Search Housing Grants by typing your county

Over 2,000 programs and adding every day.

Checking off destinations on your bucket list can be tough if you have zero room in your budget.

While you could increase your income via a second job or a side gig, there are other ways to make your vacation dreams come true. These methods involve saving money instead of spending it, and they’re all quite doable.

First, Figure out How Much Money You’ll Need.

For this article, we’ll assume you don’t have a ton of extra cash sitting around to fund a spontaneous trip across the globe. We’ll also assume that you don’t want to pay for your vacation entirely on credit.

Before you can start packing your bags, you have to figure out:

• Where you want to go.
• When you want to go.
• What you plan to spend.

When choosing where you want to travel, be realistic in terms of your budget. If your income and savings aren’t where you want them to be, you may have to plan a trip that’s not several time zones away.

As for when you want to go, keep in mind that certain times of the year are cheaper for travel than others.

The holidays can be quite costly as other people drive up the demand for airfare and lodging. To avoid this, try planning your trip in between the peak and off-season.

This is called shoulder season, and it makes October an attractive time of year to hit the road.

If you’re unsure of when costs are highest, use online booking sites to see estimates.

For example, you could visit an airline’s site and enter in dates for travel to see when prices are lowest. You could do the same with hotel sites to help you pick the best time of year to travel. Doing this ahead of time will make planning and paying for your trip much easier.

When determining what you plan to spend, try to cut all the frills from your proposed budget.

Seeing new places is what’s most important, which makes things like eating out or staying in super-expensive lodging luxuries and not necessities.

You could buy groceries and save a ton on food by cooking in your hotel or Airbnb. You could also stay in a hostel or lower-grade hotel to save on lodging since you’ll probably be out and about sightseeing most of the time anyway.

Once you know what you plan to spend and when you want to travel, divide that total amount by the months until departure. That’s how much you’ll have to save monthly to meet your travel needs.

Money-Saving Travel Tips

With your trip planned, it’s now time to figure out how to get the most bang for your buck. Here are some tips for doing just that:

1. Purchase your airline tickets as soon as possible.

If you’re flying, buy your tickets in advance. The more you wait, the more they’ll increase as seats fill up and demand goes up.

Buy your tickets at least three to four weeks before your flight, and you should see some solid deals.

2. Don’t pay for your rental car in full.

Call your car insurance company and see if they cover rentals. This could save you a big chunk of cash should you need a rental car, as insurance can cost quite the pretty penny.

If you have credit cards with perks or rewards, see if they’ll pay for your rental car insurance as well.

3. Skip the souvenirs.

Do you love collecting things everywhere you go? This is perfectly fine, but it could burst your budget.

Make a rule only to buy one souvenir per stop. Or even better, skip the souvenirs and take pictures of your trip with your phone. They’re free and offer more vivid memories.

4. Go with Groupon.

Booking a Groupon Getaway can help you save on transportation and lodging.

As a side note, if booking a flight online, pay attention to the site’s interface. Many now offer ways to bundle savings on lodging and rental cars too, if you book all three online with the same company.