How I Afford To Travel The World On A Budget

1. I WORK

I hope this doesn’t come as a surprise to my readers but I use my hard earned salary to pay for my trips! I haven’t been on any sponsored trips YET (let’s speak this into existence for 2020) and I have no Sugar Daddy (as I have no sugar to give). Just my salary!

2. PRIORITIES & SAVING

I believe that most of us ALWAYS have money (even when we don’t) to purchase a specific item or pay for a particular service – whether it’s to pay for your nails, to eat out or to buy new clothes. I call these “our priorities”, we make sure we always put money aside for it.

Travelling is very important to me so each month I put X amount of money into my “Travel Savings Pot” on Monzo (as well as money into my regular savings because my mama didn’t raise no fool) so that whenever I’m ready to book a flight or plan a trip I can dip into this pot.

3. AGGREGATOR SITES

Travel aggregator sites search for flight deals across numerous websites and shows you everything on one page (often with the choice to compare). You can save coints and travel for CHEAP CHEAP with aggregator sites – they find flight deals for airlines which are not even being advertised on the Airline’s website, you can set up alerts and track flight prices and much more. Travel aggregator sites include (and are not limited to):

• Skyscanner
• Kayak
• Google Flights
• Opodo
• Expedia
• Secretflying.com (Not an aggregator site, but they share AMAZING deals and loads of error fares)
• Jack’s Flight Club (Not an aggregator site, but they share AMAZING deals and loads of error fares)

*Hack: Always search for flights in incognito mode, so the sites won’t save your flight searches and gradually increase the price.

4. BUDGET AIRLINES

Ryanair, EasyJet, Flybe, Vueling, Spirit Airlines, Norwegian, Nok Air – the list of budget airlines goes on. Budget airlines can be KEY for cheap travel for example Ryanair tend to have crazy deals where you could go to Italy for £10 (return trip)!

However, one important thing to note is that whilst budget airlines can be ‘cheap’ you could end up paying an arm and a leg for extras including hold baggage, food, seats and ticket changes. Here’s how I avoid the extra costs:

• Travel light (backpack/gym bag)
• Take the seat allocated to you and don’t pay for one (especially if it is not necessary)
• Bring my own snacks

5. HAND LUGGAGE ONLY

Your flight ticket can cost you an extra £50 or more to have checked in luggage. If I am going for a quick getaway I avoid paying for checked luggage if it is not included with my ticket and stick with my carry-on. Recently, I went to L.A for 4 days and I did myself the biggest favour by rolling all my clothes into my carry-on luggage and backpack. I managed to save myself £60 by doing this!

6. TRAVEL OFF-PEAK

Travelling off-peak can cut flight prices down by at least 50% or even more! For example travelling to Lagos, Nigeria during off-peak season can cost anywhere between £300-£600. However, if you decide to travel during peak-time (Christmas – Lord help us) flights can cost you up to £2000 (NO JOKE). Another example, if you fly during the week it can be a whole lot cheaper compared to flying on the weekend.

7. DAY TRIPS

Myself and Annabel had an 11-hour stopover in China on our way back to London from from Thailand. We made the most of this time and went on a tour around The Great Wall of China. We were able to visit another country and make the most of it at no extra cost!

Tip: If you are doing a day trip make sure you have enough time to explore between the time you arrive and the time you have to leave.

Sometimes all you need is a day to explore a city in a different country. Day trips are cheap and cheerful! No need to pay for accommodation or extra luggage just you, your ticket, handbag and your passport! If you’re interested in going on day trips with other travellers check out UK based TravelEatSlay

8. HOSTEL LIFE

Staying in a hostel is not everyone’s cup of tea (which is absolutely fine) but it is definitely my cup of tea. I find that accommodation makes up the bulk of your travel expenditure – if I know that I will be spending most of my time outside exploring then I will book a private room in a hostel as they are generally the cheaper accommodation option (dependent on the country).

Hostels have a bad rep but I promise you it is nothing like the movie! Have a read of my post: “Breaking the Stigma: 7 Reasons Why You Should Stay In A Hostel”

I hope this post has given you a bit of an insight on how I afford my travels and the steps I take to lower my travel costs!