I had been dreaming of going back to Africa since my first time there in 2010. I had spent 5 months working in West Africa, and a month in Morocco touring around after my contract was over. The experience was incredible, but I still wanted to see the Big 5 on safari, watch the Great Migration, track gorillas in the jungle and watch more majestic African sunsets.
 |
| Sunsets like this (oh can I please go back??) |
Unfortunately, I had that pesky grown-up business of student debt to pay off, monthly bills to pay and a retirement that hopefully involves a lot of travel to save for. When I returned to Canada from Africa the first time, I was broke having just finished grad school and not being paid exceptionally well during my internship. Still, I knew I had to get back, so I took contract job after contract job until I landed something permanent. After Philip successfully got me addicted to the insanely fun, but expensive sport of downhill skiing, I returned the favour by infecting him with the even-more-expensive travel bug. Together, we made a plan to scrimp and save as much as we could in order to make our travel dreams come true. At the same time we made sure to get out and enjoying the Canadian Rockies as much as possible since mountains make us insanely happy and too strict of budgets fail. Luckily for us, hiking and cross-country skiing are practically free. Downhill skiing on the other hand, requires some creative budgeting at times.
 |
| If you’re happy and you know it, put your tips up! |
Our first order of business was to pay down our student debts, which we achieved in 2013. I had been making monthly payments as much as $1500 to pay it down as soon as possible. Every windfall from a bonus or gift or selling my car went straight to my student loans. Once they were paid off, I was used to living on less than my whole paycheque so I simply transferred equal amounts into savings.
Philip on the other hand, likes spreadsheets and percentages which he’ll likely do a guest post about sometime, so he saved by having a certain percentage taken directly off his paycheque every two weeks.
Other methods we used to save money for trips were:
1) Booking travel on points:
I had a mass of Air Miles that I had been collecting for ages and never put to use. So in 2013, I was able to fly to Winnipeg for a wedding, to Los Angeles to see the Rolling Stones and to Arizona for a family reunion for just the taxes and fees. These little, inexpensive trips satisfied my travel bug without breaking the bank, and I could continue to put money into savings for our East Africa 2014 dream trip. Another example is Philip used his Capital One Aspire MasterCard to buy his flights to Africa and was reimbursed over $700.
 |
| Hiking in the Superstition Mountains in Arizona: a budget activity. |
2) You know those friends who say you can stay on their couch? Take them up on that:
In 2013, we flew to Ottawa during the summer to enjoy Ottawa Bluesfest and Montreal Jazz Fest. A friend of mine from grad school had offered her couch numerous times and we finally took her up on it. By having somewhere inexpensive to stay, we were able to enjoy the festival and have a wonderful visit with our friends in Canada’s capital which is delightful in the summer. In the absence of a nice friend’s couch, try AirBnB or even Couch Surfing. As Ottawa Bluesfest spans almost two weeks, we saved vacation days for our African adventure by working from “home” during the weekdays which worked out perfect since most shows didn’t start until after 5pm.
3) The early bird gets the discount:
Booking early is also a way to save money on travel as well. For example, we saved $75 each on our Bluesfest tickets by buying them early and our train between Ottawa and Montreal was only $50. If we had waited, the cheaper seats would have been sold out. When planning our East African adventure, we also saved over $100 by prepaying for our SCUBA lessons too.
4) DIY everything:
It is amazing how much money you can save by doing things yourself. Whether it’s making your own meals or getting around East Africa on your own, DIY is one of the best ways to save money for travel and while travelling. For example, during our 5 weeks in East Africa we only spent a week and half on an organized tour. Although it meant a lot of research and planning on our part, we were able to spend 5 glorious, action-filled weeks in Zanzibar, Uganda and Kenya for what one tour operator would have charged us for 3 weeks in only Uganda. Personally, another benefit of DIY is that I feel a certain satisfaction from finding my own way around.
 |
| One drawback of DIY travel: this can be your view for several hours. |
5) Travel during shoulder season:
Travelling during shoulder season can also be a way to save money on trips. We made it to one of my favourite places on Earth, Whitefish Montana, twice during 2014 shoulder seasons. Prices for accommodations were substantially less in May and we were able to go hiking in Glacier National Park before the trails were cleared of snow in Alberta. Later, in November we celebrated Philip’s birthday at a VRBO condo right on the mountain for half of what it costs during the peak seasons. Saving on these little getaways meant that we didn’t have to hold back during our big East African adventure and caught the Great Migration, even though that meant travelling in Kenya during expensive peak season.
 |
| Amazing early season hiking in Glacier National Park |
Now for 2015, we are planning on using a lot of the same tactics to make this year’s travel dreams come true. They include a week in Cuba, skiing in Colorado and Northern California, hiking in the Grand Canyon if we get a permit, and Lollapalooza if we can get tickets. So much to look forward to!
How do you make your travel dreams come true?
I can't believe I never commented on this!! Great post!