Traveling is expensive, and for most people, international travel is a luxury that just seems unaffordable. But if you’re truly motivated and make travel a priority in your life, you can find a way to fit your dreams into your budget. Here are some options to help you get a solid start at financing your travel goals.

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Live Below Your Means

We tend to select our housing and lifestyle based on what we can afford. You may believe that you need to put all your income towards your daily living expenses, but that’s just not true. There are plenty of people out there that live off of less money than you make and still manage to get by every year. If you earn $30,000 annually, rest assured that there is someone out there that makes $24,000 a year and still has a roof over their head. If you restrict your expenditures to a lower standard of living, you could put away $6,000 each year for travel expenses.

Earn Money While Traveling

Many people have turned travel into a lifestyle, and not just a vacation. There are dozens of jobs, from freelancing to working in the travel industry or even selling tutoring services to people in the country that you’re traveling to, that will allow you to finance your trips while you’re exploring the world. To make the most of this, consider giving up the permanent residence, and all of the expenses that come along with it. This way, 100% of your income can go towards your journeys, and you’ll be able to see and do a whole lot more.

Budget

One of the most important things to do is to become financially stable and even secure, and that starts by budgeting. Start tracking your expenditures and see how much you are spending each month on your bills and discretionary spending, and then see what you can cut out. Do you really need to spend money on cable or eating out? How much can you afford to put into your travel account each month? Once you figure out a budget that works for you and prioritize your travel, stick to it.

Grow Your Savings

In addition to setting aside money each month, you can begin investing that money to put it to work and bring in even more. While most people think of investing as something that needs large amounts of capital to get started, there are plenty of ways to begin investing smaller amounts of money. Look into a Forex Trading app or other minimal investment day trading to see if you can turn a little money into a little bit more. Some people are so successful at this that they can eventually quit their real job and earn a living by spending a few minutes a day moving their money around the markets.

Have Goals

Besides setting a budget and saving, it’s important to set goals for your travel needs. Do some research about an intended destination, figure out when the best time to go is and how much you’ll need. Then, you can set a savings goal each month for the amount that you will need for that trip. Divide the cost of the trip by how much time you have until the trip, and you’ll have a monthly goal for yourself. You can even stow even more money away if you’re lucky, and be able to either save the money for your next trip or enjoy a bit of extra luxury on this one.

If travel is something that you feel a strong pull towards, you should be able to find a way to make it happen. Follow these tips to start saving for and planning your first international trip!

Author Bio:

Alana Downer works at Businesscheck.co.nz and Canadabiz.net and she is an experienced blogger whose main interest lies in finances and new technologies. She might often be found online, sharing her insights into technology trends that shape the way both businesses and individuals function.