FIVE WAYS WE SAVE MONEY TO TRAVEL

Traveling doesn't have to be expensive but when you have other financial responsibilities and goals, it can get a little tricky. No matter how much money you have, travel comes at a cost to everyone. These are some of the little things we do in order to see the world. 

1. We budget. Having a budget and creating savings/debt repayment goals is great, but sticking to it is where the hard work comes in. Use a tool from your bank (Our bank, Wells Fargo, has My Money Map) or Mint to track your monthly spending and see where you can trim in some areas. Then actually do it. Even if you don't want to travel or travel isn't in your budget, trust me, monitoring how you spend your money is always a good idea. 
2. We eat out very rarely and cheaply. We may eat out once or twice a week, MAXIMUM, and we tend to go to cheaper places. Luckily, Atlanta has lots of cheap delicious restaurants and great happy hours. When dining out, we rarely order alcoholic drinks (and if we do, not more than one each), and lately have been trying to stick to wine for me and beer for him, because that can definitely cheapen things! Our bills are rarely over $50. It’s not the most luxurious way to live, but it’s totally worth it in the long run. We also try to avoid food waste - in the form of groceries - which will not only help your wallet, but the environment and humanity as well. We eat everything we cook and very rarely throw food away.
3. We responsibly use credit cards that rack up points to use on travel. I am a huge fan of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and recommend it to all my friends. They have really great travel perks and I’ve personally had a very good customer service experience with them.
4. We fly with the same airline over and over again. You may end up spending a few more dollars in the short term because you’re not always able to buy the CHEAPEST ticket, but in the long term, always flying with the same airline (or partners) will pay off in the form of free tickets. I used to fly with US Airways/United, but now US Airways is American, and I was able to rack up over 90,000 miles (two free tickets to Athens, Greece!) in just four years.
5. We limit shopping and other extraneous expenses. This is the hardest one for me because I loooove shopping. I really only buy clothes for trips and special events, and whatever I buy is almost always on sale. Haaay discount codes! I stopped getting my nails done biweekly, and try to stretch out the time between hair appointments! Little changes can go a long way.