Saving your money can be a depressingly hard task to keep up, it is even more of a harder task if you live in an area with a lot of things to do and spend money on. This can also be the case for students as there is always a pressure to go out and party on the weekends!
This does not mean that it is an impossible task to start saving to go abroad, follow these simple yet effective tips and you’ll be well on your way to saving up for that dream holiday. Although I can’t say you won’t have to sacrifice anything, you will feel better about it in the long run and it will definitely be worth it.
Tip 1 – Set yourself a goal and make sure you monitor your progress
Before you even think about starting to save, you must pick a holiday destination and when you would like to go there. This will help motivate you to start saving as you will be looking at a lot of different holiday destinations, otherwise you will have no final goal for your saving. Keep in mind that you will have to pick a holiday with a realistic budget to what you can save, remember to make a deal with yourself then stick to it if you want to succeed.
Tip 2 – Remind yourself of your holiday
You may not see this as a good tip, but it will help you out in the long-run when you’re down about the whole idea of saving up. Wherever your holiday is, make sure you put up pictures of the place around your home, even make it your desktop background! You want to ensure that you place these pictures in strategic places where you will be forced to see them, this will make sure that you stay motivated towards saving.
Tip 3 – Plan your money
I say this before you start saving every bit of money you have and have no money left over, remember to work out a realistic budget that you know you will stick to no matter what. Planning the money you will spend and save is a lot more simple than you’d have probably thought, all you need to do is work out how much you will need to spend every week then multiply that by four and then minus it from your monthly earnings, if you have some left over then why not allocate a portion of that towards saving for your holiday?
Tip 4 – Look for extra potential income
In your spare time you could start offering your services on the internet, for example if you are good at writing then why not offer your services to people looking for writers, this will provide you with a nice additional flow of income that you could potentially save. There are many services that you can offer online, just do your research and pick a service that you enjoy doing.
If you haven’t got time to work or have kids to look after, why not chuck out stuff you’re not using any more? Everyone has massive DVD collections that they barely watch, or old phones sat in a drawer doing nothing, so why not sell your old electronic goods and get some money in?
Tip 5 – Focus on month by month
In some cases it may be a whole year worth of savings before you have saved up enough to go on holiday, this means that you must focus on the month that you are in and save what you planned on saving in that month before you even start thinking about moving on to the next month. You must make sure that you do not attempt to save too much then having to break into your savings, also be sure to remember you will need to spend money on entertainment as you don’t want your social life to suffer too badly. Just keep in mind that you will have plenty of time to save up for your holiday and there is no need to stress out over it all.
Tip 6 – Working extra hours and shifts
If you want to save up for a holiday without having to cut down too much on living costs and luxuries then you will have to keep in mind the fact that you will have to work extra hours and extra shifts if you can. What’s the point of saving up for a holiday when you’re not working as much as you could be, but remember not to burn yourself out by working constantly as free time will give you a chance to relax.
Tip 7 – Cutting living costs
To enable yourself to save a larger amount of money for your holiday you will have to cut down on your living costs. When it comes to food try to buy the basic ingredients instead of the ready meals and keep in mind that when you purchase less of what you want, you pay a higher rate. So try and buy in bulk if possible. A tip to cutting down on the cost of food is to shop weekly or monthly, this will allow you to allocate a certain amount to each week/month and stick to it! When it comes to household items you also want to try buying in bulk when possible. This might be of particular relevance to expensive, recurring purchases like home fuel or heating oil (that is procurable through Romeo’s Fuel deliveries or similar means). When you’re buying individual products that you need periodically, always check if there’s a cheaper alternative that you could buy for a lot less. It can be easy to fall into the trap of purchasing products under a brand name that you’re familiar with but often they can be of a poorer quality! Think about using price comparison sites like Only Reviews to scout for cheaper alternatives and read up on whether they might even last longer. Small batched products often have stricter quality controls which make them longer-lasting and better scrutinized.
Public transport or fuel for your car can also be an extremely costly everyday routine so try and stay away from it when you can, so try and ride or walk to places if they aren’t far instead of taking your car or using public transport.
Tip 8 – Cut down your bills
Bills such as electricity and gas can dramatically reduce the amount of money you have left to save, specifically in the colder months when you will have to rely on these things more. Try to cut down on water and electricity by doing things such as having a shower instead of a bath and turning your computer off instead of leaving it on during the night and when you’re not using it. By doing this, you will be helping yourself to save more money and help the environment at the same time!
Stick to these simple tips and you will be on your dream holiday in no time at all, just remember to stay motivated when you’re saving your money and your half-way there already!