How I Afford to Travel as a Full Time Student
Traveling requires money and as I college student that is not something in abundance. I started traveling internationally at a young age and it was heartbreaking to think I’d have to put my travels on hold for a few years due to a lack of money. I refused to settle and instead found a way to make it work. I’ll be sharing how I afford my travels, when I travel, and how I find deals for airfare and accommodations so keep on reading!
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. These are all my personal opinions.
If you’re a student, the easiest way to travel in school is to study abroad. There’s seriously a program for every major, including mine which was heavily science related. Most universities offer scholarships to cover the program, but I used a combination of a scholarship and my federal loan to fund my program. This puts you in another country for a long period of time so you will see a lot! My program was based in Spain and we took our weekends to travel around and even out the country. If you need more convincing, then check out my post on 10 Reasons Why You Should Study Abroad. Unfortunately, this couldn’t last for forever so I was back to my old ways to find the money to travel.
Finding the Funds
Traveling is not cheap, but it doesn’t have to be expensive either. I’ll be explaining further down on my budget for traveling, but for now I’ll focus on where I get the money. I work part time while going to school and take advantage of summer and winter break to work more so I have a nice cushion to last throughout the year. I currently have 3 accounts to manage my money: checking, savings, and one specifically for traveling. I take each paycheck and split it between the accounts and have a strict rule of what goes in to the travel and savings account will not come out. This makes me extra careful with my finances to ensure I have enough to pay my bills, but this means I rarely spend money on things that aren’t necessities. I’m not a materialistic person so I’m OK with the fact that I only buy new clothes or indulge in other luxuries a few times a year. Personally, I enjoy experiences over items and it’s all worth it in the end when I’m in a new destination.
In addition to my job I have year-round, I started serving when I was 19 then eventually bartending. I work a second job during summer and winter break then the occasional Saturday night throughout the semester. During this time, I do not spend a single dollar I made in tips. It all goes straight to my travel account and this really helped afford my international travels since these flights are much more expensive. I’m not saying you need to go out and start waiting tables, but this just goes to show that I was motivated to keep traveling and found a way to do it. For my international travels, I like to plan for at least a week or longer with a budget of $2500 and give myself some buffer in case I go over. I’ll start planning my trip for the summer around January and will do a separate article detailing the breakdown of costs and how I keep to my budget.
When/Where to Travel
I’m a pharmacy student so I can’t skip class since they’re extremely important. Instead, I take advantage of my weekends (especially the long US holiday ones) to travel around my home state and the US. Typically, I drive to my destination for these trips since the surrounding states are not too far away so that I’m saving money and precious flying miles. During winter, summer, and even spring break is when I plan for my international adventures. This allows me to have the year to save money and I get an extra bonus from my tax return right before summer. I use the following tricks below to make my trip as cost effective as possible!
Booking the Flights
Miles are a lifesaver. I highly recommend signing up for the rewards on whichever airline you prefer so that you’re earning miles on every trip you take. In addition, most airlines offer a credit card so you can earn more miles on everyday things you purchase. I looked into each airline’s card and what it offered and decided to apply for one with Southwest. There was a special when I applied so I got a lot of initial bonus miles and I use it on almost everything to earn more miles each day. Also, I chose Southwest since I typically travel with a partner and their Companion Pass is a sweet deal! Now, Southwest does not have many options to travel outside the US, but I can use my miles to get to the coast. This makes my international flight much cheaper since I can be departing from a coastal airport like San Francisco or JFK. Overall, these miles have been super useful and helped me save on my cost of flights!
However, I’ve used my Southwest miles very sparingly the last year since I’ve started flying standby with American Airlines. I have someone in my family that works for the airline and I was fortunate enough to be added to use the employee benefits, which include flying standby. This means that I show up to the gate and check in with the attendant then wait to see if there is an open seat available for me. There are no guarantees and the list of people waiting gets very long. I am at the bottom of the totem pole and generally can get a seat, but I may have to wait for the next flight. In the event that I’m unable to get on the flight then I just go home or use my Southwest points if I’m out of the state so I can get home! I have not and most likely will not use this to fly internationally since it is such a gamble, but this is the main reason I’ve been able to travel further around the US more frequently.
Getting a Hotel
Nowadays, everyone is always booking with AirB&B since they think it is cheaper alternative to hotels, but that’s not always the case. I prefer hotels because I can take advantage of the rewards system to gain points to use for future stays and it’s not that expensive! Marriott Hotels are my preferred chain and I can always find one in the area I’m traveling to in my budget. I went to New York over the summer and for 2 nights over the weekend the total was about $350, and yes this was after all the taxes and fees. It was a nice room located in Time’s Square too! I book my room straight through the app or Marriott website and get a discount just for being a rewards member, then I add in my AAA discount too. These make such a difference in the price! There are certain statuses you will reach as a rewards member and the highest one includes access to the executive lounge where you’re offered free breakfast and dinner. This is what I’m striving for as it’ll help save cost on food when I travel as well!
Well there it is! This is how I afford to travel and I hope it helps you too. Traveling as a student is not easy, but it’s not impossible either. Just keep your end goal in mind and keep working and it will all pay off. If you have any tricks up your sleeve, share them in the comments!
