this is how we can afford to travel

Out of all the questions I get asked by family and friends I think the most common one when it comes to travel is ‘how can you afford to travel so much?’.

This can be annoying at times. They might as well say – ‘I don’t think you make enough money to be travelling as much as you are’. One time I actually had one of my friends ask me how I afford to travel so much, followed by a comment that surely I can’t be saving money at the same time. Guess what? I am, thank you very much.

For those of us that travel and make travelling a priority, you know how frustrating it can be to get this question. The people who normally ask this question are my friends living in the nicest apartments in downtown Toronto, have cars, new clothes, go out constantly, etc.

You can afford what you want to afford

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If buying designer clothes is your priority you’re going to make sure that brand new *insert item* is yours next paycheque. You’ll save up for it to make sure it’s yours. Obviously the same thing can be said for travel.

Albeit I haven’t always been great at budgeting in the past, I have spent the last couple of years managing my finances so that I’m able to take trips, save money and still have the lifestyle I’m looking to have. Of course, this has come with sacrifices but I’ve found a balance that has been working for me for the past year or so.

For those of you who are wondering, here is a breakdown of how I divvy up my pay every month to make sure that I’m always saving for my next adventure:

43% | Rent, internet, groceries, transportation

If there’s one piece of advice I can give anyone looking to travel more while working full-time it’s that you don’t always need to have the nicest apartment in the nicest neighbourhood. Ben and I sat down last year and realized that moving 2km West from where we were living at the time we would save $200 a month in rent.

Over a year that’s enough for two flights almost anywhere. We are both still close enough to work that we can either take public transportation or walk to work. We got rid of my car for that reason which has saved us over $500 a MONTH, that’s a lot.

how can you afford to travel

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9% | Retirement savings

This is super important. I’m also really lucky in that my work has an RRSP program that takes money off of my paycheque without me even having the chance to look at it before putting it away into a savings account.

Even when I worked for companies that didn’t do this, I tried my best to put a certain amount of money away every month. I’ll thank myself when I’m retired hopefully still travelling the world :).

27% | Entertainment & necessities

Toronto is expensive, and I’m a social person. I’m happy when I’m busy. While it seem like quite a lot of money to spend on going out for meals or nights out etc, I also use this money for any necessities I need or when I want to finally buy myself some new clothes or shoes.

18% | Vacation savings

I wish I could put more money towards vacations but it works out nicely that every four or five months Ben and I have enough for a big trip. This doesn’t seem like a lot but we also try our hardest to be going on random weekends. For us to rent a car for a weekend it’s about $80 and then whatever the cost of a hotel might be.

Even though Toronto isn’t really NEAR anything, we do have some amazing destinations just North of the city for great winter or summer escapes.

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3% | Leftover

This I either use for the ‘Entertainment’ or ‘Vacation’ budget. Whatever it is that I feel needs that little bit of extra money that month. It’s always good to have a little bit of a buffer in case you happen to go over budget in one area.

So there you have it, the breakdown of my expenses and how I can afford travel. Obviously, there are other key factors when it comes to this – like going on vacation to destinations during their shoulder seasons. You might find my article about maximizing your vacation days helpful as well. You’ll usually find cheaper prices. I always make sure to do a lot of research when looking for a new destination to make sure I’m getting the best possible deal.

They key is to be diligent about your budget and not veer from it. What I usually find helpful is booking a flight months in advance so I have something to look forward to and plan. This also helps me make sure that I have money saved before I go. As soon as you can afford to buy a flight – go ahead and purchase! The rest will fall into place if you’re under the gun.

How do you make sure you’re saving for your next trip?

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45 Comments

  1. Love this. I honestly don’t keep a budget (my husband and I are super frugal so it works out) but I’d say it’s got to shake out like this. I agree that the “how do you travel so much every year?!” is inevitably asked by someone with a car and a nice, spacious apartment. Priorities, peeps, that’s all it is!

