How to Budget for Travel

Today’s guest post is by my girl Tyra of Barrisourista. She’s a travel blogging attorney that shares lots of great locales, and meals on her blog and social media. Check out her tips on starting to budget for travel.

Many people think that travel is something that only the rich can do. They don’t believe that it can be extremely accessible for anyone, even if you have a family. This is part of the reason that BarrisTourista publishes tips and tricks for saving money on travel…to show that anyone can do it. Here are five travel financial questions to consider so you can fuel your wanderlust so you can determine what is most important when you start to budget for travel.

What are your travel goals?
Starting at the beginning, it is important to identify your goals before going forward. I always advocate SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Timely) goals. Do you want to take two big trips this year? Will you be traveling during the holidays? What do you want to accomplish this year in travel? But in addition to SMART goals, throw in some aspirations as well so you have something to look forward to.

What type of traveler are you?
Okay, you have to be honest with yourself on these questions, or this whole exercise is moot. Knowing yourself is going to be the key to having a rewarding and realistic travel experience. Are you someone who likes to backpack or do you have to have 4- or 5-star accommodations? Do you have certain times and destinations you must travel/visit, or do can you be flexible? If you don’t take to answer these questions and assess your travel style, there is a very real possibility your trip will be a disappointment…or it won’t even happen.
Are there alternative airports that you can fly into to save money?
If you live in a city with multiple airports, or near a major airport hub, it may behoove you to check to see if you can find a significant deal from an alternative airport. Live in LA? Check out Burbank, Long Beach or Orange County airports. NYC? Try Newark.
This also works on the destination end as well. If you want to go to London, for example, check a bunch of airports in Europe, like Paris or Dublin. Once you are across the pond, it is very inexpensive to get around the continent, but the key is first and foremost to get there.

What are you willing to sacrifice?
This is the word no one wants to hear but everyone has to consider. If you want to have the trip you want, but funds are tight, you may have to make some sacrifices in order to travel. So what are you willing to give up, and what are truly necessary or non-negotiable items?

In which programs do you have loyalty memberships, points or status?
You want to figure out when it is most advantageous to cash in accrued points or miles from loyalty programs, as that can save you substantially on your travels.

How to Budget for Travel
So there you have it. There are five huge questions to consider when making a travel budget. Want more? Check out the Travel Sense & Cents Budget Sheets, which pose detailed budget questions to help you get to your travel goals. And for not only budget help, but also trip planning, check out the Travel Sense & Cents Workbook, which includes the budget sheets, calendars and trip planning guides.

Tyra is the creative force behind BarrisTourista Travel and Foodie Blog, which offers local insights, traveler experiences, foodie recommendations, and travel tips. In addition to being a travel writer and photographer and an avid traveler, Tyra is a practicing attorney who helps content creators, bloggers, and photographers with protect their businesses and intellectual property rights.