Are you determined to travel more this year? Good! It's a fantastic goal to have since travel can open up your mind, teach you about the world and is just plain fun. Actually turning your travel dreams into reality can seem like a huge uphill battle and you may not know where to start. If you want to start putting aside more money to make travel actually happen this year, here are a couple of unique ways to do it.
Use Cash Back Websites
The internet is your friend. Honestly, there are so many websites out there that can help you save cash on things that you planned on purchasing anyways. Sites like Cashbackhouse let you look directly for stores that you want to shop at and earn a percentage of your money back on purchases. You can also use it for travel websites like Hotels.com where you can receive up to 4.5% back. Apps like Ibotta and Checkout 51 allow you to take your receipts and scan them to retrieve rebates on items that you purchased. It's essentially free money so why not take advantage of it this year? Keep track of every receipt and look for rebates before purchasing and you could have enough savings to buy a couple of nights in a hotel for your next vacation.
Pick Up a Side Gig
As you probably already have a regular job, it couldn't hurt to pick up a side gig. Don't stress yourself out by working to death but instead, choose something that seems interesting. Love coffee? Get a part time gig as a barista at a trendy café. Have a knack for playing guitar? See if you can find local clubs or restaurants who would pay you to play. If you aren't sure where to find these opportunities, talk to your neighbors to see if they need their lawn mowed or check out the "gig" section of Craigslist to see if someone needs services.
Sell Something
Selling something of use is one of the fastest and easiest ways of making some extra cash. Start with what you have at home. Go through your basement, attic and shed and gather up everything that you just don't use anymore. You can have a yard sale or post items up online to sell. Once you have exhausted your personal items, consider learning to make a craft and selling it in your free time. You can go to local craft markets to sell what you've created or open an online shop on a platform like Etsy to appeal to a larger market.
Barter
Instead of paying for everything this year, see if you can barter. If you need work done on your house, look into your group of friends or your community to see if anyone could provide the service in exchange for something else. Think about what you have to offer up instead of payment. Cooking, writing, advertising; whatever skills you have, it's possible that you could trade them instead of taking money out of your bank account.
Try Freelancing Websites
Speaking of skills, there are plenty of freelancing websites out there that offer you a platform to charge for them. If you can write, do voice impressions, draw, do web-design or write music, you could be able to freelance your skills. The options are endless and all you really need to do is check out websites like Upwork and Fiverr to see if your skills are in demand.
Do Money Saving Challenges
These can be totally fun and also great ways to save money throughout the year. Make up your own money saving challenges and put the extra cash away for your next trip. Challenge yourself to cook healthy meals that only come from the Dollar Store for a week or see if you can go an entire week without spending any money at Starbucks. You can challenge yourself to walk to work every day for a week instead of spending money on gas or using less air conditioning to save money on utilities. You may surprise yourself with what you can do and have a lot more money to show for it in the end.
Where will you go with the money you save this year?