is clearer than ever before
Bottom Line: Fitting more travel into your life is possible, it just takes a little creativity and knowing what tools are out there so you can explore the world without financially sacrificing your other goals in the process!
San Diego Financial Advisor | Fee-only Fiduciary
Disclosure:
None of the information provided is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as an endorsement, of any company, security, fund, or other securities or non-securities offering. The information should not be relied upon for purposes of transacting securities or other investments. Your use of the information is at your sole risk. The content is provided ‘as is’ and without warranties, either expressed or implied. Wonder Wealth, LLC does not promise or guarantee any income or particular result from your use of the information contained herein.