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Wanderlust pulls you in and doesn’t let go.

We have read time and time again of those that are living the dream as they travel the world full time. It’s a dream that seems unrealistic for most of us. But nonetheless, it’s one that we hold out hope that we too can accomplish.

To help you on the road to saving/earning your start-up funds for travel I have compiled a short list of things you can do to save $20K within one year.

Related Posts:

Work and Travel: Ultimate Guide

Travel Stunning Europe On This Fantastic 10K Adventure

10 + Ways to Save $10k on a Tight Budget

Travel Rewards Credit Cards

Shop Around For a Travel Rewards Credit Card and do all of your shopping with your card and earn some extra travelling money. But beaware and be responsible, pay off the credit card monthly to ensure you don’t receive interest payments. We currently use Scotia Gold Visa (as we are Canadian), but are also looking into better options. There are pros out there that can help you earn points galore, they understand the system and how to best gain the points you need to take your first flight somewhere for free. Brad Barrett is one such blogger, making his travel money by helping others gain big rewards on your points cards.

Use my ‘Weekly Savings List’ to help you save up to $10K/year:

• Meatless Mondays: Cut out meat once a week and additionally cut it out once a day. Replace meat with: Beans, lentils, tofu, eggs, quinoa.
  • Savings Value: $20/week*52 weeks: $1040 yearly
• Grocery List Tuesdays: Make your grocery list for the following 2 weeks. Do this to save on spending where you don’t need it. Stick to your list and you will seriously save money. This can be made simpler by creating a list of go-to meals that you love. (Extended blog has a list of some of my go-to meals)
  • Savings Value: $100/month: $1200/year
• Coffee Out Wednesdays: By scheduling your coffee out day, you are more likely to be able to wait and know you will have your coffee day out soon. Otherwise make your coffee at home.
  • Savings Value: $730/year
• No spend Thursday: Unless it’s an emergency, no spending money...not a dime. Not on snacks, coffee, that thing you forgot at the grocery store, nothing.
  • Savings Value: $15/week*52 weeks: $780 year
• 1 Drink Friday: Many of us would like to have a drink at the end of the week. It seems like a start-of-the-weekend ritual in society. This may be a drink out with others and it might be a drink you bring home (this is cheaper if possible). Either way, stick to savouring one drink and switch to water on the rocks or if budget allows, perhaps a soft drink.
  • Savings Value: $12/week*52 weeks: $624/year
• <$20/person Saturday: Make a list of fun things you can do for under $20 as a way to have fun, but not spend too much. By pre planning and sticking to a budget you can save a ton of money. Make sure to pack a meal, car snacks and drinks to bring with you so that you aren’t tempted to eat out. You will save yourself at least half of what you likely usually spend. (Extended blog has a list of my under $20 fun activities)
  • Savings Value: $80/week*52 weeks: $4160/year
• Free Activity Sunday: Use this day to enjoy with family or friends for free. There are lots of things you can do for free that can be enjoyable. (Go here to view our blog that includes lists of activities for you)
  • Savings Value: $50/week*52 weeks: $2600/year
• TOTAL SAVINGS: $11,134

This may seem like a difficult list to stick with, but I promise you, your budget and your health will appreciate it. Most people don’t even realize just how much they actually spend in a day on arbitrary things, especially because we use cards and not cash.

But truly, you will begin to see that you retain far more income if you plan and organize your week. Your health will get better as you eat more at home and you will find more active things to do. This is good practice for your travels. Be a traveler in your own area, venture just outside your area for something different and learn how to get by on a smaller budget so that you can do the same while traveling.

Become a tourist in your own area and you will save BIG to become a tourist in someone else’s.

Not only can you save money by cutting back on expenses, but you can also save more by adding a little extra income to your weekly/monthly budget. Try some of these tips to save and earn you more.

Give yourself a goal of checking out local inexpensive or cheap activities each month so that you don't get bored of the same activities

• Go on hikes on different trails within a certain distance
• Check out different nearby towns or areas of your city that you've never been to
• Check out different parks that are within transit or driving distance
• Try smaller museums that may have a cheaper or free entry
• Google your area and neighbouring area/towns to see what you can explore

2. Thrift Shopping to Save/Earn $10K

First, I want to say that even if I was a millionaire, I would still shop at thrift stores. It’s just something that I really truly love and get excited about. It’s almost an addiction for me. Whenever I see one, it feels like its taunting me to come in or else I might miss some kind of amazing deal. I realize that many have difficulty with the idea of shopping at thrift stores, but if your end goal is to travel the world, then you will need to learn to give up on ‘stuff’ anyways. High fashion is not easy to maintain on the road or in a backpack. Mounds of expensive toys can’t transport on the backs of your kids very easily. You will be too busy being in awe of the pyramids, gazing at the sunset over the ocean and exploring an African savanna, to care about the stuff you used to have back at home.

