10 Ways To Save Money For Your Dream Vacation

{Opatija, Croatia} Greetings and happy Tuesday! Today I am here to share with you 10 ways to save money for that vacation you've been yearning to take. A lot of people ask me how we can afford to travel so often when we live in one of the most expensive countries in Europe. Yes, it is expensive. But, my husband and I moved here with the intention of traveling for a few years before we started a family. So far its been absolutely amazing and we have adventured to 10 countries in the last 15 months! That's more than I could have ever imagined and it has been utterly amazing! Here's how we save money for our travels and how you can too!

{Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia}

Tip #1: The Plan & Budget

Select a time to sit down with whomever you are wanting to travel with. If you are traveling solo, set aside some time in your day or schedule a time in during your week you want to sit down and start planning. Having a specific time set aside will help motivate you to actually sit down and get to work!

Set a specific goal of the maximum you'd like to spend on the trip, how many days you want to be traveling, and where your destination is going to be. After you have determined that, set a budget for how you are going to save enough for the trip and your timeline for when you need to have the money to purchase tickets and accommodation. Pro Tip: Having a scheduled cut off date will help you meet your goal and will motivate you to get to that goal. If you have that goal written on your calendar, you won't find yourself saying, "Oh, I'll do it tomorrow..." then tomorrow turns into months later, and you never end up taking or planning the trip!

After you have confirmed all of the above, the next step is to sit down and plan every city you want to visit on the trip. Pinterest is a wonderful tool for trip planning. There are so many great ideas, itineraries, and feedback for locations all over the globe that it makes planning tremendously easier! Trip Advisor is another awesome tool that my husband and I use when we are planning to help us find restaurant, accommodation and attraction reviews to determine what is worth the visit and whats not. We have found some amazing restaurants via Trip Advisor- I'd highly recommend using it!

It also helps me when I am planning a trip to list out everything that I want to see on the trip, and how much every attraction and activity I want to do is, so I know exactly how much it is going to cost. I also include side attractions and activities if something ends up being closed or I have extra time in that specific place. Once you have that all done...

{Lake Konigssee, Germany}

Tip #2: Tracking Your Spending

I know, I know. No one likes to track their spending. Heck, I don't even like to track my spending, but it's something I force myself to do, especially because I travel so much. If you are planning on taking a big vacation, this is something you must do to be able to save efficiently. Knowing just how much your spending and what your spending it on will help you be able to figure out what you NEED to spend money on, and what you WANT to spend money on but may not necessarily NEED. This goes back to budgeting. Set a budget for your spending and I promise it will be SO much easier and rewarding to save for an awesome trip!

The next step is to start a monthly transfer of money to your savings account and watch it grow! If you have it automated to transfer on your paydays, it will be so much easier for you to not be tempted to spend it!

{Opatija, Croatia}

Tip #3: Cutting Out What You Don't Need

You'd be amazed at all the things you buy and you don't 100% need. When we moved to the UK I had to significantly change my spending habits because we went from dual income to single. I use to love to go shopping and buy things for the house, buy myself new shoes and clothes. I thought I needed them to look like everyone else, fit in and to have this fantastic home to show off to people when we never really had anyone over or went out to nice places.

What I realized after we moved here was that I don't need all those things. And neither do you! Do you really need another 5 blouses that look exactly like others in your closet? No. Do you really need 70 pairs of shoes? No. Do you really need that $1,000 Louis Vuitton or $500 Kate Spade designer bag? NO! $500-1000 could buy you a plane ticket to almost anywhere! Spend that money gaining life experiences, and traveling the world. All these things I'm mentioning are just materialistic things and really won't get you anywhere in life. They will just sit and take up room and eventually get thrown out. You don't need them. If you really want to travel the world, see as much as possible and come back with a million great memories, you can live without the materialistic things!

My favorite piece of money saving advice comes from The Blonde Abroad- "SALE does not mean SHOP". Let's face it, we all get sucked into a good sale. The question to ask yourself in this situation is if you really NEED what you are buying on sale. Most of the time if I am shopping a sale, I am shopping for specific things for travel, or to replace something in mine/my husbands wardrobe. I dare you to skip out on the next sale you see and refrain from buying anything and think of what place on your bucket list you could see with how much the item costs!

Another way my husband and I save money is to not eat out. We do treat ourselves usually once a week to a meal out for date night. Otherwise we try to cook all of our meals and daily coffee/tea drinks at home (as much as we can). It really does save us quite a bit of money over the course of a few months when we are really in save mode. As fun as it is to go out and try new restaurants, or have that cup of coffee at Starbucks everyday, you also don't need it. You'd be amazed just how much money people spend a month on food alone. Pinterest as I mentioned earlier, is a great tool to use to find cheap and easy meal ideas, meal budgeting and awesome copycat recipes to satisfy any craving!

{Tower Bridge, London, England}

Tip #4: Cutting Out Monthly Expenses

Have you sat down recently and looked at how much your monthly expenditures are? What are the necessities that you need? What could you eliminate?

One of the most common things that people get rid of first is cable. We eliminated cable and switched to Netflix and Hulu, and we will never go back to paying for cable! Both services together are under $20 a month, and there are little to no commercials. Win!

How much does your beauty routine cost? Could you find dupes for your favorite things that cost a fraction of the price? Beauty is one of the places women spend the most money. Especially in hair maintenance! Could you opt for an easier look that doesn't require being colored as frequently or cut as often?

My favorite way to save money in the beauty department is doing my own nails! I learned how to do a great manicure from my neighbor and it has changed my life. Now I no longer have to go to a salon to get them done, and my nails are healthier than they have ever been before. There are so many great, creative ideas and videos on Pinterest and YouTube that can help anyone become better with the at home mani and pedi!

