As the queen of not having a whole lot of spending money (or at least not any money I should be spending), finding even small ways to spend less money goes a long way. The most predominant time I encountered this setback was in Ireland last winter where I wasn’t able to get a part-time job to help with expenses. Since every dime I spent was eating away at my savings, I was constantly on the prowl for ways to save money.
Here’s five tips for saving money while traveling (and in general).
- Limit Eating Out
I cannot stress this enough. Eating out less and buying food at the store saves so much money. Like, it’s kind of ridiculous. This is especially the case while traveling. Since people tend to travel to destination locations, food tends to be more expensive there than it is back home. Therefore, eating out as little as possible helps save so much money.
Think about it this way — if you spend an average of $20 every time you eat out including tip and what not, each time you eat out that’s $20 you could have spent at the store. If you have leftovers, which isn’t always the case, you might get two meals out of a meal at a restaurant. Spending $20 at the store, however, depending on where you’re traveling, could get you groceries for almost an entire week. At least, that’s about how many euros I spent on groceries a week while in Ireland. Two meals versus meals for an entire week is a big difference in how much food you could be getting. While it might not always be that drastic of a difference in all locations, it’s still something to think about.
Also, when you eat out less, it makes going out to restaurants all the more special. You can make it an occasion with friends and enjoy it in a way that eating out constantly doesn’t illicit.
- Make Coffee And Tea At Home
While I’m not one to talk because Lord knows I love my iced coffee, similar to eating out, spending money at coffee shops adds up. That $5 or $6 you spend on a drink could get you coffee or tea for a week or weeks depending on what you like to drink.
Rather than getting coffee on just any old day, consider going to coffee shops as more of a special occasion. Save it for when you want to catch up with a friend or start that paper you’ve been dreading or that book you’ve been really looking forward to.
Also if you grab coffee all the time because you can never seem to make any just as good, consider getting good at making coffee! It’s easier than you might think to make those amazing drinks you love so much. And who doesn’t want to be able to impress their friends by making them coffee so good that it tastes like it came straight from a shop?
- Carry Your Student ID With You
You’d really be surprised how many discounts being a student can get you. From getting discounted movie tickets to savings on food purchases, your student ID is capable of helping out your wallet more than you might expect.
Click here for a blog article that lists over 100 discounts your student ID card can get you.
- Get An ISIC Card
If you are a student traveling internationally, even if it’s not for study abroad, ISIC or the International Student Identity Card can help you get deals on a bunch of different things including train rides, flights and hostels. Click here to learn more about what this card can help you save money on.
- Get An ESN Card
ESN or Erasmus Student Network is a great way for Exchange and Erasmus students to get deals. This card is especially great because it can help you travel for cheaper by getting you discounts on flights through RyanAir. Click here for information on how you can make that happen and here to read what other deals this card can get you.
Traveling, while expensive, doesn’t have to be impossible, especially for students. I hope these tips help you save a little extra dough on the next trip you take. (Which you can then put toward the one you want to take after that.) 🙂
Sierra Sage 