Since we’re not taking any big vacations in 2017, I’ve been working on building up travel funds. Below are two super easy ways you can plan now to make upcoming travel more budget-friendly.
Why I have a savings account ear-marked for travel
We’d like to take a British Isles cruise in 2019 or later to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I’ve been following the prices for a few years now at Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. Ocean-view rooms are listed at approximately $2000 per person. Combine that with the trans-Atlantic flight to the embarkation port, and we know that will be a pricey trip.
But the small print in the cruise catalog revealed another surprise – we’ll need a lot more than we anticipated for the deposit. This will be our first cruise of 10 nights or longer. And with those extended journeys come a heftier deposit price. Deposits range from $450 to $900 per person. Ouch.
Maybe we will luck out and find a sale that offers a reduced deposit. But in the meantime, I’m building up my travel savings account so I can have the deposit ready.
Planning an upcoming cruise? Have your deposit amount handy and ready to spend.
That way you can quickly jump on any offered sales and nab the room of your choice.
We pay off our credit card in full each month. And invariably some months we have heftier balances to deal with – say, from putting new tires on the car. With the deposit amount sitting in my travel fund, I can easily put down the deposit via credit card. I know I can pay off the credit card bill, despite any other not-fun expenses that have hit. I won’t have to miss a sale price because I’d be afraid to charge the deposit.
We’re saving up for a British Isles cruise that will include a return to Ireland. On our last trip, we stayed at Ashford Castle in County Mayo.
How to make extra money for travel
Tip #1: Use Ibotta
If you’re like me, you clip a few coupons and save a few dollars off your grocery bill. What do you do with those dollars you’ve saved? I fritter them away. You too?
So now I’m using an app called Ibotta that gives me those few dollars.
They add up.
Every little bit helps when you’re saving for travel.
Ibotta is a shopping app that pays cash-back for purchases. Yep, actual cash that you can transfer to your bank account via Paypal. Since first joining in the summer of 2016, I’ve earned over $130 so far.
And the purchases are basic ones that I’d be making anyway — apples, onions, bananas, cheese, gluten-free cookies and waffles, bread for my hubby, granola bars, bath soap, shampoo, dishwashing detergent, laundry soap, etc.
When is the last time you saw a coupon for apples, onions, or bananas? Me neither.
Cash-back is especially the way to go when it comes to shopping on those (healthier) perimeter aisles of the grocery store.
The app includes bonuses too. These are earned by making a certain number of purchases within a given time frame, buying a set number of a given product, etc. I usually earn $1 – $10 per month via bonuses. Score!
There is also a Teamwork function to increase bonuses.
To join my team, click here.
You’ll receive a $10 welcome bonus. And then you’ll receive a referral code of your own that you can use to invite friends to your team and get a $5 referral yourself.
Tip #2: Maximize interest rates on your travel account
My husband and I have our joint bank accounts at our local brick-and-mortar bank. But in knowing that I won’t be touching my travel funds for a while, I switched my travel account to an online bank to nab a better interest rate.
How much better? More than ten times better interest — from .1% at the brick-and-mortar bank to 1.05% at the online bank.
Using the $130 I’ve earned from Ibotta as an example:
- brick-and-mortar bank: .13 interest
- online bank:$1.36 interest
My online bank is FDIC insured and easy to use.
Every little bit helps when you’re saving for a travel goal!
Let’s make the most of our vacation days!
Are you saving for an upcoming trip too?
Please share your tips below.
