Steps to Saving Money for a Trip as a Student

It’s now more common to see photos of travelers backpacking their way all around the world than graduates starting their corporate life. While students constantly dream about flying to the Bahamas or Indonesia after graduation, only a percentage of them do – which is sad.

There’s no denying that trips like that are costly and that the money you currently have goes to other priorities, like school. But we both know you’re just dying to take that trip because who doesn’t, right?

The educative platform Pro-Papers suggests the next steps students need to take to save enough and more for that trip.

Asking the Questions

Before you start saving, you first need to know just how much you’re going to need. With that, you need to plan your trip. Whether it’s going to be a year from now or five, plan it now.

This is the first and most important step because this will determine the succeeding steps. If you’re not sure where to start, use the following guide and write down your answers:

• Where do you want to go?
• What do you want to do during the trip?
• When do you plan on going?
• How long is it going to be?
• Are you going to do it alone or with a friend/s?
• Is it a budget trip or a luxurious one?

Now, don’t get overwhelmed. These are necessary questions that will help you create a budget plan and direct your monthly saving goals. Answering all these questions will help you plan the trip and know all the costs.

Making the Budget

Look at your answers again and start doing your research. Start with the necessities like transportation fees, accommodations, food, etc. Then when all of that’s covered, start looking upon the activities you want to do during the trip.

It’s way more convenient to use a spreadsheet to enter all of the costs. Costs can easily be tracked and you know where the money goes. You can follow this pattern if you want:

• Column A – the type of cost
• Column B – Plan A
• Column C – Plan B
• Column D – Plan C

Having three different plans will save you from future stressors because you already have backups for each. This will take a lot of your time, but it’s way better to have it all laid down than meeting problems in the future.

Go back to the spreadsheet you made and add 20% of each total cost to its respective total cost. This is what you call your contingency money and it’s going to come in handy in the future.

Always refer to this budget plan if changes need to be made.You’ll also use this spreadsheet to plan how you save the money – something that will be expounded later.

Saving Money

This is the challenging part because this requires more discipline than money itself. A lot of things could happen and those might tempt you to touch the money.

Cut Down on Costs

Avoid spending on things you don’t need. This means you won’t buy new clothes if you don’t need them or cut down on coffee trips.

Use Student Discounts

Always bring your ID everywhere and avail student discounts. They might not seem much but a collective breakdown on the money you saved will make the difference clearer.

Find a Part-time Job

As a student, this can be challenging but best believe that the trip you’ll have will be worth the sweat. If you’re looking for online jobs, you can head to sites like Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer to find clients.

If you want physical jobs, then you can go to coffee shops or pizzerias where they still might need the extra hand. Earning the extra bucks will get you to your goal sooner than you think.A good way to start.

Follow these steps and you’ll eventually be one of the travelers enjoying their trips. Set your heart to it and be disciplined enough to stick to your goals. Don’t let the cost deter you and just keep reaching your goals. What are you waiting for? Plan your trip and start saving!