How to Save Money for Travel (My Story)

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how I was able to afford long-term travel, with many people simply telling me “You must be very lucky”. Although I have been very lucky in many aspects of my life, saving money to travel was something I worked very hard at for a long time. I earned close to minimum wage until I was 28, and I took my first backpacking trip in my 30s. My approach to save money for travel came down to two things: (1) cutting my spending, and (2) saving and investing. 

Today I’m sharing my story to show you that it’s never too late nor impossible to save money for travel. I’ll share budgeting tips that will help you build a travel fund, whether or not you have an upcoming trip or vacation planned!

If you’ve already saved money to travel and are ready to take a trip, congrats! You may want to check out my advice on how to travel cheaply.

Saving Money While Earning Minimum Wage

I started my journey abroad at the age of 22, pursuing graduate school in Switzerland. I’m glad I didn’t listen to the skeptics who told me I was out of my mind for leaving the US. Switzerland not only pays graduate students better, but it also has a far superior work-life balance than the US! Let this be a reminder that having the courage to defy conventional advice often pays off.

From the ages of 22 to 28, I earned close to minimum wage while living in the world’s 4th most expensive country. However, I was determined not to live the life of a stereotypically broke graduate student. I had dreams to travel the world, and I needed money to do this!

I managed to save a decent amount of money each year by living a very frugal lifestyle and taking up the following financial habits:

Not Eating in Restaurants

With the exception of meals on vacation, I ate out only once a year on my birthday. Otherwise, I cooked all my meals. Eating out in Switzerland is very expensive, and this one habit allowed me to save a huge amount of money for my travel fund.

Avoiding Alcohol

Unfortunately, alcohol is also very expensive in Switzerland. I never went to bars and limited my alcohol consumption (yes, I realize this makes me sound like no fun at all).

Being Vegetarian

The cost of meat in Switzerland is notoriously high. Seeing helpless baby cows on veal farms while hiking in the Swiss Alps convinced me to become vegetarian. In doing so I inadvertently saved a lot of money that I could put towards traveling.

Not Smoking

There’s many reasons why you shouldn’t smoke, and your budget is one of them.

Buying Generic Items

When shopping for food and home products, I bought the cheapest and discounted items. I also prioritized buying foods that were in season, which benefited my wallet and also the planet. A few dollars saved on each shopping trip can really add up to building a hefty travel fund.

Living Cheaply with Roommates

I chose apartments that were older and further from the city center, thus more affordable. I also shared the cost with roommates (usually other graduate students).

Buying Second-Hand

I bought a lot of second-hand furniture at steep discounts. I have many funny stories about trying to transport large pieces of furniture on public transportation, since neither I nor my friends had cars. And that brings us to my next saving habit…

Getting Creative with Transportation

Although having a car would have been convenient, it would have depleted all of my savings. Instead I took public transportation. To get to places the network didn’t reach I bought the cheapest motorcycle I could find, which I needed to get to my second job.

Working a Second Job

In Switzerland I took classes at a local dance studio and later transitioned to teaching classes a few times a week. The pay was surprisingly good; sadly, it was more than double of what I earned as an engineering graduate student. In addition, I was paid to perform at events and had access to classes at the studio for free.

Joining a No-frills Gym

Whether you’re saving money for travel or something else, you should never sacrifice your health in the process. Gyms in Switzerland are expensive, but it was out of the question for me to skimp on workouts for the sake of saving money. 

I joined my university gym, which was the cheapest option I could find. It was full of outdated equipment and had very limited opening hours, which was annoying since I was working full time. I had to plan my scientific experiments carefully so that I could squeeze in a workout during lunch hour.

Traveling Off-Peak and to Budget-Friendly Destinations

One reason I chose Switzerland for graduate school was for the opportunities to travel in neighboring countries. To keep these trips affordable, I traveled during off-peak seasons. I also selected flights with inconvenient layovers and ungodly hours (I have many memories of sleeping in airports). For longer trips, I visited budget-friendly destinations to make my money stretch further.

Budget Lifestyle Choices

As a graduate student, I limited my spending on fashion and beauty. Clothes and shoes are very expensive in Switzerland, and I did my shopping whenever I traveled to a neighboring country. Also, kind of cringe, but I only got my hair cut once every 1 – 2 years at student training salons.

