6 tricks to cut costs so you CAN travel

We cut costs and saved more than $21,000 in one year!

Travelling long term such as a trip around the world or even a two-week vacation somewhere tropical may seem out of reach for many people. With everything getting more and more expensive, it can seem like an impossible goal, but with some cost-cutting tricks, you can make it happen. We get asked all the time how were we able to afford to take 6 months off to travel the world with our two kids.

These 6 tricks will help you cut costs so you can travel. They made a mind-blowing difference for us in being able to save money:

1. Make your morning Coffee or lattes at home. We saved over $6395!

“The latte factor” is an overused cliché but there’s a reason why people talk about it, it does work! We love our coffee so it was really important we were able to have the same quality as going out. We used to buy our lattes out every day on our way to work, and sometimes at lunch as well. This adds up fast.

There’s also a chain reaction of events associated with going out for coffee. For example, paying for parking, the cost of gas plus adding a muffin or some sort of treat to our latte. On the weekends, we’d bring the kids and after purchasing their items, we would spend as much as $40! When we would go to the mall at lunch to buy a coffee, often we’d purchase things on impulses like clothes, makeup or even a cool magazine….the list goes on.

We purchased ourselves a really good espresso machine, purchased our favorite espresso beans, and learned how to make them properly so we were able to have the same experience!

This sounds crazy but we estimate we were spending more than $6700 per year not including parking, gas and impulse purchases!

Savings calculation:

We purchased a $1500 espresso machine that paid itself off in just under months. 8 years later we still have it!

2. Reduce your grocery costs. We saved over $1200!

Groceries are a huge expense, especially now with ever-high inflation. With a few tweaks, you can save some big $. Here’s what we did.

• Grow your food. We made garden boxes and grew veggies and fruit, saving us money, is kind of fun, and gives you a sense of accomplishment. We live in an area where wild blackberries grow in July and August and they are everywhere. I love picking them and we estimate that we pick about $100-$200 worth every summer. We freeze them and use them in smoothies and baked goods.
• Shop at farmer’s markets and compare prices. Where we live, farmers’ markets run almost all year round and can be much cheaper than the regular grocery store. There are other benefits including shopping local and getting the freshest produce possible. You can often find other staples too like honey, and local bread and cheeses.
• Buy in Bulk. By shopping at places like Costco or Walmart once and a while you can save on costs. Make sure you go with a list when you’re not hungry so you’re not tempted to purchase things you don’t need! We have a place in Canada called Bulk Barn where you can buy things like flours, nuts, seeds, nut butter, rice and a whole bunch of other items. We purchase our rice and grains from here and save $. Couponing, shopping the sale items + shopping on sales or points days also help but this isn’t something that we did regularly so it isn’t included in the costs.

Savings calculation:

• Our estimate of Total saved: $100 per month * 12 months = $1200 per year

3. Reduce eating out. We saved over $9300!

We brought our lunches to work most days and reduced dinners out by a lot. This one is difficult but it makes a big difference. There is more meal planning involved which is tough for busy people but it gets you to your goal faster and it’s good for the waistline! We used to eat out about twice per week for lunch and one to two times per week for dinner. It’s crazy how this adds up.

Savings calculation:

• $15 per lunch x 2 of us 2 lunches out per week x 52 weeks =  $3120 per year.
• $60 per dinner (more than this when you add in the kids) x 2 times per week x 52 weeks =  $6240 per year.
• Total saved: $3120 on lunches +  $6240 for dinners  = $9360 per year.

4. Eliminate banking fees. We saved over $1200!

Open online no-fee banking accounts that have free Interac transactions, free e-transfers, and free checks. We also have another account (our main checking account) where if we keep above a minimum balance of a few thousand dollars, we don’t pay any fees. Many people won’t be able to do this but do your research to find the least expensive accounts. Not only do banks pay you virtually no interest, but they also nickel and dime you with fees! Don’t forget to see if you can find lower-fee credit cards as well (and still collect points towards travel).

Savings calculation:

• Total saved: $100 per month x 12 months = $1200 per year.

5. Gym Memberships. We saved over $1800 per year!

I loved going to the gym but the memberships are expensive. I found an online program with hundreds of workouts that I enjoy and switched to that. We also purchased our own gym equipment that will last many years. Don’t forget to embrace the outdoors. Walking and hiking don’t cost anything except your shoes.

Savings calculation:

• $1000 per membership x 2 of us = $2000 per year.
• Online program = $200 per year.
• Total saved: $2000 – $200 = $1800 per year.
• Our home gym equipment including weights, mats, bands, treadmill and small TV cost $1600 and paid itself off in less than a year. We purchased our equipment over 10 years ago and still use it.

6. Reduce your online subscription costs. We saved over $1200 per year!

These costs add up quickly every month and sometimes you even forget about all the monthly fees. This is how they get you because most of them auto-renew at the end of each year. Things like audible, Spotify, Skillshare, Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. When we looked into this years ago we even had cable plus 2-3 streaming services. YouTube is free and has loads of great content!

Savings calculation:

• Our estimate of Total saved: $100 per month * 12 months = $1200 per year.

Total Savings from the 6 cost-saving measures:

1. Coffee – $6395
2. Groceries – $1200
3. Eating Out – $9300
4. Bank Fees – $1200
5. Gym Memberships – $1800
6. Subscriptions – $1200

TOTAL SAVED: $21,095

Every time I go through these numbers I’m blown away by all the extra costs. There are many other things we’ve done to cut costs and save more money for travel which I’ll cover in another article or YouTube video.

We’d love to hear if you have any best ways to cut costs that you use to save money!

Watch our coffee savings YouTube video.

Planning to travel soon? We’ve created travel guides for a few places we’ve been. You can find them here.