Last Updated on November 20, 2023 by Ariana Svenson
How to afford to travel with kids is one of those eternal questions. No, we don’t have a trust fund nor did we sell an app for millions! Travel has been a priority in this eco-Mumma’s life and wanderlust is a way of life.
Therefore, there are several things that I do that are relatively easy and simple – and mean that we can travel more. The good news is, you can do them too. Here are some of our family tips on how to afford to travel with kids.
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Top Tips on How to Afford Travel & Family Travel on a Budget
Have Travel As A Priority
Travel is a priority for me, so I’m more likely to go on a short holiday to Bali than buy a new couch. We can’t have it all in this life, and travel is a priority of mine (the others are love and connection with the kids).
Be money saavy
In short, if you spend on things you don’t need or want, you aren’t going to have money to enjoy travel with the family. I recommend having a family budget and sticking to it, here are some great tips to Plan your family budget.
Travel Dreaming (AKA Travel Research)
Some folks like to spend their evenings on Netflix; I couldn’t think of anything better than doing some good old travel dreaming. This comes in various forms, and doesn’t cost a penny.
As part of the dreaming phase, I get a bucket list together, set some goals, and routinely sign up to newsletters for my bucket list destinations. For example, I’ve been hoping to get to Lombok for some time. When I see a sale come up, I screenshot it.
As a result, I’m able to buy flights at the cheapest prices because I know what is cheap. Also, year in, year out the airlines ** seem to ** (based on a couple of years of tracking) follow the same sales pattern.
For more ideas on how to keep your wanderlust going, keep reading.
Develop Good Travel Planning Methods
Since I have been traveling for a large portion of my life, I have developed some good travel planning methods. Whether it be solo travel or wold-wide family travel, I have experienced it all. I know that family travel on a budget can be challenging. That is why having a solid plan is a must to helping you not break the bank.
I’ve covered extensively some of my travel planning methods in various posts Yes, they are detailed, but basically, if you follow those travel planning methods you should organize a pretty damn good holiday for you and the family.
Here are Some Great Resources:
Awesome Family Holiday Checklists to Have a Stress Free Departure Day
Ideas To Ace Traveling As A Family & Travel Essentials For Kids
Travel Hacks and Road Trip Essentials for Kids
Family Travel Tips: Awesome Ideas For Traveling With Kids
Top Family Vacation Ideas: What are the Best Places to Travel with Kids?
Live Modestly (Old-fashioned or Sustainably)
I mentioned above that travel is a priority for us. However, we also live in a relatively old-fashioned manner – aka sustainably. All the kids’ clothes are either hand-me-downs or bought at the op shop, we have an ample vegetable garden and have our own chooks (hens).
Most importantly we shop consciously. This means we save on our day-to-day lifestyle. Living modestly really goes a long way towards helping us take family affordable vacations.
Apart from living modestly, or within your means, you might like to look for a gig on the side. Here are some great ways to make extra money.
Travel Economically
When we are travelling, we always look for the most economical and sensible way to do something. Having travelled extensively this mumma knows the cheapest way to get around is often by public transport. However, when you are travelling with multiple people and have kids, sometimes the most sensible way is to look for private transport.
We stay in a lot of Airbnb’s as well. The experiences range from odd to excellent – but hands down they are always nearly always the cheapest. Plus, we always look for a place that self-caters which mean we mostly eat at home while traveling. Take a look at our Pros And Cons Of Airbnb’s For Family Travel for more ideas.
Book Family Travel Early for Family Travel on a Budget
There are a number of important reasons to book family travel early! There are two main reasons you should book now for next year! Firstly, you should save loads of money, and the second is that by getting it all booked and confirmed, you can sit back and relax and enjoy the New Year.
Flight Deals and Sales 9-12 Months Before Travel
Once you have decided where you are going, and which seasons are best (see our handy guide about How to Plan a Family Holiday) then subscribe to emails from a number of different places, so that you are alerted when the sales start. For example:
- Your frequent flier airline
- The national airline of where you are traveling to
- Online cheap search engines (We like “I Know The Pilot”)
In Australia, we’ve found the cheapest deals for the Americas are purchased in November. Obviously, this will differ from country to country – but the point is getting in early with your planning will help! Book family travel early! We also always use SkyScanner for flight comparisons.
Old fashioned newspapers also have some sales that might not be evident immediately online; maybe we are showing our age, but buying the weekend’s paper with a travel section might save you hundreds.
A note about travel agents; even if you are an independent traveler or researcher don’t under-estimate the value of travel agents when it comes to knowing the best package deals or flight offers. They quite often come up with something that isn’t available to the general public.
Get the Best Accommodation for Your Family
For many families one of the best ways to save money is to book an apartment or house; not only will you get a bit more space (vital for sanity) but you will get the chance to self-cater. Self-catering while traveling is one of our top tips for saving money as well.