Why Thrift Stores?
1. You don’t pay taxes. This off the bat saves you 9%-13% (depending on where you live)

2. The prices are nearly ¼ the price of new items (often 1/10 as I have found when I price out the difference)
3. You absolutely can find new or like new items (especially if you find the right stores)
4. They have 50% off sales to save you even more!
5. You often help out a charity by spending there
6. You help save the environment by purchasing used/recycled goods that might otherwise go to the landfill

Some would say I’m an expert Thrifter (no my house doesn’t have a million nic-naks, I hate clutter. But instead of going to the mall to buy new products, I go to thrift stores). I have found some really amazing items that have saved me so much on necessities, recreational goods and even gifts (yes, I actually give thrift store items as gifts, but they have to be new or really amazing secondhand items).

I share many of my tips and advice on ‘How Thrift Shopping Can Save You $10K/Year and How To Do It Right’.

How does thrifting save you money?

• Clothing: The average amount a family spends on new clothing products is $1700 per year. Thrift store prices are about ¼ the price of a new item.
  • Savings: $1275/year
• According to the Toy Industry Association parents can spend an average of $6500 per year on toys for their kids!!! You may not be that parent , but you may not realize just how much you are spending either. At a young age, kids don’t know the difference between a used or new toy. You might find many in the box still, find ones that look brand new, find ones that need a little cleaning...your kids won’t know the difference.
  • Reduce how much they have. Sell old toys they don’t use anymore to bring in the money that you spend on toys at the thrift store. My son actually loves to go to Goodwill because he picks out nerf guns that he can bring home. He has quite the arsenal now (which come to think of it, needs reduced)
  • Savings: $5500 (But I’m reducing this because I think most people reading this aren’t those spending this much on toys and to take out electronics) Reduced: $3000
• Furniture: I find really good furniture hard to source, but it’s out there. Go to bigger thrift stores or find second hand stores that are more specifically for furniture (Habitat for Humanity: REstore). Especially if you’re good at refurbishing items like the Flippers at Flea Market Flippers
  • Savings: $1750
• Presents: Think of all the birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, Christmas gifts you need to buy and then you will see why it’s great to find new or like new items to give as gifts.
  • Shop often, find new toys that you can store away for gifts later on. Whether it’s books, games, puzzles, new items, toys, craft supplies, kitchen items
  • Savings: $1000
• Kitchen Supplies: We all love to test out new kitchen gadgets, and because of this there are so many that end up at the Thrift store. We try them and they collect dust in the cupboard, then we get rid of it. You can find excellent cookware and other kitchen accessories/items in great condition.
  • Savings: $500
• Miscellaneous: sports equipment (this is actually a big one. Need skates or hockey equipment...I’m Canadian if you haven’t already figured that out!) crafts, books, puzzles/games, costumes (in fact, thrift stores are by far the best places to find these...you will find cheaper and more unique costumes here) and so much more
  • Saving Value: $1000/year
• Buy and Sell: Not only can you save money by going to these places, but like myself and many others, you can use your excellent findings to sell on a local classifieds FB page, website or on eBay
  • Earn: $1500/year
• TOTAL SAVINGS/EARNINGS: $10,025/year

3. Side Hustle Your Way to Europe

(On all examples I’m giving what I think is a low amount of money that you could earn and hopefully you can go up from there)

