So, your best pal just suggested a six-city, two week grand European adventure, but you just washed your last paper plate and it’s still a week until payday?
Tell me ’bout it, honey.
How do you make this trip happen? Because, I don’t know about you, but when someone says ‘Cinque Terre’, I’m all:
Let me be real here: I am poor as fuck. This is due in equal parts to being a total fuckwit when it comes to saving money (also maybe due to a teensy addiction to filling every nook and cranny in my apartment with Bath & Body Works soap) and choosing one of the lowest paid professions: teaching. What teaching does enable me is the time to jet off to foreign countries. The salary just needs to catch up with my at-least-one-international-trip-every-year tastes.
I have also let my credit cards get the best of me, because it’d be wrong not to make that excellent credit rating work for me, right? Right? (More on this later.)
So, what is a broke as a joke idiot to do when travel just has to happen, because what is life without travel, ya’ll? Well, let your favorite idiot help you out with this one, because for once, I am kinda good at something. I know, I fell off my chair too.
Last summer, as many of you know, I went on a most glorious nearly six-week-long trip to Amsterdam, The British Isles, and Ireland. I went with my mom, aunt, and uncle, so we were able to save quite a bit on our house stays, but holy mother of the god of expensive shit, it was not cheap to travel for more than a month. Since I am always way too transparent here, I will just tell you what I spent. My grand adventure cost roughly $5,500.
Even more surprising- I had the trip paid off the month after my return.
I’ll give you a minute to get over the shock.
So, how did a certified money moron pull this off? Let me tell you!
1. Fun Shit is Magically Easier to Save For
First and foremost, when what you are saving for is weeks of travel in one of your favorite parts of the world, somehow, you have some extra money. It’s really crazy. Actually, it’s just easier to skip the latte when you are doing it for patat frites in Amsterdam. It’s easy as hell.
So, if you need to, make a vision board with all of the amazing things you are Starbucks starving yourself for and you will suddenly become Scrooge McDuck.
2. Cancel Your Ridiculous Amount of Subscriptions and Cut Any Non-Essentials
Even your Ipsy bag. Yes, I know it’s only $10 a month.
Before my trip last year was for sure-for sure, I was paying monthly subscriptions for Ipsy, Snack Crate, Weight Watchers ($20 a month and I hadn’t opened the app in months) and a handful of educational subscriptions, like Number Rock. These subscriptions totaled $56 a month. This may not sound like a huge amount, but they were all 100% unnecessary. After six months of not shelling out the cash for these monthly charges, I had $336. That is a lot of patat frites, ya’ll!
Also, I stopped getting my nails and eyebrows done. Any non-essential luxury had to go and it saved me tons. A unibrow and hangnail-riddled fingers ain’t nothin’ when you are Europe-bound. I kept my massage appointments, but those were for my health and sanity.
If I wanted to really deprive myself, I could have also canceled Netflix and Hulu, but since I wasn’t paying for cable, I needed something to do when all of my extra cash was hiding out in my secret spot.
Speaking of…
3. Save Literally Every Penny
One of the funnest things I did to save for my trip was to save loose change in a mason jar. I don’t know if it was the addicting clink of the coins when I dropped them into the jar or the satisfying weight as the amount grew, but I was addicted to finding change. I’m also super fun at parties, ya’ll.
My dude’s pants pockets, under the seats of our vehicles, and the couch cushions- nowhere was safe from my greedy beadies. I left no stone un-turned in my search for a forgotten eight cents.
When my jar got full and the time came to cash in, I picked up some rolling papers (no, not that kind, yo) or coin wrappers and did that shit myself. My hands smelled like the unwashed masses for days, but every single penny went to my trip, unlike what would have happened had I gone the easy route, i.e. Coinstar.
(Be aware that Coinstar takes 11.9% of your total amount as a fee and that means one less ice cream cone on the beach and that is un.accept.able.)
4. Set a Budget and Try to Beat It, Baby
One of the most effective ways I saved trip money was setting a strict budget. In order for this to work, I had to take a truly honest inventory of my finances. It was a real coming to Jesus moment, because it was like a huge smack across the face with my newest pleather TJ MAXX purse find.
HOW IN THE FUCK DID I SPEND 150 AMERICAN DOLLARS IN ONE MONTH AT STARBUCKS?
