You don’t know what you don’t know, right? Having a guide or creative list of ideas to chew over can be just what you need to help make your dream vacation come true. Whether it’s making some tiny sacrifices temporarily or shifting the way you live your day to day life, here are 20 creative ideas to help assess the way you spend your hard earned money and allocate those dollars towards your next trip.

Here are 20 creative ways to cut expenses and save more for your travel

Review all recurring auto-charges - what isn’t be used to the fullest extent or can be temporarily stopped?
Reduce your monthly streaming services - asses which of your streaming you can’t live without or haven’t turned on in a while.
Reduce your cell-phone bill - is there a smaller data plan or company discount code that can be applied? Does it make sense to switch carriers?
Cut back on Friday nights out - how can you change how you are spending your time with friends? Can any of them share the same travel goals with you? Use someone’s streaming service at home to watch a movie?
Entertain friends at home with a potluck style night - Share your goals with your friends. Continue to spend quality time together, but continue to be creative! Use a theme from your upcoming dream destination, and share a one of a kid night together.
Pre-game before going out - it’s easy to call for a ride-share now. Spend less on your cocktails by starting at home. Always drink responsibly.
Carpool places - drive less! Offer to go places with other people and share costs.
Ride your bike more - give your environment and your wallet a break. Ride your bike to pick up a few things from the grocery store instead of burning more gas.
Freeze your gym membership and workout at home or outdoors - there are tons of free youtube videos to help you with your workout or yoga routine or apps with temporary free service. You can even use rocks or pans for weights! Have fun with it.
Spend time with friends doing things that are free - game nights, walks, make tea at home, watch the sunset, picnic at the beach, movie night at home, make a pizza, subscribe to your local city publications for free events happening around town.

11. Shop at a cheaper grocery store - if you’re a city dweller and love your go-to grocery stores, consider finding a cheaper grocery store or start using coupons to help bring the food budget down.

12. Prepare your meals and bring them to work - Re-evaluate what you’re spending on food and where you spend it. Meal prepping on a Sunday can help reduce overall food budgets when you carry something yummy to work daily.

13. Reduce alcohol consumption - In addition to drinking cocktails at home before hitting the town, consider scaling back on alcohol altogether. Spend less and feel more vibrant.

14. Stop shopping - From the big obvious stuff to the little things, how can you cut back on spending? A nail polish here or a digital book there, it can all add up when you’re looking to plan for a trip. Every time you go to pick something out to take to check out, it could be a meal or souvenir to take home from your dream trip.

15. Institute a waiting period when shopping to reduce impulse purchases - According to Slickdeals Americans impulsively spend an average of $450 every month or $5,400 spent a year. If you think you really need it, take a beat before going for it. If the inventory is out of stock by the time you go to make the purchase, maybe it wasn’t meant to be.

16. When you do shopping, don’t touch anything. - This is a trick to help you feel less connected to inanimate objects. If you keep your hands off, you may be less likely to make the purchase.

17. Unsubscribe or roll-up emails from retailers. Avoid the impulse to take advantage of a sale. The end!

18. Donate, re-gift, throw-out or sell one item every day. If it doesn’t spark joy in your life it’s taking up valuable real estate. If you get into a habit of removing physical items from your space and focus on the decluttering of your life, you can be less likely to start replacing and re-accumulating new stuff.

19. Visit a $99 cent store - maybe you like brand named products, but temporarily cut costs by buying the cheaper paper towel and aluminum foil for a little while.

20. Borrow - From clothing and accessory sharing like Rent the Runway to asking a bestie to borrow her baking dish, find creative ways to get in on the economy sharing.

The key to cutting expenses and sticking to it is the 3 C’s:

Choose
Commit
Consistency

You don’t have to cut all of your expenses if items are bringing you a great deal of joy. But whatever it is you do choose, be consistent in committing to those goals. Before you know it you’ll be boarding the plane to your dream destination.

Do you have any expense cutting tips you love? Share in the comments below!

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