• Start with something really easy: Sell items that you don’t use/need. Can’t take it with you anyways! Sell on local classifieds or on eBay if you have some great items that you are hoping to get more $$ from. Have a garage sale as a last resort, you can’t get nearly as much from your goods this way. Another option is to bring your items to a consignment store (this is often still better than a garage sale, but not as good as selling it yourself).
  • Earn $1500
• Collect points: You can save up points for flights, for gas in your car, free movies, groceries. Your savings really depends on how much you spend in a year. When signing up for a program make sure that you are checking into the best sign up rewards available. Some will start you off with enough for your first flight. Additionally, you might be able to save approx. $500/year just from the things you purchase regularly.
  • Make sure to also sign up not just for a credit card rewards card, but for the rewards cards you can get for groceries and gas. This way you double up your savings. The credit card will go directly toward our travels and the others will help you save on items you regularly buy.
  • Check out Brad Barrett’s blog: Richmondsavers.com to learn more about this.
  • Earn: $800/year (travel points, grocery dollars, gas dollars)
• Farmer’s/Flea Markets: Maybe you’ll fall in love with thrifting and can repurpose lots of items to sell online or at flea markets. Sell crafts, food or other goods at farmers markets
  • I came across Flea Market Flippers and they have some amazing finds and great income coming in from flipping used goods. I’ve never taken their course, but they seem like the real deal and we could all learn a lot from them. They helped someone earn $1500 in just 2 weeks from flipping thrift store goods.
  • Earn: $1500/year
• Have extra rooms in your home? Put it up on Airbnb. I know someone that puts her place on Airbnb and stays at her parents for the night/weekend while it’s rented out. She makes an extra $300/month just from two nights stay. But you don’t have to move out if you can offer just a room in your home. You won’t be able to bring in as much money per night, but you can do it more often, so it would even out. You can also offer experiences on Airbnb, double up your income by offering to show people around (Check out Airbnb for examples)
  • Earnings: $3000/year
• Go through an exercise to see what you can offer as a side hustle to make additional income.
  • Earn: $2400/year
  • Earn: $1800/year
  • Examples from my own life: My first career was in hairstyling, so I could bring in a few clients a month, pick up a couple weddings/proms updos, help with photoshoots, etc
  • For many years I have also loved to volunteer/work as a face painter. It’s something that comes fairly easily to me and I have the supplies to do it. I could (and have) book birthday parties/ events/ work parties and be paid $40/hr+
  • Can you clean? Can you paint walls? Can you build? Can you sew? Use your skills to earn a little bit on the side
  • Do an exercise where you write down the work you’ve done in the past, the things that you are good at and/or the things you really enjoy, then see what you can offer to others on the side
• Start a Blog that will help you keep your travels going. Most important advice to get your started:
  • Pick a topic/business style that you enjoy and are good at and stick to it!
  • Start today. It will give you a lot longer to produce the content that you need. You can spread out the time you give to it to prepare it properly.
  • Read successful blogs that pertain to what you want to do. Find ones that are just starting out, but still successful because they are easiest for you to learn from and relate to. Also, pick a couple that are ‘big’ in the industry to dream as your big goal. If you’re having a hard time relating to them, then come back to them when you’re ready and go back to reading the ones that aren’t that much farther ahead than you.
  • Don’t launch until your ready. Take my free email course to prepare you to launch.
  • Use Pinterest to grow your blog (especially if you project to have a largely female audience. For largely male audience look into Google+ Discover). Pinterest is a girl's best friend and you can Pin your posts to get in front of your audience. This is what boosted many bloggers websites and there are definitely tricks of the trade that you can learn. I learned from the course Pinning Perfect which helped me understand from beginning to success how to make Pinterest my best friend.
  • Consider monetizing through Affiliate Marketing (The art of marketing for products you love from which you make a commission upon sale) I highly recommend learning from the Affiliate Guru, Michelle from Making Sense of Cents who now makes over $150K/month on her blog. Her course is called Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.

If you want to start a blog then I have some great resources to help you get started:

• How to Start a Blog
• From Start to Launch: A Free Email Blogging Course to Add Clarity to Your Business

Now, depending on the progress you can make (it all depends on the hussle you put into it) you could start as low as $2K-$5k in your first year and go up from there. But, then there are some great examples of those who have been able to achieve upwards towards $2K+ per month within their first year.

TOTAL POTENTIAL SAVINGS: $21,159/year

TOTAL POTENTIAL EARNINGS: $2400 (Averaged out and not including blog income)

TOTAL: $23,559 Savings/Earnings in 1 Year!

If you start your blog today then you are on the path to earning even more and being able to sustain yourself while you travel. The beginning of the list is to get you started, but the blog is to keep you going. You end up working less and enjoying life more.

This will be a tough year to keep, but if you do, then you will be rollin’ out in an airplane to your next world adventure.