I investigated where my money was going (Starbucks) and where I could cut corners and spend less (at Starbucks).
I set a budget for how much I felt was reasonable for groceries and other essentials per week/month. I did the same for weekend spending money. I even set a budget for how much I could spend during the week. It seems like it would have made more sense to just set one amount for the entire week, but I knew that if I gave myself $80 for the week on Monday, I would have had precisely $2.84 left to use by Friday. Because I spend the majority of my work week at, uh, work, I decided I needed the majority of my weekly budget allocated for the weekend.
So, I gave myself $20 for the work week, and if that only got me two and a half morning Starbucks runs, so be it. I pulled up my big girl panties and dusted off the Keurig I just had to have and made my coffee the majority of my mornings.
On Friday, I would pull $60 out of the ATM and that had to get me through all of my weekend activities. If I had a sushi date with a pal, this would eat up almost half of my cash. This made me take a good, hard look at whether or not I really needed to eat 18 long rolls and then be dead to the world the rest of the day in a sushi and soy sauce coma. More often than not, I suggested a coffee date instead (this was also a surprise diet hack).
Where I tried to “beat my budget” was when I started to have money left over on Sunday evening. It was like winning a game I didn’t even know I was playing. I started to try to have money left over every weekend. I straight up felt like Ebenezer Scrooge as I stockpiled my cash and coins.
5. Kash is King
Not only did I set a budget, I pulled cash out at the ATM for my work week and weekend money (as mentioned above). This prevented me from accidentally spending too much using my debit card. Because math is not my strong suit, $20 could easily have become $40 when I mindlessly handed over my debit card and not cold, hard cash.
Further, when I had money left over after the week or weekend was over, I saved my cash in a secret hiding spot and not in my savings account. It was and is way too easy to transfer funds from my savings to my checking to be used on something dumb, because when the money is just some numbers on a screen it doesn’t have the same impact as digging for your cash, counting it out, and then guiltily adding it to your wallet for a non-travel expenditure.
6. Acorns
I am legit gonna sound like I work for Acorns or that I am getting some kind of kickback from them and while that is not entirely wrong, I’m not being sponsored to say what I am about to say.
I just love the shit out of this app.
If you have never heard of Acorns, make yourself a cup of tea or pour yourself a glass of wine, because you are going to want to hear this, and it is always nice hearing good news when you are enjoying a refreshing beverage.
So, in a nutshell (see what I did there?), Acorns is an investment app. This may sound scary, because if you are anything like me, you have not one iota of a fucking clue what investing involves.
Fear not, if you decide to try Acorns out, it is not a risky venture. I have been investing and saving with Acorns for more than a year now and I can confidently say I have not lost any pennies to Acorns. In fact, I am ADDICTED.
When you sign up for an Acorns account, the easiest way to start saving money is to turn on Round Ups. Whenever you use your debit card (yes, you need to connect your account, but it is secure), Acorns rounds up your purchase to the next dollar. When your round ups reach $5, that amount is withdrawn from your checking account into your Acorns account. Along with a monthly deposit of $25 from my checking, I saved over $400 to go towards my trip and I never even noticed the round ups.
It practically felt like free money, ya’ll.
When I first started Acorns, I’d withdraw money here and there when I wanted to make a purchase, but had I not touched my account, I would have $1400 today plus whatever dividends I made with my investment portfolio (which is conservative and means lower risk).
If I have piqued your interest, check out Acorns using my link here. If I can get 12 friends signed up and investing (I have already converted two), I will get $1000 from Acorns. YES, ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. When you sign up via my link, you get $5 and so do I. That is what we call a win-win, friends.
*Bonus: The Guilt Gut Kicker*
The tips I shared above worked for me and why I am so excited about them again is that I am currently employing them for another international trip I just made official a couple weeks ago!
This time around, along with the poop-my-pants-excitement, I am feeling a bit of guilt.
I promised myself that this year I would focus on paying down my debt and the second another trip was a possibility, I threw finally being a real adult out the window faster than you can say “Peace out, bitches!”
Well, to combat that damn dirty feeling of guilt, I am planning to save $100 out of every months’ savings for my trip to be put onto a credit card. I hope to save for my trip AND pay off two small credit card balances.
