5 WAYS TO SAVE MONEY FOR TRAVEL

If you're serious about travelling, you'll do pretty much anything to save those precious £££. Saving money for travel takes dedication and will power - you really need to commit to it and it's definitely not something you can go into half-heartedly. Depending on where you want to go and how long you want to go for, your target can be anything from £1,000 to £10,000. Personally, the sort of travel I want to do requires me to save around £10,000 so my ways of saving may be slightly more extreme than others. Although this is my personal take on what works for me, I honestly believe that if people put their minds to it, they can save a lot more than they think.
So, here's what I'm doing...

1. SAVE 75% OF YOUR WAGES

I've never been an overly materialistic person. Yes I love clothes and trinkets for my bedroom but they don't define me as a person. Since returning from Australia, I've become less and less interested in clothes and make up and basically crap that people like to waste their money on. I honestly couldn't care less that I don't own a Naked palette or the latest DW watch because those things don't mean anything to me. I could go and buy an iMac tomorrow if I wanted but guess what? I don't need one. When you buy something expensive, the novelty usually wears off fairly quickly and you end up wanting to buy something else to fill that void. When you take a step back, you realise how ridiculous the whole whirlwind of consumerism is. So do what I do - live off 25% of your wages. Pay your board, pay your phone contract, pay for petrol (and trust me, I spend A LOT on petrol) - even pay your gym membership. Then leave yourself a bit to spend on the odd night out or meal with friends but just don't go crazy. It can be done, trust me! I know not everyone will be able to save that radically because everyone's situation is different but even if you save 50% of your wages, it's better than saving 0%.

2. SELL, SELL, SELL!

This is a no brainer. Sell EVERYTHING that you don't use anymore. There's nothing quite like looking in your Paypal account after a few months of selling and being surprised by the number you see on the screen. Let it all build up and then you'll really notice the difference. I use ebay and depop and it's honestly so simple so you'd be mad not to. FYI - you'll get the most money for coats so what's the point in letting them sit there gathering dust? BE HONEST - you're not going to wear an A/W15 coat in A/W16 because we're all fashion victims so we're obviously going to buy the first coat we see on a Topshop mannequin. Plus it hurts my brain to see a jam packed wardrobe. I'd much rather have an empty wardrobe full of clothes I wear than a full wardrobe of clothes I hate.

3. GET ANOTHER JOB

If you work full time, this is pretty impossible unless you wanna work 7 days a week which I would not recommend AT ALL (been there, got the t-shirt). You can however do the odd thing here and there to earn some extra dollar. There are plenty of zero hour contracts out there where you can just work the odd Saturday at an event or festival as a steward or marshal during the summer months. If you can squeeze something in, I say do it. I'm lucky that my dad gets offered a lot of tour work with bands (he's a truck/tour bus driver) so occasionally I will help sell the band's merchandise at the venue. The industry is well paid (well, for someone my age) so I earned just under £600 in 3 days which is pretty amazing. It was tough and there was a lot of manual work involved but I'm dedicated to earning and saving money for travel so I was prepared to do it. If you work part time, I'd say your best bet is to get a second part time job as a waitress or a bartender to build up your hours.

4. RETURN WHAT YOU DON'T NEED

I HATE wasting money. I will happily spend £200 in Dunelm Mill redecorating my bedroom but even if something is a fiver and I know I won't use/wear it, I'll return it. It might seem petty but small amounts like that really do add up. I'm forever returning cheap things to Primark because it annoys me to see them hanging in my wardrobe when I know I'll never wear them. GET YOUR BLOODY MONEY BACK. Alternatively, don't buy things in the first place that you don't need. The amount of people I know that have a black duster coat yet will go out and buy another one cause they're "completely different". Yeah, course they are. My friend has three - yes THREE - oversized denim jackets. Someone will have a silver casio, but they'll go out and buy a gold casio. Why do people do this?! I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND. And then people wonder why they don't have money to do nice things. Before you hand over your credit card ask yourself: do I really need this or am I just being greedy? By all means buy 10 pairs of shoes if you're not trying to save, but the game quickly changes when you're looking to book around the world flights.

5. BUY CHEAPER ALTERNATIVES

You might want a Triangl bikini or Mac lipstick, but you will ALWAYS be able to buy cheaper alternatives. Before you buy anything, look on eBay. Go to Asda or Tesco or Matalan. There are so many dupes around these days that will save you a small fortune compared to what you'd spend on well known brands. After all, all you're really paying for is a label that no one sees. When sleeveless blazers were just coming into fashion, I found a tuxedo style one in Tesco for £8. EIGHT POUNDS. Think beyond Topshop and ASOS - with a little more effort you can find yourself some real bargains. And if you have an unusually small stomach (and can never finish a full meal when you go out for dinner), do what I do and opt for a starter instead. That way you can enjoy a social gathering with your friends without breaking the bank and wasting food.


What are your money saving tips?
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