Flightster

Stop wishing and start traveling

• by Shannon Albert
• on August 18th, 2010
• 8 Comments

When I ran a half-marathon two years ago, it created an unexpected reaction from people. Lots of people got defensive about why they didn’t run and it usually involved not having enough time or a sore knee. They didn’t need to make up excuses because I never thought they should be running but it seems to be a common trait for people to create reasons they don’t feel they can do something.

People do something similar with travel. “Oh, I wish I could go…” or “my dream trip would be to go…” Why are they dreams? Why can’t you go? If people are really interested in traveling, here are some ways to make that “dream trip” happen even if resources are limited.

Create a Trip Savings Account

Open a new bank account that can be used just for trip savings. This will make it easier to keep track of where you’re at with your goal and make it less tempting to allocate it for something else. Many people use ING Direct but you’ll want to look at what option works best for you. You can even have a certain dollar amount direct deposited to your new account from your paycheck so you don’t even have to think about it.

I actually use my PayPal account for this purpose. It doesn’t collect any interest like a bank account does but it is the way that I am paid from a few sources so it’s a convenient way to collect funds and keep money separate. I understand you can actually get a debit card to use against PayPal money now so that’s something I will probably do soon.

Use a Layaway Option

Remember when big stores used to offer layaway and you’d make payments and gradually get your stuff to keep? You can kind of do the same thing for some trips.

Cruises often let you book with a deposit and then you can pay gradually as long as you finish payments by a certain date.

Disney trips have a similar option. You can book your Disney vacation and login to your account online and apply money as you are able.

Sites like layaway-travel.com allow you to book your travel through them and then choose from a few ways to pay for it.

Although credit cards aren’t usually the best idea, you can look at options such as the Citi Platinum Select Mastercard which can give you 0% interest for up to 18 months.

Get More Cash

Obviously if you’re going to open a savings account or make payments on a trip, you’ll have to have the cash to use. Here are some ideas to earn extra money.

Sell your stuff on Craigslist. Have some valuable things that you don’t want anymore? Somebody might want it. I recently replaced all of the hardware on our kitchen cabinets and found that the original hardware (which was there when we bought the house) was fairly pricey when it was purchased new. I grouped all of the hardware together and posted it on Craigslist. Although I’ve used Craigslist quite a bit, I found this tutorial on using Craigslist to be super helpful.

Use your skills to earn extra cash. Can you design websites? Teach guitar lessons? Walk dogs? Identify a skill somebody will you pay you to do and start doing that now. Ramit of IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com has a great (and long!) post on how to turn your skills into a money-making side job.

Earn money online. There are a few different ways to earn money online that are pretty easy and can be done from wherever you are. Here are a few:

• SunshineRewards.com lets you earn money based on purchases you make. If you’re already planning on buying things, you may as well earn a little extra while you’re at it.
• Monetize your blog. Have a blog with a decent following? You could earn money via ads and/or affiliate products. Don’t fake any product recommendations to earn money. Just be sure to include an affiliate link on anything you’d normally link to anyway.
• Be an online juror. Register on sites like JuryTest.net, OnlineVerdict.com or SignupDirect.com and you may be chosen to listen to a case and answer some questions afterward. The cases are available only sporadically but if you’re picked, you can earn a nice amount of money for your time.

Be Resourceful

Paying full price is crazy. Research, research, research. Look at different times to travel (consider “shoulder seasons” that are right on the edge of peak seasons but not quite), watch for great sales that you can jump on quickly, use helpful online tools to comparison shop (ITA Software is one of my favorites) and seek out destination-specific advice from people who are experts.

Ask for It

It’s one thing for you to earn money and save for a trip but what about when other people ask what they should get you? Ask for them to contribute!

All forms of cash are obviously great options (cash itself, pre-loaded debit cards or traveler’s checks). You can also ask people to contribute to parts of your trip. Maybe somebody has a lot of airline miles they aren’t going to use so they can give them to you. Perhaps your parents ask what they can get your kids for their next birthday and you could ask them to pay for an activity you would like to do on your trip.

You could even ask people to pay for your whole trip. Sites like honeyfund.com allow you to register for a trip and other people can donate toward the cause. It’s so much more fun to get 1 big thing you want rather than several small items you won’t remember in five years.

I know a lot of die hard travelers must be reading. What kinds of creative things have you done so you could go on your “dream trip?”

Shannon Albert

Shannon loves to share awesome, fun and hopefully useful info that she's collected and to connect with other travel freaks. She loves the planning part of travel as much as the traveling itself. Shannon's background includes working as a web developer and as a digital producer for an advertising agency. She lives in Texas with her husband, 2 kids and dog. New York City is her favorite city. Her blog is shannonalbert.com.