I often get asked how I’m able to afford to travel like I do since it seems as if I’m constantly jetting off somewhere. Of course for someone with a severe case of wanderlust, I can never travel enough. So how is it I’m able to travel as much as I do?
Finances
I don’t have kids, which is probably the biggest expense one can have. However, I do have a mortgage and I like having electricity, gas, and water, so I obviously pay those bills, too. Other than my mortgage, I carry no debt. Not paying high interest rates on credit cards or loans is a huge help. It wasn’t always that way. I once had credit card balances and a student loan, but no more.
When it came time to buy a house, I was approved for a giant sum of money, an amount so ridiculously large that if I did buy a house that cost that much I could never have afforded the monthly payment, much less the taxes and insurance. Instead, I chose to buy what I could comfortably afford. I live in an older home in an established neighborhood with a fantastic location. Over the years I’ve made improvements, which have raised the value of the property.
One thing that I think people overlook are their taxes. I contested my homestead taxes and had the apprised value of my house lowered by $26,000! Yeah…the tax man was even shocked. The house was coded wrong in the books, and I’d been over paying taxes for nearly four years. Also, when interests rates plummeted, I refinanced. Although it was a HUGE pain, I managed to lower my interest rate by 5% and changed the mortgage from a 30 to 15 year. Oh, and I’m actually paying $100 less per month. That made all the paperwork and hoops I had to jump through all worthwhile. I haven’t actually put pen to paper to see exactly how much I’ve saved myself by doing a little legwork, but I know that it’s thousands of dollars.
Priorities
Obviously traveling is a priority to me, and like everyone else, I tend to spend the largest part of my disposable income on what’s most important. I have a good paying job, although I could certainly find a higher paying one, but it might not offer the same freedom and flexibility that my current one offers. To me, that’s worth at least an extra $12,000.
As many of you know, I love beautiful clothes and shoes {and purses and watches and…}. Shopping was and still continues to be something I truly enjoy. In the last couple of years, I’ve really scaled back my purchases, which also is part of the reason why I carry no debt. Rarely do I shop unless I actually need something. While I understand that my meaning of “need” is drastically different from others, I am making headway. I don’t spend my time in stores and mostly buy online now. I find that it cuts down on impulse buys.
The single best change I’ve made is how I look at items that I’m thinking about purchasing. When I’m considering buying the $200 J Crew dress I now consciously think about what that $200 could buy me in terms of travel. Two hundred dollars gets me half way to New York or is a rental car for a long weekend. When I look at my purchases in terms of experiences it makes the would-be material item in front of me seem less desirable. I employ the same tactic when it comes to other non-necessary things like massages and manicures.
When I’m able to resist the urge to spend money, I take the amount I was going to spend and I transfer it into my travel savings account. Seeing that account grow positively influences me and I find myself being able to resist the temptation to buy more often. I kind of look at it like Pavlov’s dogs and the reward is travel.
Saving
I’m a big believer of out of sight, out of mind. I don’t keep candy in the house because I know I’ll eat it. I also don’t keep cash in my purse because I know I’ll spend it. The same theory holds true with excess money in my banking account. I have six different accounts, but one is primary for bills, groceries, gas, and the like. The others all serve their purposes, but one is strictly for travel. That one is a savings account of sorts, and I know I probably could get better interest rates from a Cash ISA, but it works for me.
Last year I was able to accumulate $8,000 over six months time to put towards my New Zealand trip. And when I found out that I was the winner of Go with Oh and would be off to Europe for a month, I started dumping money again into the account. I saved $4,000 in five months. When I’m saving for a specific trip I get somewhat manic. When the bills are paid for the month, I dump as much money as I can into my travel account. I get such a sense of accomplishment and pride when I check my balance. And unlike in my 20s, I no longer go on vacation and then figure out how to pay for it when I get home. This way I can enjoy my travels instead of worrying about how I’m going to pay for them.
In no way do I think I’m some sort of financial wiz or expert. This is just what has worked for me. I know that I could cut back in a lot of other ways, but I still want to enjoy my day-to-day life when I’m not traveling. As my desire to travel more grows, I’m sure that my methods for saving money will tighten and evolve.
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