Maybe you need to hear this, if you feel your limited budget is holding you back. The funny and relieving thing about travel is that what you pay for isn’t necessarily what you get. You could pay top dollar for an exclusive experience and walk away upset. On the other hand, you could travel dirt-cheap and walk away feeling like you just had the experience of a lifetime. 

The quality of your travel experience is not directly correlated to the cost of the trip. 

What a relief, right? You will need to tap into and practice your own ingenuity and resourcefulness, but in the end, that is what makes travel all the more rewarding. This means that you found ways to play by your own rules, go by the road less traveled, and experience another part of the world and culture your own way. That is empowering, educational, and valuable.

Adjust Your Mindset

Travel is as affordable as you allow it to be, if you are creative, resourceful, and flexible.

First, mindset is everything. Why are you traveling? Rethink your perspective on travel if you are of the belief that traveling is just not financially feasible for you. Maybe your idea of travel up to this date includes luxury, all-inclusive resorts, cruises…versions of travel that can indeed have hefty price tags. But that is just one mode of travel. 

There are plenty of adventures, ways to go abroad, live abroad, and go on trips while staying on a budget. You just have to rethink what you thought travel was and is supposed to be, and consider what exactly your intention is behind your wish to travel. If you are traveling for the purpose of being pampered, then I would agree—luxury travel and pampering often are expensive (unless you score some sweet deals). Otherwise, open your mind to the possibilities and be willing to experience unconventional forms of travel.

Redefine What Travel Looks Like To You

If you are looking for inspiration by following travel influencers that stay in gorgeous resorts with infinity pools overlooking the Persian Gulf, wearing the latest fashion with their $600 hat sweeping gracefully in hand as they enter a five-star restaurant, that form of travel might be inaccessible (and not desirable) to many people. But that is only one version of it, and honestly, glamor can really limit your travel experiences.

Some of my favorite travel moments are when I was on the lowest budget, getting super creative (read: what-the-heck-was-I-thinking), feeling like a bum, and embracing whole-heartedly the mantra that the best things in life are free. 

Story time: Senior year spring break, on my merry way to Mexico as a broke college student, my rusty, trusty 2001 Honda Civic started billowing smoke on the drive up Mount Lemmon in Tucson. I coasted down on prayers and fumes to a dispersed campsite, and the next morning, went to an Auto Zone to learn more about radiators. Once there, I struck up a conversation with one of the store workers, and after his shift, he installed a new radiator for a reasonable rate, far cheaper than any standard installation at an established auto place.

Creative? Yes. Challenged my judge of character and patience and ability to stay positive? Yes. Paid for this unexpected expense in time as opposed to money? Yes. Trusted a stranger that couldn’t speak English, but I was trusting that he spoke car? Yes. Continued on my merry way to central Mexico? Yes. Laugh about it in retrospect with my best college friend? Yes.

The challenge of traveling on a budget became pretty central to how I regard travel to this day,  presenting countless opportunities to learn, problem-solve, and simply get over myself. It has challenged my pride, made me reconsider what components are actually important to a great travel experience, and brought innumerable moments of unanticipated comedy and fun.

Here are some steps to help you create a travel plan that fits any budget!

Track flights beforehand to get cheap flights

Flights oftentimes are the most expensive piece of a trip. Follow Google flights daily for the destinations; it makes it easy. Sign up for airline email chains, for they do send out great deal notifications to their email crowds. I also recommend signing up for KAYAK Price Alerts.

Choose affordable destinations

Eastern Europe, Laos, Georgia, Indonesia, Southern Africa… Think outside of the box and don’t necessarily land on the most prestigious and well-known travel destinations such as Paris or New York, if you are trying to save on cost. 

Travel off-season

Summertime is hands-down the most popular time of the year to travel; everyone wants the sun, the mild climate, the party, and pizzazz. However, choosing the off-months of March, April, October, and November will save you a ton when traveling to nearly any destination. Hotel and flight prices are down because traffic is down.

Create a personal budget before the trip

Set down some ground rules for yourself in writing. It is very difficult while traveling to decide whether you can afford something in the moment. Set a daily budget for yourself, with the following categories:

• Lodging

• Food and drink

• Entertainment/activities

• Transportation (both getting to and from your destination, and transportation on-site)

• Shopping/souvenirs

I recommend creating a short and clear breakdown on Google Sheets. I do this before every trip, looking at my current bank statement and knowing where I want that bank statement to be when I return from my travels.

