How to plan a low budget trip in six months

We are budget queens but with a heart full of traveling desires we must follow and fulfill, that’s why I’m bringing to you the plan I followed towards a low budget trip to your favorite or most realistic destination without a lot of sacrifices or spending three full paychecks. Let’s get it!

I am in no way rich, but I am not poor, I can afford to pay my rent, services and food, and the next thing I’m gonna tell is very important if you want to travel to an amazing place this year, this is a super top secret:

«Don’t spend more than you can afford.«

As simple as that, if you start building some auto control, some will to stop yourself from buying that nude lipstick very similar to the 10 you already have, or eating out just because you feel lazy when you have a fridge full of food, you will have more money in your bank account compared to the last months. Some wise people have told me “You need to save 30% of your monthly paycheck”, so this is what I’ve been doing.

Let’s plan a low budget trip!

Month 1: You are going to pick a date and then search flights and hotels, you will write down how much you will have to save. I like to divide the spendings by priority, for example:

1.- FLIGHT / BUS TICKET

2.- HOTEL

3.- FOOD & EXTRA

These are the three basic things to plan a low budget trip. Why is the flight / bus ticket number one? Because of two things:

• The flight’s prices change daily, and they become way more expensive when you buy them closer to the date, that’s why you need to rush and but it right away, but if you don’t have the money to buy it, you should make a compromise to at least save some money and buy it the next month.
• And the other reason is because this is one of the biggest withdraws of money from your wallet, to me, it’s better to take de band aid fast then make it slow, it hurts less.

You might wonder, why is not the hotel considered as top 1 priority too, well, my reasoning behind it is: There are plenty of hotels which prices won’t change even if you book it one week before, that’s why we can relax a little and maybe book our room the next month after booking the flight.

Time to book a hotel!

Month 2: It’s time to book a hotel room. There are several websites where you can just put down your destination and date and the search will throw thousands of results, you just need to pick one of your liking.

First thing to consider before picking one is, obviously, how much are you willing to spend?

Personally, I don’t want to splurge on this, because I bet most of the time I will be walking around, finding museums, just being a tourist, so the hotel is just a place to sleep and take a shower after, of course, it has to be a comfortable place, that looks clean and safe. You can definitely find some good cheap options, is just a matter of searching.

My favorite website is TripAdvisor, also I feel the reviews there are from real humans and not from bots or paid by the hotels.

By this month, if you still haven’t saved enough to book it, don’t worry, you can save half this month, and the next month you can pay it.

Saving Mode ON

Month 3–4: Saving mode ON. By this point you should have bought your flight / Bus ticket and you have booked your hotel room, you are all set, just one thing is missing. Money for food and extra things.

This is the most easy part of the whole planning a trip process. All you need is to save as much as you can of your paychecks without affecting your obligated monthly payments.

Some tips are:

• Keep the going out with friends to the minimum, you can meet your friends at their places or yours and make a stay inside party, or just watch movies, cooperate between them for the pizza and drinks, this won’t affect in a big way your savings.
• Don’t buy innecessary groceries. What I mean is that you don’t need to buy that fancy brand of bread or coffee, for these months we can eat a cheaper version, also, what helps a lot is that you can start making your lunch to bring to work. I guarantee you that the same amount to spend to get one day of food by ordering take out, you will use it to eat the whole week.
• If you can walk to work even better or make carpool with your coworkers, or use public transportation so you don’t use money on gas.

These seems like very simple stuff that everyone keeps repeating, but it’s because they work, and you will notice it every time you check your balance at the end of the month, you will have more money saved.

You are ready! Send us pics from your vacation.

In conclusion, the best way to plan a low budget trip is to save, even if you aren’t planning for, having a nice amount of money in your bank account if case anything happens, is the most adult and responsible thing you can do.