  2. I love this post and applaud you for your efforts in making and maintaining a budget that actively includes travel. There are often days that I wish I were more controlled with my spending, but my husband and I are working on finding a good balance between home life, work life, and travel life. We’ll get there eventually! Thank you for the inspiration—it looks surprisingly easy to save when you break it down like that.

    Also, good luck planning the wedding! My husband Ben and I got married last November. We wanted to do a big wedding for our family and friends for a while, but then we decided to move it up a year (from Sept. 2016 to Nov. 2015) and get married with a ceremony and reception we could afford. Everyone was happy with it, and we saved enough money to be able to afford a honeymoon. 🙂 Anyway. Congratulations on the engagement! I wish you both the best of luck and happiness.

  3. Great post! i have a friend from high school who travels a lot. She went to college and then afterward she moved to Spain! Where I’m from not a lot of people my age here go off and do exciting things like international travel. Anyway, during her time in Spain she was always taking smaller trips: Portugal, Egypt, Morocco, etc. and i was blown away by all her pictures of these amazing adventures. So one day I asked on one of her posts, “how do you afford to travel so much?”. For whatever reason, maybe she gets that question a lot and it’s annoying, maybe she saw it and forgot to reply. She never replied to my question.
    Maybe you have had people close to you make judgy assumptions about how you can afford to travel. And asking about a person’s finances is always a little brazen, but when I asked her that, it came from a place of envy, not judgement or assumption. I wanted to do exactly what she was able to do, but I couldn’t figure out how someone my age, not from a wealthy family, and with a regular 20-something’s income and bills could afford to travel so much. So long story short: I took it upon myself and after months of research reading hundreds of posts like yours on budgeting, finding cheap airfare and accommodation, I have my very first solo adventure booked for this August. Amsterdam, Paris, and London!
    I just wanted to say thank you for writing this post because it really helps a ton to have people like you share so candidly how you can afford to travel. And also, I hope that in the future, when you get that question, you don’t assume they are being judgy, when really, chances are, they are a little jealous and trying to figure it out for themselves 🙂

  4. Very informative Madi. Thank you for such a useful info. I’d have to think about my expenses now since I am planning to go to Europe this year !

  5. I’m so glad I’m able to give you some ideas or even just a bit of perspective! I know how tough it can be – and can really be overwhelming. Sometimes it’s just easier to do in chunks, bit by bit.

    Congratulations on getting married! And that’s the tough part – finding something we want that’s affordable 😉 at the end of the day though it’s really about why we are having the day and who’s there, it’s just so easy to get caught up in everything as well!

    Thanks for stopping by and reading Anna!

  6. Haha! Exactly Polly, priorities! I’m jealous that you don’t keep a budget and everything can work out that way! I can’t tell you how many times when we first moved in together we tried winging it and found we barely had enough money for groceries by the end of the month. Perils of living in a big city I guess!

  7. Veronica, thank you so much for your post and kind words – it really means a lot to know that even one person appreciates what I’ve written. I completely understand the question and honestly there are people who travel much more than me that make me wonder how THEY do it too!
    The problem with living in North America is that travel right now is so much more expensive than it is in Europe which is such a shame – hopefully that changes soon.
    Congratulations on booking your first solo trip!!!! That’s so inspiring! I’ve only travelled solo once and it was because I had a layover before meeting a friend. You will absolutely LOVE Paris, Amsterdam and London! They are on everyone’s list for a reason 😉 I hope you enjoy! Would love to hear how it turns out.

  8. don’t you love presumptuous people who think you don’t know how to be an adult? either you are saving too little or spending too much! Good luck to you for living your life exactly as you want and with a plan to boot.

  9. Love this post and I know how you feel when friends and family just don’t get our passion for travel. But what would you rather have a few designer dresses or a trip to an exotic destination?

