How to Save for our Travel Dreams!

Each one of us has a unique travel dream. How to make this travel a reality remains a question as travelling abroad requires comfortable budget to make it happen. Saving entails determination, self-discipline and having the correct mind set and unless we possess a strong determination to make things happen, we could never realize that dream. But here, why not set our mind and focus in getting what we wanted?

 Here are effective tips I got around the web how to make that dream a reality.

I've been talking a couple of times here about travelling to a foreign country, visiting beautiful places, embarking to a grand European tour, but I never so far featured tips how to prepare and set aside a considerable budget to make these luxurious travel plans a reality.

Well, the truth is, saving money takes a huge amount of determination and focus, it is absolutely not easy. Granting that we still have to spend daily for our needs, we still have to eat, buy personal necessities and pay our loans. Sometimes there are other expenses we never expected would arise. So saving for our travel plans definitely not included in our priority list.

But when will be the right time to save for our travel dreams? Certainly not five years from now because remember there's no such thing as "perfect moment" to prepare. A while ago, I did some research about ideal budgeting online and came across with Suzanne Gerber's article at Forbes Magazine's: How to save enough to fulfill these travel dreams. 

According to the article "Our love of travel figures prominently in our future plans but we are not taking the right steps how to ensure we will be able to take the trips". 

I also read another article from Time Magazine how to save consciously to finance a travel dream. The tips presented by Forbes and Time are not far from each other, both articles point readers to one direction: Open a Travel Account. Oh gosh is this possible? lol! But yeah, the tips are really inspiring that opening a bank account just for Travel is not a bad idea.

Here are the top ten tips I gathered from Forbes and Time:

1. Identify where you want to travel

2. Do some research online about this destination, hotel deals, getting there, going around, what are the best tourist attractions in this place.

3. List down the essential expenses for this trip.

4. Take note of your money spending every day and decide where to cut back. What sacrifices you are willing to do. Do you have indulgences like eating in a fancy restaurant, going to a Theater, watch concerts? If you have, then it's time to cut back.

5. Check for online tips how to secure a visa if this place requires one.

6. Set a specific date for your travel to prepare your budget and to scout for promo airfares and hotel accommodations.

7. Open a bank account just for Travel to monitor your savings.

8. Create a budget sheet for all your weekly or monthly expenses.

9. Tally your income and expenses and see how much you would set aside each month from this income, salary perhaps, for your Travel Account.

10. Don't cheat with your budget. The more honest you are, the better.

If you are still confuse how to practice the above tips, there are two short-cut routes to understand the suggestions better: TARGETED SAVINGS and CONSCIOUS SPENDING, quite general but more or less, these two ideas will get you on the start-up track.

Personally, I find the above tips very useful and effective. The only thing that separates us from realizing our goal is the lack of focus. It's time to have one. So start planning and keep the momentum going.