It is almost the end of the semester and with that comes a lot of deadlines, tests and a huge amount of work to do. It can be very stressful and we often find ourselves dreaming about vacation and a little time off. We dream about trips to the beach, or maybe to the mountains, but what we really want is to get away from the city for a while, it doesn’t matter where. But, sometimes, money can be a problem.
Planning a trip can cost a lot of money, but with the help of Nathalia Arcuri, a journalist that owns a blog and a YouTube channel both named “Me poupe!”, we will learn how to deal with money, how to invest and how to save so we can travel and enjoy our time off.
There is a lot of advice in her blog and YouTube channel on how to save money to go on vacation, and she even made a video with the youtuber Danielle Noce about this topic. Check out her tips :
1. Get to know your travel desires
First of all, Nathalia advises people to understand what they want for their vacation to look like. Are you willing to go on a low-profile trip, or do you prefer luxury? Based on that, you can start thinking about the budget required for your vacation.
If you are the luxury type, traveling with a low budget is not impossible, you will just need a little more time of preparation before your trip, and a lot of saving up for the vacation of your dreams. If you are the low-profile type, you can save a lot of money by staying in hostels, or even 2 starts hotels. Also, you can skip dinners at expensive restaurants and search for cheaper places. That way you can enjoy the experience of being there, without unnecessary expenses.
Nathalia also states that a vacation is an experience, meant to be lived, so if you go to Paris, for example, you don’t need to come back with your suitcase full of ornaments just to prove you were there. That way you will save a lot of money if you don’t spend it with this type of purchase, maybe one ornament is enough for you to take home as a souvenir.
2. When planning you should…
Since now you know what type of traveler you are, low-profile or luxury, you can start planning your trip. But where to start?
Well, you should first decide where you want to go and when, and then research the price of the following things: flight tickets + accommodation + food. With that amount of money, you should add the expenses you will have. For example, do you want to buy something there? What? How much does it costs? After researching all of that, you should add 10% to the amount of money you will need, for unforeseen events.
Also, a good tip is to keep and eye on travel companies, because they often have flight tickets on sale, which is the best time to purchase it. Plus, if you can, you should travel on a low season, which is when people aren’t on vacation, for example, during fall or spring, when not only flight tickets are cheaper, but also hotels and touristic activities.
3. Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing is a travel community website where you will find people from all around the world willing to let you stay at their homes for free. The idea is to provide a good experience for the traveler and for the host, who is going to get the chance to interact with someone from another country!
On the website, each host has a page where couchsurfers who have stayed there can leave comments on how the experience was, that way you will have recommendations which makes the couchsurfing experience a little more safe!
This is definitely an option for low-profile travelers, since on couchsurfing people usually offer their couches for you to sleep in, no luxury, but it is a great experience since you will get to interact with a local and live on their house for a while. It’s a great way to immerse in the culture from that country.
4. Travel with your friends!
If you are impatient, and don’t want to spend a year or two saving up for a trip, you can separate the money you have now and go to a place near your city, maybe the beach, and there you can rent a place with your friends, so that you all get to share the expenses and it ends up not being expensive.
Also, it is a pretty good way to relieve stress by being with people that you like having around, and traveling with your friends is a complete different experience than traveling alone, plus you will make memories that you can cherish and remember whenever you are together.
5. No credit cards allowed
Nathalia advises to spend actual money, and avoid using your credit card, since when you have money you get to see and feel how much you are spending. When using a credit card you spend a lot more since you don’t actually see what you are spending. Another advice from Nathalia Arcuri is to make the cash conversion in your country, since it will be probably cheaper than the place you are going to.
Definitely check out Nathalia’s YouTube channel for more tips on that, because she will also teach you how to invest your money so planning a trip gets a little easier and faster. Make sure to also watch her video on Danielle Noce’s channel about this topic and good luck on planning your future trips!