Top 3 Ways to Amp Up Your Travel Savings
As desirable as it is, travel can be expensive if you’re not careful. So what are the best ways to get the most out of each dollar? Here are my Top 3 Ways to Amp Up Your Travel Savings! We’ll take a look at some of the most popular ways to save for your next vacation to see which makes the most sense for you to get you traveling faster.
1. Use a Travel Money Jar
Ask most financial experts, and they’ll generally agree that having some form of a “jar system” is important for managing your finances. Whether it’s physical jars in your home or not, the idea is the same: create a few buckets of spending to manage where your money goes, and to prioritize everything that’s important to you.
As an example, you may have 5 jars labelled as Transportation, Groceries, Entertainment, Savings, and Travel. Each week you will have allocated a certain percentage of your income to each jar. The idea is that you do not overspend from any of the jars. It’s great for budgeting, especially if you have any debt you need to repay. For more details on this method check out Elisabeth Donati’s book, The Money Jars: Your Magical Money Management System.
I find that these systems require a lot of discipline and are very tempting to bypass. I mean, if you have a vacation opportunity coming up would you be able to resist taking a few dollars from your savings jar to make up the shortfall in your travel jar? Or even worse, stealing from your travel jar to order pizza for dinner … with good intentions to repay it later I’m sure!
If you are able to stay on task, this method could be a great option for you. Just be prepared to pass on travel opportunities until your travel money jar reaches an adequate level.
2. Open a Travel Savings Account
Opening a bank account specifically meant for travel expenses is a great way to take the idea of the “jar system” and remove much of the temptation. You will no longer physically see the money sitting there, so you won’t have the daily option of spending it.
Unfortunately, most bank accounts today come with some fees attached to them. This has the huge downside of costing us some of those hard-earned travel dollars with nothing to show for it. If you go this route, definitely take the time to find a low or no-fee account with a decent interest rate. If you are located in Canada a great option is opening a no-fee account with Tangerine (you can use my Orange Key 14903847S1 to get a $50 bonus!).
3. Join a Travel Club
In my opinion the best option to really amp up your travel savings is to join a reputable travel club. There are many travel clubs out there, so make sure the one you join best fits you and your travel style. The best ones allow you to convert everything you pay at enrollment and through monthly dues into travel dollars. This way you truly will have an untouchable travel savings account!
When comparing travel clubs be sure to compare the variety of trip offerings and locations. Do they allow travel outside of canned trips? What about 24 hour concierge service? Are there price guarantees? Do you get extra perks at your destination just for being a member?
So there you have it; the Top 3 Ways to Amp up Your Travel Savings! All that remains is to choose the method that works best for you, and the speed you want your travel savings to grow. See you on the runway!!
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I would personally take the travel club…. just saying… sounds like the best way to go… thanks for sharing this Bruce….
Thanks Ron! In my experience travel clubs are definitely the fastest method of reaching your savings goals
Alright I’m guilty of having a “PLAY” jar that I really want to use for travel. In fact, it’s slowly filling for my next trip. I do mean slooooowly. How’d you know I took from that jar to tip my manicurist last month? True story.
As for a Travel Club…I want to get the best deal every time I travel, and love the idea of having my membership dues applied to that next trip. Thank you for sharing this!
Well that’s the biggest problem i find with the jar method … it’s too tempting to take from one to make up for shortfalls in the others! It requires a LOT of discipline to make it work, but it does work 🙂
Great tips. The jar will get you on a trip eventually. A Travel Club can definitely get the best deals out there! Great post. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Collin … one of the added benefits of travel clubs is the low price guarantees. If the club you’re looking at doesn’t have those, keep looking!
I’ve heard of swear jars but not travel jars – gonna implement this one 😉
Dr. Lisa
Glad you received some value Dr. Lisa, hope to see you on your travels!
Great Post. We personally use travel account and trust it helps so much in managing the budget for every trip . Thanks for sharing .
Travel accounts can be great for exactly that purpose!
Can you recommend any budget apps that could help with saving? Like a travel jar for the modern age?
That’s a great idea Nick. I haven’t looked into them yet, but i’ll do that for a future post. In the mean time, i’d recommend you check out the travel clubs i provided links to in this post. They go a long way in replacing physical money jars for me.
Really loved reading all the great ideas in this blog,
Thanks for dropping by Yogita
I definitely need a travel savings account to afford all the adventures I want!!
Definitely makes it more attainable, Laura!
Jar method didn’t worked for me, tried it once. But ya I have opened a bank account especially to do saving for my travel and always do a yearly fixed deposit which works wonders for me at time of traveling 🙂
Thanks for this tip! I have found that bank accounts and travel clubs have worked for me
I don’t have a traveling jar but I do have a savings account for my travels. It does help to cut down on day to day expenses.
Gokul Raj recently posted…Why should you always choose the Window seat on a Flight
Glad to hear that’s working for you Gokul! When you remove the money immediately from your daily accounts you hardly notice it’s gone
Great tips. The jar will get you on a trip eventually, I absolutely agree. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Dan! Glad you enjoyed this post
While I already work on the other two options, I wasn’t aware of travel clubs.
Fortunately my bank allows a flexible deposit system which allows me to keep aside as much money as I can and I’d like to in a fixed deposit. Evens out between the good and the bad months.
That flexible deposit system sounds like a great option. You may want to look into travel clubs, i’ve found they take my travel to another whole level!
The travel jar is one of my favorites. Spare cash and change really adds up. I mean it wont buy you a plane ticket but, is certainly a great surprise when you crack that jar open 🙂 The travel club is a great idea too – I cant say I’ve heard of that concept. I’ll have to check it out.
It’s always a huge surprise how quickly change can accumulate! I’f be happy to help you out with your exploration of travel clubs if you like 🙂
Joining a travel club has never come to my attention but I will definitely look it up. I just kind of put money aside constantly to make my travel dreams come true.
Agnes recently posted…Kournas Lake and Georgioupolis
Glad I could provide some additional ways to achieve your travel dreams! Definitely follow that link i provided to help you discover travel clubs
I love the idea of having money jars. In fact, I would prefer something which would systematically take out a portion f my account without me having to do it manually. I m not very convinced about joining travel clubs because I feel they tie me down to a few options to explore during travel.
That automatic feature is what i love about our travel club! And there are some around that aren’t so restrictive so definitely check out those links i provided above.