Stick to the budget

Learn to say no. It may be hard at first, but if it does get hard and you start to feel disappointed, remember the intention behind your trip. Be realistic and be aware that there may be tradeoffs: what you don’t pay for in cash, you may pay for in time or high stress levels. 

Choose your priorities

Is the lodging or restaurant scene more important to you? Choose not to stay at that glamorous hotel; make the trip a bit shorter; or defer to getting groceries, instead of eating out. You can still travel and not feel cheated out of a real adventure without the luxury things. Experiences and creating memories are free; it is the added-on bonuses that rack up in your budget!

Have a slight financial cushion

While it is okay to travel on a tight budget—I salute your dedication to experience adventures without letting slim logistics hold you back—it is advisable to have a reasonable fall-back. 

You never know what could happen on a trip (which is why it is so exciting, right?), but I always adhere to the general rule of being prepared for the unexpected. You could miss your return flight home and have to pay out of pocket; your rental car could be wrecked (that happened to me on Oahu); you could have a medical emergency and have to pay out of pocket at an Urgent Care that doesn’t accept your insurance. Just having a little grace to fall back on in your bank account will give you peace of mind.

Be resourceful

Oftentimes the easiest, most obvious, and accessible solution to any situation whatsoever will be the most expensive. People crave—and are willing to dish out all amounts—for convenience. They often think, “This situation is overwhelming and stressful and I want it to go away so I am going to pull out my checkbook and make it go away. Oh well.” They give up and do not trust that they could find a more creative alternative. Oftentimes, you do end up paying a price with your time or energy, but if your goal was to save financially, then you can consider it a success. And good for you for tapping into your right-brain to make it work.

Budget travel trips for you

Ideas to enforce the idea that travel is not impossible and inaccessible to you:

• Sublet your room or apartment in your absence. That extra amount can pay for your lodging elsewhere in the world.

• Volunteer somewhere food and lodging is covered in exchange for a few hours of work every day. There are a variety of platforms to do this both nationally and internationally. Go from travel to local life in a heartbeat!

• Camp instead of getting a hotel. Camping is incredibly affordable (often only $10-20 a night), or you could find dispersed (free) camping in many areas.

• Road trip instead of flying. The price of gas may not be amazing right now, but split between a few friends in the passenger seats, that gas may be astronomically cheaper than the cost of 3 or 4 separate flights.

• Room swap or house swap with a friend/acquaintance/family member in another state or country. Trade lives for a week or a month, get to know their city and culture, with no monetary exchange.

• Subscribe to hotel email newsletters—they send booking deals frequently! Try booking.com or hotels.com.

• Don’t eat out. Sorry, foodies, but one of the most money-saving maneuvers is to avoid the restaurant scene. Groceries and meal-prep has proven to be an amazing way to save costs for the sake of being able to travel, see, and experience another part of the world.

• Take advantage of credit card deals. If you want to make travel a part of your lifestyle, sign up for a credit card that openly promotes their points to be travel-focused; there are plenty of them.

• Earn it. Put away a small percentage of your paycheck, track it, and know that this growing amount is reserved solely for travel. Try a side gig for a few hours every week, and set aside the pocket cash for travel.

• Get to know the locals of the destination. Making local friends opens the door to invites, unexpected adventures, and shared costs, as opposed to a pricey tour guide or travel company.  Locals have insights, advice, and ideas that can lower costs and give you a more intimate perspective of the destination than following the mainstream pathway.

A few examples of how I personally traveled on a budget:

• I was an in-home au pair in Austria for five months, broke completely even, and collected a rich cultural experience that I will treasure forever.

• I choose hostels over hotels. The fine line between safety and security can be found when it comes to price, so you never want to sacrifice feeling safe for a cheaper option. Trust your gut when it comes to specific circumstances, and if you don’t feel safe in this certain area of town or certain hostel, choose the more expensive option.

• I have volunteered on farms across the US, working to pay my keep in exchange for room and board.

• Car camp and/or tent camp. As long as I have my car, I know I will be good to go. I remember camping in the boonies at 20 years old, completely alone. At first, I was convinced that a mountain lion would devour me in the dead of night, so I slept with a knife next to me until I grew comfortable camping solo. Sleeping under the stars in remote locations is now something I love, and it’s something free that can’t be taken away from me and has made me satisfied living with less.

• I moved to Hawaii for a year with no plan and very little in my bank account, but did secure a job before doing so.

With these tips in mind for any destination, you don’t have to sacrifice adventure and travel due to budget concerns. You can make it work if you want it to.