With a professional background in financial planning and 12 years of full-time travel under her belt, Nora knows a thing or two about the best ways to reach your travel savings goals. And lucky for us, she\u2019s decided to share some of her top tips and advice below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What we\u2019re actually talking about here is just basic budgeting, not even travel budgeting; we\u2019re talking about money management and cash flow management. The first thing you should do is re-evaluate your expenses<\/a> so you can start directing money into a vacation savings account. You need to know where your money is going, and for that you need to track your expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are lots of apps out there these days which can help with that. I have a couple of apps that I use because I travel all over the world and track expenses in multiple currencies. One of my favourites \u2014 Trail Wallet \u2014 is specifically for travellers, but if you don\u2019t need a travel component, there are plenty of other apps that will help you track home expenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The trick is: every time you spend money \u2014 as soon as you walk out of that store or check out online \u2014 record the expense in the app you are using. And don\u2019t judge yourself. A lot of people either won\u2019t record it because they feel guilty about spending as it’s not representative of their budget, or because they think it\u2019s an inconsequential amount. It doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019re spending money on \u2014 record it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After you have some understanding of your expenses, you have the ability to look at them and say: I didn\u2019t realise I was spending $150 a month at Starbucks. That\u2019s $1800 a year \u2014 there\u2019s my vacation! So there are definitely ways to identify places to cut your spending or reduce your spending once you learn where the money is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m generally a believer in the idea that we have to plan for tomorrow because no one else is going to do it for us, but we can\u2019t do it at the expense of living for today. So, that then leads to my second mantra in life, which is everything in moderation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, everybody\u2019s situation is different. I mean, there are lots of people out there who are committed to the max between mortgages and student loans and perhaps consumer debt like credit cards and car loans, and there\u2019s just nothing left over. And if that\u2019s you, no you shouldn\u2019t be travelling. Not until you have a better handle on the debt, because the worst mistake you can make is to go into debt to travel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m all for putting your trip on your credit card, but only if you can pay off your credit card in full at the end of the month and not pay one cent of interest. Because as soon as you\u2019re paying interest on something as optional as a vacation, that is indicative that your priorities aren\u2019t necessarily in the best alignment of your greater financial good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve got a tiny bit of disposable income after you\u2019ve met your debt payments, then absolutely funnel that money into savings. Chuck it into a high-interest savings account; you essentially don’t want to invest it in something volatile because you don\u2019t know if the money is going to go down. So you want it to be in something, but don\u2019t keep it in a bank account. A bank account will give you nothing and it\u2019s too easy to access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whereas a high-interest savings account is at least going to keep you up with inflation. And, even better, if you\u2019re able to determine how much money is left over at the end of every month \u2014 let\u2019s say it\u2019s $25 \u2014 make that an automatic payment into your high-interest savings account. This way, you have no excuse to not save money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s funny, I\u2019m always asked about this. I wrote a book about working on the road and the lifestyle of travel, and they begged me for budget templates and I wouldn\u2019t give it to them because travel budgets are moving targets and it\u2019s different for everybody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I mean, are you into scuba diving? Well, that\u2019s inherently going to cost more than if all you want to do is sit on the beach. Both are beach destinations, so the cost of getting there is the same, but the cost of scuba diving is inherently more. So the amount you\u2019re going to spend on vacation really depends on where you\u2019re going and what you want to do, and what kind of taste you have in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, you can turn your travel budget exercise into an enjoyable thing if you start planning out your vacation. Start with a glass of wine and a day planner and plan out your ideal vacation. Once you have a better idea of what that holiday looks like, price every element of that out. Put a number to it, and then decide if that number is something you\u2019re willing or able to save for, or if there\u2019s something you can tweak if that number is too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where apps like Trail Wallet<\/a> come in handy, because again, you\u2019re tracking your expenses on and off the road, you can do it in multiple currencies, you can see how much money you\u2019ve spent every time you log in, and you can set your budgets. So you can see very quickly how you\u2019re doing in relation to your budget. That\u2019s only available for iPhone; Hop Wallet I believe is available for Android. Travel Spend is another I\u2019ve used \u2014 that one is