How to Prioritise Travel

We see travel as a means to explore, expand our minds and live as free as possible and so prioritising travel just comes easy to us. We make some sacrifices in our day to day living we don't spend half as much as what we used to and we try and save every spare penny we have, everything we save goes into a travel fund.

Set realistic savings goals

Because for us if we didn't save, we wouldn't be able to travel. We have A LOT of home commitments (we have no mortgage but we do have a lot of bills to pay to run our house and that wipes out all of Oli's wage each month) so I sort all our savings out from my salary and we set a minimum amount to save that is the most achievable. We save the exact same minimum amount of money each month and anything on top of that which I / we can save is a bonus

Be Smart

Can't afford it, don't buy it. Don't get me wrong we are terrible for this BUT we have learnt since COVID that travel is more important to us now more than ever and we rarely spend money if we don't have it as "spare cash" unless we have absolutely no option like an unexpected bill for the van or car but that is the only time we dip into our savings.

Really figure out what you want

If travelling is it then I think you really have your goals set because everything else is relative - where you go, what you do - you can plan all of that later on. But you do need to figure out how you want to travel because your savings will depend on that - are you a budget traveller or are you happier living life in luxury or are you somewhere in the middle, we are definitely middle ground people which means we have to save a little harder but I know that means we will be happier when we are away. 

Set clear goals

Once you have your savings plan in place, and it might take a couple of months to really get that set in stone then you can move onto setting clear goals. 

Start by discussing as a family what you hope to achieve through travel. Are you looking to relax, explore new cultures, have adventures, or simply spend quality time together? Understanding your priorities will guide your travel decisions.Where are you wanting to go? How much does it cost to get there? How long will you go for? What do you think you might want to do there? And you look at these points for each place that you think you may want to visit.

Utilise travel points and miles

Consider signing up for a travel rewards credit card like American Express that offers air miles for British Airways flights. Change the way you spend each month, everything that you spend on your debit card (food shopping, clothes etc) spend on the credit card and pay it off right away. Avios points will start adding up and you will soon have enough points to get near on free flights - with this credit card you will also get a companion ticket which allows 1 person to fly with you for free - such a brilliant way to travel for very little when all you did was change the way you spend your hard earned cash.