So if you are looking for space and cooking facilities it is likely you will need to book an apartment from places like Airbnb or Flipkey. In our experience the very best apartments book well in advance – like 12 months – so get in there and get your apartments booked. Don’t hesitate to ask for a discount, they can only say no! Whether you go with an apartment or hotel, remember book family travel early which means all aspects of family travel.
Another great option to consider – especially if you are travelling slowly, or are very flexible with dates – is to do some housesitting on holidays – here are some great tips for housesitting for families.
Review Your Passports and Visa Requirements
Check your passports carefully. If they need a renewal, there will be plenty of time to send them off and get a new one. Should you need visas for the country of your destination, you will be aware and can send them off in the New Year.
Spend Your Money on Long Term Goals
When everyone else is thinking about Christmas your focus will be on something that will give long term benefit – TRAVEL! You hopefully won’t be so caught up in the purchasing frenzy that is associated with the Nov- December period as you are focused on your trip. By not spending extravagantly on the festive season you will save loads of money. Money that you can spend on your trip!
Quality Time With Your Family on the Holidays
In Australia, one of the best months for beaching – and spending time with your kids is in January. Why be planning a holiday when you could be out living life with them?
Have a Clean Inbox for the New Year
Unsubscribe from those emails above! In an act of New Year cleaning, don’t forget to unsubscribe from all the email alerts once you have booked. There is nothing worse than thinking that you might have got a better deal at another time. Plus, your inbox will be much cleaner!
How do you inspire a wanderlust life without spending loads of money? At the end of each Christmas season, I’m simply exhausted and burnt out from the constant flow of shopping oriented emails flowing into my inbox. Has the internet really degenerated to this; a massive shopping mall?
Tips on How to Fuel a Wanderlust Life on a Budget
We talked about traveling dreaming or travel research above. It certainly serves two purposes. Not only does it keep you thinking about travel even if you can’t afford it in the short term, but it helps you really put in your research which goes along way towards helping to be able to afford it in the future. Staying motivated to make travel a priority can be tough when it seems like the end goal is so far away.
So while you are wondering how to afford to travel the world, keeping your wanderlust going helps in making travel a priority. Here are our top tips on how to keep yourself motivated to travel.
Old National Geographic’s from the Op Shop, Garage Sales or Grandma
National Geographic Magazine is the pre-runner of the internet, except it is consistently well researched and photographed. The best thing is, people are quite liberal with giving old Nat Geo magazines away. There is no better magazine to inspire wanderlust travel than Nat Geo. We just got a box of about 40 magazines from the late 1990s and not only was my wanderlust life ignited, but I was also inspired intellectually.
These articles are highly researched and spoke to my intellectual curiosity in the world.
Have a Film Night with Your Family of Your Own Travel Films and Wanderlust Life
This is also known as a slide night. My mother used to explain that in the 1970’s when someone returning from overseas travel would host a slide night to share their best photos and stories of their travels.
As a kid, we used to do this with 8mm home movies, and later on video films. Inspire your wanderlust travel and value your travel by setting up a night to enjoy and celebrate the places you have been with some of your best friends! I can’t think of a better way to keep your motivated towards traveling while figuring out the specifics of how to afford travelling again.
Go to the Library and Spend Some Time Browsing
Like reading a well-researched magazine, there is nothing quite like a good travelogue filled with adventure to inspire us to more powerful travel! It really depends what kind of adventure you like, but some of our favorite travel writers are Ted SimonPaul Theroux, William Dalrymple and Bill Bryson.
Drop your favorite travel writer in the comments; we are always looking for some good quality inspiration!
Browse Instagram
Groan? I debated as to include this on here – yes it’s free, but it is so unreal.
Visually, nothing tops Instagram! Beautiful pictures, stunning scenes, and carefree people living their best life. Oh, but actually, we don’t know whether they are living their ‘best life’. Even when Instagrammers share the stories of their trials and tribulations of travel it doesn’t read like a novel is and so is slightly disjointed. Visually, Instagram is a great inspiration, but in terms of conscientious adventure travel, I am not so sure.
If you are curious to see what we post on our Instagram, check out World Of Travels With Kids Instagram here.
The Verdict – Useful Ideas on How to Afford Travel and Family Travel on a Budget
So there you have it – our family travel hacks for how to afford travel and family travel on a budget. These are not the most amazing nor exciting tips, but they work. When know a lot of people ask themselves “how do people afford to travel”. The answer is not always straight forward but our two main responses are extensive planning and making travel a priority. We know that it isn’t always easy to stay motivated when the end goal seems so far away. However, family travel on a budget is possible!
So if you want to travel more with your kids, creating amazing family moments then our suggestion is ** START NOW** with tip number 1 – make travel a priority for you!
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