Saving Money for Your Next Holiday

If you want to save up some money for that dream holiday then you’ll be glad to know that there are some things that you can do to help yourself along the way. In fact, I have compiled this guide for you so you can learn everything you need to know about saving as well as helping you to get some helpful tips that will show you how to achieve your goals.

Ways to Earn Money

Know the value of your travel goal
You need to know what you’re aiming for. So a little research is needed. What will the airfare cost? What about accommodation, activities, visa costs, insurance, food, transport and general spending money? It doesn’t need to be an exact figure at the beginning but a ball park estimate sure helps.
Online Freelancing
You can work as an online freelancer on websites like Elance or Odesk. In 2014 Elance and Odesk merged and are owned by Upwork Inc. Tasks vary between the simple word processing of reports, letters and emails to managing business social media campaigns to more technical jobs. Businesses or individuals post jobs on the website and you can apply to do them.
Uber Driving
Not all cities around the world have this service and the legality of it varies not only from country to country but city to city too. So please check it out thoroughly before you jump in! It is, however, a very flexible way of earning extra money to put away for that next adventure overseas. It’s also a great way to meet a wide variety of people while driving around your city. If you are a female you should have a think about whether you feel safe driving with not much protection though. Again weigh up the risks.
Sell Stuff Online
Clean out that garage, go through the linen cupboard and have a look through the house for objects you don’t use anymore. Could you sell them to make some bucks? I’ve had some luck in selling old outfits and pieces of furniture on EBay and GumTree.
Feeling Crafty?
If you have a skill such as knitting, crocheting, sewing, drawing, painting or anything creative you may consider selling your goods on Etsy, Artfire or even Facebook. Candle making and jewellery are popular at weekend markets. Have a go. You never know you may find your next favourite hobby or a new career path.

Casual Work at Events
This can be hard work but once the event is over you get to relax again. I have done ticket selling at the horse races, working in the cloak room at a large agricultural event, ticket checking at the Grand Prix and ushering at film festivals. Quite often employment agencies are required to fill a large number of event staff positions in a short time and are looking for casual staff just for the length of the event. I found this a great chance to be at events I wouldn’t normally be bothered to go to and get paid for it. I once was paid to count tickets for the Beastie Boys at a music festival. Hours can be long but keep telling yourself “think of the money – think of the holiday”!
Put Off Retiring
This may sound like an odd suggestion but if you feel as though you can put off retirement then you should. Not only does it help you to put more money away on a day to day basis, it also helps you stay active and this is always a good thing. Another reason why you should put off retirement is because it can help you to feel youthful, so there aren’t just financial benefits available. Of course, if you find that you struggle on a day to day basis then don’t continue if you don’t feel like you can, but if this isn’t the case, you’d be surprised at how much it could help with your saving.
Cash ISA
If you are in the U.K. and really want to make a difference to your savings then you should think about saving in an ISA account. This is ideal because you can earn interest on whatever you put away and it will also give you some incentive to really save up. In fact, by the end of the year, your interest may even pay for your luggage allowance so there are plenty of options available to you.
Doula
This is another suggestion that you probably haven’t considered yet. There are plenty of women out there that need help during their first few months of pregnancy and you don’t need to have any qualifications either. At the end of the day, you can earn a little bit of extra money on the side and this will help to cover some of your holiday expenses, plus it’s enjoyable as well!

Ways to Save
So now you know how you can help yourself to get that bit of extra money, it’s time to move on to how you can help yourself to save up. One way to save would be to set yourself a budget every week. You need to do your best to stick to this, even if it means missing out on your daily newspaper, but at the end of the day, any money that you do save can go away and when you do this on a daily basis you would be surprised at how much it could benefit you. You might also want to think about booking a holiday either very early or at the last minute because this is a great way for you to get a cheap deal while also getting the holiday that you want without any difficulties at all.
You could also start a copper jar. We all have loose change lying around, whether it is change from the milk at the shop or whether it is just a couple of coins that you found under your chair, this all adds up over the year and it gives you another way to get those little expenses paid for. If you wanted, you could also look out for coupon codes as these can help you save on your shopping, so you can put the money that you do save away for your next vacation.
So as you can see, there are plenty of ways for you to save and you’d be surprised at what a difference the little things can make!