Sometimes just having a plan to be a better adult can ease those poopy feelings.
Also,
What are your money saving tips? I am always looking for other ways to save/make some money when it’s for travel! Let me know in the comments!
I get why you use cash instead of credit card to keep yourself in check, but I personally use my credit card on everything (with a weekly budget in mind) so I can earn rewards and turn them into cash for whatever I’m trying to save for. Then I just pay them off every month. My goal is to have my monthly balance lower than the one before. 😉
Also after talking with my friend about saving money (which according to her I’m a genius), I found out that I do something that saves money that a lot of others don’t: I don’t make car payments. Sure my car isn’t brand new, but it works and I think it’s cute (it’s a purple hatchback named Toots) and that’s really all a girl needs out of a car, right? Since I paid cash for my whip, I don’t have to pay full coverage insurance either, saving even more money every month.
And lastly, meal prepping for the week can save you tons of money that you would spend going out to eat regularly. Plus you control exactly what you eat instead of ordering based on a craving (hello whopper, large fry, and hershey’s pie), thus keeping yourself accountable when dieting too!
Great ideas!! I can’t be trusted around credit cards, sadly, so I rarely use them for that purpose. But, I know people who use them just for the points and that’s ultimate adulting! 🥇🤣
I can’t wait for my car to be paid off!! I wish I were able to pay cash for a car!! My dude is working a second job to pay for new vehicle and he’s making so much extra money, he won’t have to make payments much longer than like 6 months. I wish I had that determination 😬🤣.
We meal prep to a certain extent every week. Leftovers for daaaaaays. We eat out only on the weekends. I do not spend unless it’s my allotted cash 👍🏻👍🏻
Love these tips! I also use Ebates for cash back when shopping online. Shopping online may seem counter productive when trying to save, but I’ll buy things I need to buy either way like toiletries and items for my trip. They send out checks twice a year and I usually get about $15 per check. Not a windfall but it’s free money and it goes right into my travel fund. I just started using the Ibotta app too. It’s similar to Ebates but it’s for groceries. I’d you want to try Ebates, go to this link and we’ll both get some money ($5 or $10, I think)! https://go.ebat.es/imsk/XctVaWjIMG
I’m the opposite when it comes to cash. I spend cash freely and it’s my account balances that give me anxiety. But as another commenter mentioned, I take the cash reward on my credit card and add it to my travel fund. And it will match me 100% at the end of the year! (It’s a Discover It card, if you’re interested). Since I’ve been using my credit card more in order to get the rewards, I have less spare change to add to my jar but I figure 5% cash back on certain purchases is probably more than the change I would save. That’s what I’m telling myself anyway.
Where are you going on your next trip?!
Ya’ll are such responsible adults 🤣❤️❤️👌🏻. I tried the “put everything on the credit card and pay it off every month” thing and now we are 6 credit cards deep with balances that won’t be paid off every month 🤣🤣. Somehow, I still have excellent credit, because for YEARS I used my entire tax return to pay off a card or two.
I’ve decided travel is more rewarding 😂❤️.
I tried Ibotta and I didn’t seem to get much from it, but I’ll totally look into Ebates! Every little bit helps!
A friend and I are planning a trip to London, Rome, Cinque Terre, Venice, Zurich, and Paris!!! So excited!
I have the Discover It card too! 😀
Great tips and post. I did have to Google Ipsy though!
That Acorns sounds a great idea, especially rounding up the pounds. I’ll have to check out if there’s something in the UK.
I have a loose change jar too, whenever I get a £1 coin in goes in there. Surprising how it adds up and also becomes a challenge!
I wish you a well travelled summer of 2019 too!
Ooh! That’d be awesome if you could try Acorns in the U.K.! I bet with your £1 coins, your change adds up super fast!!
Do you guys get Ipsy?
No Ipsy here. But we do have things like Birchbox, which seems like the same kinda thing!
Birchbox is pretty similar, but I think it’s a tad more expensive.
Enjoyed this very much. Good luck with your savings plan. I don’t have any secret savings plan to share because I’ve never been a shopper, except for books, so I don’t really spend money shopping. Boring I know.