delightful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re travelling with other people, and you\u2019re splitting expenses, then Splittr<\/a> is amazing. Again, you can track in multiple currencies, and then it figures out who owes who at the end of the trip. That can be really instrumental because it\u2019s difficult if you\u2019re travelling with friends and you want to split expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think the biggest challenge to budgeting for a trip is that you just don\u2019t know how much money you’re going to end up spending. The rule of thumb is to save more than you think you\u2019ll need, period. Because inevitably you\u2019re going to run into something that costs more than you planned on it costing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, I always err on the side of caution. I will always create a bigger budget than I think I need and that gives me a little bit of wiggle room when I\u2019m on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s also another thing that happens when you\u2019re on the road, and it\u2019s the \u201cscrew it, I\u2019m on vacation\u201d mentality. This is when you\u2019re faced with something that wasn\u2019t in the budget, and it looks really cool, so you think: screw it, I\u2019m going to spend money I don\u2019t have on this thing I want to see, do, or have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So put that in the budget. You could even put a line in your budget called the \u201cscrew it, I\u2019m on vacation\u201d category. But once you\u2019ve spent that amount and you\u2019re faced with the next \u201cscrew it, I’m on vacation\u201d opportunity, you have to say no. So, there is some discipline required at all times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was in Hawaii<\/a>, I went out on Taco Tuesday with a bunch of different travellers and it was a fascinating exercise for me to see how everybody chose to experience Taco Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So there was a couple who were just finishing up their world tour, and since money was tight, they had dinner before they went out. They didn\u2019t have any tacos, but they did leave enough money in their budget to have a beer with everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there was someone else who decided the beer wasn\u2019t worthwhile but the tacos would be, and that could be their dinner. Then there was someone else who had snacks beforehand so they wouldn\u2019t be too hungry, so then they could have one taco and one beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then there was Phil. Phil was the ultimate \u201cscrew it, I\u2019m on vacation\u201d kind of guy, and he didn’t have the money to do it, but he went out and had three orders of tacos and three beers. Why? Because he\u2019s out with a bunch of people and it\u2019s a cause for celebration. Well, Phil ran out of money pretty quickly on his trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, we all had the same experience: we were all sitting around the same table having the same conversation in the same beautiful destination. And yet, it cost all of us something very different. So, it’s up to you to decide how you want to experience your vacation, or what is most important about the trip \u2014 what are the essentials and the non-negotiables you must experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a lot of ways to save money on the road. Make the main meal of your day lunch, not dinner. The same restaurant might have the same menu at lunch and dinner, but they\u2019ll charge less at lunch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Breakfasts are lovely but they\u2019re usually the biggest waste of money. You could easily go to the grocery store and buy a croissant, yoghurt, and fruit, and that will cost you a dollar or two, or you can go to a restaurant and spend $20. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s tons of content online for money-saving travel tips, so do your research and make your choices accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would like to tell the world at large that you have a fabulous opportunity to save tons of money on your next trip and have a more culturally rewarding and immersive experience and it involves getting your accommodation for free. I saved over $100,000 USD in my 12 years of full-time travel by getting my accommodation for free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Woman](\"\/days-to-come\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Nora-Dunn-The-Professional-Hobo-0001-min-1-1024x576.jpg\")
What are small things people can do every day to save for a dream trip down the line?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do you have advice for people who want to budget for travel, but they\u2019re also paying off debts like student loans or a mortgage?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What if they\u2019re still paying down their debts but they have a bit of disposable income to play with?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What are your tips for determining the best budget for your holiday?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What are the best tools to stick to your travel budget, and to manage money on the road?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What would you say is the biggest challenge people run into when budgeting for travel?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Have you noticed anything interesting about the way different travellers budget and spend when they\u2019re on holiday?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What are a few of your top tips for saving money on holiday?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If there was one piece of advice you wish you could pass on to travellers, what would you want to tell people?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n