Traveling (not the two-week all-inclusive never leaving the hotel kind) is an amazingly multi-beneficial and awe-inspiring adventure. There is no greater way to gain a new perspective than to witness and experience firsthand new cultures and ways of life.
Unfortunately, however, such experiences come with a price tag (even for the thriftiest holidaymaker), and therefore certain sacrifices must be made. Here are four of them:
1. Eating Out
First and foremost, if you are part of a couple who enjoy nothing more than splurging on a delicious and impressively-presented four-star or higher meal regularly, then (for now, at least) you need to forego such a luxury.
Even if you and the rest of your family enjoy a more modest weekend meal at a country pub every week, the money you spend on feeding yourself this way is probably far more than you think or, indeed, care to imagine.
Instead, embrace the pleasure and creativity of cooking meals at home, and if you are someone who enjoys dining with friends, invite everyone over in the summer months for evening barbecues with a ‘bring your own food’ caveat on the invitation.
2. Reduce Your Direct Debits to a Bare Minimum
Everyone in the modern world is all too familiar with being tempted to sign-up for a free first-month offer for a new streaming service, magazine subscription, or other periodically delivered product, only to realize months or even years later that they have been paying for it every month since.
Sit down with a pen and a hard copy of your bank statement, and if you are planning on vacationing with your partner, encourage them to do the same thing and highlight every single direct debit you have each month. Afterward, pick up the phone and cancel everything that is not absolutely mandatory to your daily life and move the money you save each month into your savings.
3. Downsize Your Vehicle
Now, it may well be the case that, given the choice, you would much rather stick with your gas-guzzling supercar on the drive rather than be able to have a month off from work to tour Southern Asia.
However, if you are serious about making your dream vacation a reality and you are looking to sell your Ferrari FF online, make sure you get the best possible price for your treasured vehicle and use a reputable and renowned official dealer.
4. Buy Secondhand Clothing
The fourth and final sacrifice you need to make if you cannot wait to be barefoot in the Taj Mahal or watch a herd of elephants cross your path in the Kenyan desert is to stop buying clothing full-price and new.
Instead, download one of the many secondhand clothing applications, whereby you will not only be able to find clothing, accessories, and all manner of other things for a fraction of the price should you buy them directly from the store, but you can also sell your old clothing to make money for your trip.
In addition, choosing to buy secondhand over brand-new will also mean you are living a much more sustainable lifestyle moving forward.
Featured image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik.
