How To Afford One Trip A Year (Even On A Tight Budget)

Most people who get into this hobby aren’t after flashy first class seats and five star hotels. They’re average folks with spouses and kids who just want to save money on travel. They’re often bound by school calendars and the high-season travel expenses that entails. Being able to cover one trip a year on a budget is ideal for these folks. Luckily, there are many ways to do that within this hobby. Here are four ways to afford one trip a year, even on a tight budget:

1 – Get a Rewards credit card

Get a rewards credit card is the single best way to make travel more affordable. Get a card like the Barclay Arrival or Chase Sapphire Reserve and you’ll not only earn a generous sign-up bonus, but valuable points on every day purchases throughout the year. The average American family has $57,311 worth of living expenses in a single year. Putting all of this spending on a point earning credit card would result in a minimum of 57,311 points or miles. That’s enough for at least two roundtrip airplane tickets anywhere in the U.S. but can easily be stretched to cover short-haul airfare for four. Or used for 1-10 free nights at a hotel.

Past the first year, many rewards credit cards offer annual spending bonuses and referral bonuses. Some hotel credit cards even offer annual free nights. So it’s possible to keep earning free travel from rewards credit cards beyond the first year.

2 – Save $5 per day

A lot of people are intimidated at the idea of saving $1,500 in a year. After all, most Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck nowadays – regardless of socioeconomic status. But thinking of $1,500 as roughly $5 saved per day makes it more feasible. How easy is it? For starters, you can give up your daily $5 coffee habit for 10 months out of the year. Make your own coffee at home, get some Starbucks VIA packets if you’re an iced coffee fiend. Get cash back on your grocery spending with shopping apps like iBotta.

The point is, getting rid of small luxuries like coffee or the occasional drive-through meal can add up enough throughout the year to cover at least one trip. It doesn’t even have to be a domestic trip you’re booking for $1,500 – especially if you get in on an amazing international fare like $250 roundtrip to Asia or $300 roundtrip to Europe.

3 – Use travel apps

There are tons of great mobile apps out there that help you save money on travel. Most of them reward first-time users, though it’s possible to earn additional credits through referrals. Here’s a round-up of mobile apps that let you earn free travel:

• Airbnb – $40 off your first trip of $75 or more, $20 credit per successful referral
• Hotel Tonight – Get $25 off your first booking of $135+, get $25 for each successful referral
• Uber – $5 off your first 4 rides, free ride credit up to $5 for each successful referral
• Lyft – $5 off your first ride, free ride credit up to $10 for each successful referral
• Yazing – Yazing gives each user personal referral links that can be distributed to friends and family. When they book travel or make an online purchase at a participating merchant with your link, you’ll reap the rewards!

4 – Use shopping portals

Nowadays, you can shop online for pretty much anything. Groceries? Check. Clothes? Check. Online rent/mortgage payment services? Check. There really isn’t anything you can’t by online anymore and lots of shopping portals will offer you cash back and miles for these purchases. The best way to get the highest payouts on online purchases is to check EvRewards, Cashback Monitor and Cashback Holic. You’ll see the highest point and cash back payouts. It’s up to you to decide whether you value miles and points over cash back. Regardless of which you choose to earn, you can put your annual savings towards some part of an annual trip.

There are different ways to save up for at least one trip a year if you’re on a budget. The easiest is to get a rewards credit card. But if you either don’t qualify or prefer not to get one, there are tons of ways to get cash back on your year-round purchases. Enough to cover at least some travel during the year.

 

How are you saving up extra miles or cash to cover travel on a budget?

How To Afford One Trip A Year (Even On A Tight Budget) posted first on http://elsanobanano.com/