What is the city like where you live? Could you walk to work or take the bus to save money spent on gas? Most people rely on having their own vehicle to get to and from work. If you have a friend nearby, you could always suggest doing a carpool to and from work and alternating driving. And hey- it saves putting a few extra miles a week on your car and it will last just a tad bit longer! If you have a significant other, could you both drop down to having one vehicle and carpool to work? Not only does this save you a car payment every month, but it also saves money on your car insurance and it's one less vehicle you have to pay for gas and repairs! My husband and I have only had one vehicle for the past year and a half, and once we worked out our schedules it has saved us tremendously on money spent!

Did you shop around when you were looking to insure your vehicle or home? Most of the time for the same policy and coverage with a different company you can save a few dollars a month. Cue all the Progressive and Geico commercials! Those few extra dollars could be the difference of being able to stay an extra night at a hotel, or pay for a one way flight! Do you subscribe to monthly subscription boxes? Are they absolutely essential to your everyday life or are they just in your 'want' category? Cancelling these will save you that cash your spending per month, so why not go ahead and put the money you were spending on that straight into your savings account and watch it grow! Are you driving to the gym everyday to work out and paying for that pesky monthly fee? Why not cancel your membership and work out at home! You'll not only get extra minutes at home after work because your not commuting to and from, but you'll also save on your monthly gas cost! There are never ending amounts of DVD workouts, YouTube videos, and one time fee health programs you can do all from the comfort of your home with just a few necessary pieces of equipment.

Get outside for your workouts! Go to your local park and get some fresh air. Have a dog? Take them on a nice long walk everyday around your neighborhood. Try a different route each time if you can, and learn more about the surrounding area! Want to get some friends together but don't want to spend money entertaining or going out? Plan a day where everyone gets together to explore nature. It's free, and you'll all feel great after a nice long hike or a fun afternoon playing games in the sun! Condense all of your errand running to one day of the week! This will not only save you gas, but it will also allow you to have more time during the week to do things you enjoy instead of breaking everything you need to do into multiple days. I will admit this is one of my favorite things I have built into my personal schedule because I have significantly more time in my week to spend time with my husband and fur babies!

{Copenhagen Canals By Boat, Denmark}

Tip #5: Purchasing Reusable Goods & Eliminating Single Use Items

One thing I have tried to implement into our lifestyle lately to save us a few dollars is to invest in reusable products for around the house to stop purchasing single use goods. A few examples: wool dryer balls, kitchen storage bags and containers, Silpat baking liners, metal or glass straws, insulated water bottles, microfiber cleaning cloths, and more! This is one smaller area I've actually noticed a huge difference in not only how much waste we have, but the cash we save every few months buying these products on our grocery shops.

{Hallstatt, Austria}

Tip #6: Eliminate That Debt! Start with your lowest monthly payment and focus on paying that off first and foremost. Not only will you have that extra money every month after its paid off, you can then put that towards your next lowest payment so your actually paying it off quicker and with less interest leading to LESS DEBT! Think about it in a years time frame- you could potentially be paying off a TON of debt in a shorter amount of time leading to financial freedom and taking that dream vacation!

{Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland}

Tip #7: Meal Planning & Batch Cooking This is one area I really strive to stay on track! I sit down once per week and completely plan the menu. While I'm grocery shopping, I use my calculator (totally geeky I know) to watch every dollar I'm spending at the store to stay on budget. Believe it or not this actually helps with impulsive purchases and makes me think about if I really need something or if I want it 'just because'. Meal prepping or batch cooking will not only give you a little more time in your week, but it will also keep you from going out to eat, keep you on track if your trying to lose weight, and it means your food for the day is all ready to go when your hungry! This has been a game changer for us and it also saves money because your only turning on your oven one to two times a week rather than every day, saving money on your electric or gas bill!

{Honfleur, France}

Tip #8: Unplug & Turn Things Off

Simple as that. What can you put on a plug in strip to turn on and off when it's not in use and your not home? Turn off the lights in the rooms your not using, unplug nightlights during the day, turn off all computers, and make sure your porch and outdoor lights are turned off when your not outside! All of these things save little bits here and there, and add up to long term savings! What's your air conditioner or heater set at? Check with your electricity or gas provider to see what the most efficient temperatures are for your house to give you the most savings!

{Painted Ladies, San Francisco, California}

Tip #9: Sell Some Stuff

Are there things in your closet or home that can be sold to make a little extra cash? There are now TONS of websites, Facebook sales pages, and apps you can sell things to people in your local area. I usually go through our house about once every 6 months and really do a deep clean out and sell what we don't need that is still in good condition. If you can't get rid of it, take it to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army and they will gladly take it off your hands and either sell, donate to shelters, or properly dispose of it for you.

{Churchill Arms Pub, Notting Hill, London, United Kingdom}

Tip #10: Set Goals For Yourself Setting goals and deadlines will help you move that much closer to that dream vacation and financial freedom! Sit down once per month and read over your goals and see how much progress you have made! Not only will this keep you motivated, it will give you a sense of accomplishment and make you feel like your in control of your life which is always important! If you feel like your stuck in a rut, and can't pull out of debt, consider these points to help you slowly get on track and stay on track for the future!

I hope you enjoyed this post and it inspires you to see the world to gain some rediculously awesome experiences! What are some of your favorite ways to save money? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below and be sure to follow me over on my Instagram account @everydaywithali, and on Facebook at Everyday With Ali for new blog posts, fun recipes and of course tons of travel tips and photos! You can also subscribe for new post notifications straight to your inbox by signing up below! -Ali