Spending money on books is 100% one of the best ways to spend money!! ❤️📚
Using cash instead of cards is a great way to go. There’s something about forking over the cold hard cash that makes purchases more mindful. Here’s another tip – every few days I go through my wallet and take out any 5 dollar bills. I put them away in an envelope (provided that doesn’t wipe my wallet out to zero.) That’s my “play” money to spend on some luxury or non-essential – like that pleather purse at TJ Maxx!
Ooh! That’s a fantastic idea so one doesn’t feel too deprived 😜. Yup, something about having cash makes it more real when I’m spending!
Some great money saving tips! Think. I need them. To save for editing!
Is that an expensive venture?! 😱😱
Well if we decide to go indie you need to think of editing… And sometimes 2 /3 different layers of that, cover, formatting, advertising, hard copies… A lot!
Oh man…😱😱😬😬😬😬
I Know! And all on our teachers salaries…
I’ve imdormed hubby that from now on, and presents to me should be cash in my author to be pot!
LOL!! That’s an excellent hint!! This salary ain’t no joke, right? 😫
😂 💜
Takeaway coffee has a lot to answer for!
It truly does!!! 😜😜😜
I think you’ve covered it all really well – and in your own indomitable style! I think knowing what you’re going to be for when you travel is a good idea so you know how much you will actually need, plus a bit extra. Pinned this on my group board 🙂 Nice to see you back in the saddle too.
Thank you so much!!! Yes, great tip! I always add a lot to my estimates for costs just in case. ❤️❤️
That’s so funny that you pull out cash for all weekly expenses. We started doing that now that we are a single income household in a country with much less credit card usage around. Hubs pulls out a set amount – started at pulling it out each week, but we found we could go 10 days on it, so we now take out a set amount every 10 days. Like you, at the end of the set time-frame, we pool any leftover cash for later. He was giving me about half each time, but then, when we’re out together he usually pays, so I started taking less. (I choose my amount. He’s not a control freak, just the one working.)
Here’s the extra tip I figured out that works for my own brain: I take an odd amount each time. That makes me more diligent in tracking where I spend it. For example, instead of $20, try $18 or $21 and see if you don’t find yourself doing the math with each purchase!
That’s a great idea!!! Thanks for suggesting 🙌🏻❤️
You’re adultier than you think, my friend.
Yes, that’s a word. Because I said so. (That’s about the limit of my adulting)
I’ll have to check out Acorns, for sure!
It’s kinda funny, because after writing this, I kinda felt like my lack of adult wasn’t as strong as I had previously thought. Maybe I am an adult!!!!
I loved this so much. I couldn’t hit the “Like” and “Follow this blog?” buttons fast enough!
YAY!!! This totally made my entire weekend!! Thank you and welcome to the craziness that is Fatty McCupcakes 🤣❤️❤️
I paid off my credit cards and chopped them to bits. I never had a good relationship with it anyway. I don’t think we have roundup in Canada.
That’s a good idea with the credit cards! I have too good of a relationship with them 😜😫
It feels good not owing the bank anything. I pay with debit or cash, and I’ve survived. 😀
That’s really the smart way to live! Although, I do love the cash back rewards from my Capital One!
Well, that would be good as long as you make your payments on time. That wasn’t happening for me….you know, one thing after the other. It’s far too easy to go under.
Oh, I feel you. Right now, any purchases I make on my Capital One card are for travel. I’m actively working at paying all of that off. The cash back rewards are helping with that too!
But yes, you need to be incredibly disciplined to do this- something I’m rarely able to be 😫
It can sneak up on you. A vet bill, your car gets buggered. It doesn’t take much. Next thing you know your eating Cheerios with mayonnaise.
BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA it’s true!
Loved this post! I too am saving for my first ever European trip in October. Italy here I come! I do the change jar thing too (guess I’m not such a kook after all!). I’ll be checking out Acorn as I am the debit card queen. That seriously has to stop. Too easy to spend! I’ve been spending a lot of weekends in, but I don’t mind one little bit. When I see my savings growing towards my trip, knowing that I will have paid it off before I leave is wonderful! Peace out, kiddo.
Acorns is amazing for the round ups! I don’t think a change jar is kooky at all! It’s a great idea! So exciting you’re off to Italy. Where all are you going?