  10. Lovely post…I fully agree with you that it is fully dependent on your priorities. I loved the way you explained everything and it will surely help others to plan accordingly 🙂

  11. Nice post, well done! I wrote an article on that topic few months ago and on part-time traveling: my boyfriend is also called Ben, so what you wrote really sounded familiar ahah
    You’re so right, it’s all about priorities. And my biggest tip is that traveling doesn’t have to be far away and doesn’t have to be expensive. I do some big and expensive trips, and I also go on great cheap adventures close to home during weekends that cost less than going out in the city.
    Thank you for sharing your experience and helping people to travel more 😀

  12. “I have a motto – you can afford what you want to afford”. Absolutely, Madi! And it is quite frustrating when people ask you – how can you travel so much… when do go to the mall every weekend and spend at least one ticket in money on things they don’t really need. I have a friend (male, to specify) to whom I talked some days ago and he said he has 40 pairs of shoes. Wow, that outstrips even most of my female friends..

    Thanks for sharing this article! It is very useful 🙂

  13. Very interesting post and outlook re: finances. We live in Italy now, so in a way we feel like we are constantly travelling as every weekend trip is a small discovery of this beautiful country. Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding and best wishes for your future travels. It is admirable that you are taking the right steps to turning your dreams into reality. #gvglinkup

  14. I LOVE this post! I have just started (last week) getting some papers in order to set up a budget with the Husband….EeeEkkK. Its so scary to actually hold yourself to something. But YES…this is a priority, a GOAL. I want it so bad i can taste it LOL. I am going to use this as another reference. more ideas the better. thanks!

  15. It just really need a lot of management. Our traveling hearts will just find their ways for plane tickets or something likewise. Just like how people in love do. 🙂

  16. Yeah I get asked this all the time. It is one of my least favorite questions actually because I feel like people can be so spiteful about it. I love how you break down your finances!

  17. Savings are my top priority, before all other expenses. This is how I make sure I set aside something every month. Eventually, it adds up to nice amounts that can pay for my trips.

  18. I say…. ditch the wedding savings!!! I had some investment money that my family hopes to use for a wedding, but it’s MY money and I would rather spend it on a number of other things (a nice car….a nice starter home… traveling… investing for my children’s future…). If they want me to have a 10k wedding, then they can pay for it. Because I’m not! 😀

  19. haha! I like your style Kaley 🙂 As much as it pains me I am secretly also looking forward to having a wedding. What other excuse is there to bring everyone together?

  20. You’re so lucky to live in such a beautiful country! While Canada is also gorgeous — it’s really hard to get to places and really expensive. Enjoy it!

  21. Totally agree Svet! I don’t necessarily have nice things – but I’m so much richer in experiences and to me, that matters.

  22. Great post, and I love your honesty!! I wish I had of realised years ago how important travel was and how much I want to do it more and more. I spent many years thinking buying new clothes, accessories and spending all my paycheck was what made me happy. Live and learn I suppose..

  23. It’s better late than never Zita! At least you’ve realized it now and are working towards travel. I sometimes fel pressure to use money for new clothes / accessories but then I do the math on what that can buy me travelling and it’s pretty easy to convince myself I don’t need it!

  24. Excellent tips! You especially saved a lot of money by not having that car and moving apartments! Good job! I think if you want to save money for something – you can easily do it. Just like you said, you need to be mindful everyday of what you’re spending your money on and asking yourself twice, thrice…do I really need this or do I need that plane ticket?!

  25. We have been saving like mad for the past couple of years to afford our long term travel plans this year. We have rented our house out and moved back in with my parents and cancelled so many unnecessary direct debits. I think if you want to travel so much then you can always find a way, you just have to make a few sacrifices here and there.

  26. We have traveled a lot over the years, but I would rather spend my money doing things than buying things. I mean really you an only wear one outfit at a time- I am not sure why you need 365! Lol! As we moved up the corporate ladder and made more money we just saved more. I’ve had a comfortable life and still do. I know A lot of people make more money, have more stuff and travel less. That’s okay with me. less tourists when I get somewhere!

  27. I can really relate to what you are saying about the cost of a wedding and feeling like you’d rather just put it towards travel! I’m getting married this year and really was debating just eloping. At the end of it all I decide to have a ceremony with family and friends because I feared I would always regret not having one. Travel will always be there.

  28. I feel you completely Alli. Travel will alsways be there – the chance at another wedding (hopefully) will not be. Congratulations and good luck!

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