I realize that my aggressive saving habits make me sound very strict and boring, and in some ways, I do regret not relaxing and enjoying my 20s more. This is one of the reasons why, as I entered my 30s, I felt I owed it to myself to let loose for once after years of hard work. As I’ll explain shortly, in my 30s I decided to spend some of the money I’d saved to travel long-term.

Making My Money Work for Me

Upon arriving in Switzerland, one of the first things I did was open a brokerage account. Although I had only modest savings, I knew that investing would substantially grow my funds over time with little effort from me. 

During the 5 years I was in graduate school my initially small investments grew considerably, consistent with the stock market’s average annual return rate of 10%. Here’s some numbers to think about: with this annual return rate, money invested 10 years ago would have more than doubled in value by today. That’s even after adjusting for inflation!

Saving Money for Travel in Corporate America

Unfortunately I couldn’t stay in Switzerland forever, and when I graduated I moved back to the US and got my first corporate job. It paid significantly more than my job as a graduate researcher. However old habits die hard, and I still maintained my frugal lifestyle. 

That’s not to say I wasn’t tempted though. In the time I had been away, Uber and food delivery platforms had arrived in the US. It’s difficult to express how badly I wanted to take Uber instead of trudging through heavy Boston snow to reach public transport, or how I craved to get a meal delivered after working 14 hour days in the lab.

Living in Boston also came with many opportunities to enjoy nightlife and take weekend trips to nearby cities. While I occasionally treated myself, I mostly gravitated towards budget-friendly weekends hiking and camping in the mountains of New Hampshire. I realized that exploring local scenery could be just as fun as checking out the latest restaurants or concerts. This is when my passion for discovering lesser-known gems in the outdoors began!

Sabbatical and Spending the Money I’d Saved to Travel

I continued to live a similar lifestyle until my early 30s. At 32, I was unexpectedly laid off from what I thought was my dream job, which I had started only 4 months prior. I was jobless, single, and left with bad anxiety from high-pressure work situations over the years.

This pivotal moment led me to make a bold decision. Instead of trying even harder to conform to conventional narratives, I did the opposite. I didn’t have a concrete plan, but I knew that my current trajectory would continue to spiral me into unhappiness unless I took action.

In the span of 2 weeks, I sold nearly all of my possessions (another good thing to do if you’re trying to save money) and moved to the other side of the country to live with my family in California. I took a realistic look at my financial situation and realized that I could feasibly take a sabbatical, as I’d saved enough money to travel long-term. After years of hard work, I realized I needed to give myself a break for once.

And that’s where the majority of my travel stories begin! In this blog I’ve written about my adventures throughout the world and provide tips on how you can do the same.

Tools to Help You Save Money for Travel

Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, and this information reflects my opinions. It is for educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as personal investment advice. Conduct your own research and seek professional advice when necessary.

I believe that with the right financial tools, you can work smarter, not harder, to save money for travel. Here are some of the methods I used to build my travel fund:

High-Yield Savings Account

Whatever you do, you shouldn’t let your savings sit in your checking account! Inflation means that your hard-earned cash will gradually lose its value each year.

If you’re not ready to invest, consider placing your money in a reputable high-yield savings account. These accounts can grow your savings by up to 5% or more annually. 

If you need further persuasion as to why this is a wise choice, play around with this calculator to understand the potential of your savings when managed smartly.

Brokerage Account 

Opening a brokerage account is a key step in growing your money, whether you’re trying to save money for travel or another big purchase. This return on investment calculator demonstrates the power of investing quite nicely.

Credit Cards with Rewards

If you consistently pay off your balance each month, credit card reward programs allow you to earn a substantial percentage of your transactions back in cash, points, or miles. 
I personally use and recommend the Chase Sapphire Card. It rewards you with substantial points for travel-related expenses and offers a very generous bonus when opening an account.

Thanks for reading, and I hope my story has demonstrated that it’s not impossible to save money for travel. Which of my money saving habits surprised you the most? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Head to my Travel Tips Page for more tips that will help you prepare and budget for your travels.

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