One time, my friend Lean and I were hanging out and he asked me, "How do you save for your trips?"

He had a few upcoming trips scheduled and was having a difficult time saving because all the expenses seemed to be coming in all at once.

Because of what Lean asked me, I thought I would share with you a simple tip my friend Emman shared to me, which has made saving up for travel hell of a lot easier:

Put money towards a travel fund each month.

It's literally that easy.

The specifics: If traveling is a priority for you, put a fixed amount of money towards a travel fund and USE IT FOR ALL TRAVEL-RELATED EXPENSES!

It can be as little as Php 500/month (That's Php 6000/year, if you're not a huge traveler to begin with), or even 10% of your salary.

For me, I do two separate travel funds: one for domestic, another for international trips. I can use the money from my travel fund to buy tickets (after all, seat sales have travel dates that aren't for months after), and for pocket money.

The rationale: I find this a really good method to save because:

1) Automatically putting money away each month teaches you how to save. By automating your saving, you think of your travel fund as one of your fixed expenses, so that money will be virtually untouchable.

2) Not everyone travels every month, so that gives the money time to grow. Like for me, I usually only travel internationally during August, so my international travel fund grows.

3) I don't have to scramble to find money or scrimp on going out and eating out when my travel dates draw closer, because I already have money ready, and I'm used to living within my budget (which already has my travel savings deducted).

Optional: Earn some extra cash

Well, saving is all well and good, but I really hate it. I hate depriving myself. I have a certain lifestyle I'm used to, and to afford that, I take on extra work.

Yep, while I think I'm good at handling money, I think I'm waaaay better at making it.

If you have time to scroll through social media, why not channel the time to doing something you enjoy and can earn you money?

There are tons of jobs available, both online and offline--writing, teaching, video editing, hosting, styling, social media management, photography, etc. You can help out during events (used to do this!) or put up a small business selling food or items online. Do a Marie Kondo and sell your old stuff. If you have a car, you can do ride sharing. If you have an extra condo, there's Airbnb!

There's no shame in doing extra work to fund your travels. At least you're earning your money in an honest way.


Lastly, not for anything but before you travel, make sure you've cleared out your debts and put some money away for emergencies. I didn't want to say anything because maybe someone pa-woke will read this and tell me, "it's their money, their life" if someone chooses to borrow money just to travel. But I know I am gonna hate myself if I don't say anything about handling your finances smartly.

Traveling can wait. Besides, the way I see it, you can experience the magic of traveling just by being in a new neighborhood, even if it's within your city.

Personally, I think it's better to have your finances, obligations and priorities in order before you travel, just so when you get back from a trip, you have nothing more to worry about. Right?

How to Save up for Travel

I'd love to hear from you: what are the other ways you save up for travel? ;) 

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