How to Save Money for Travel? Make More Money!

I like to say that our 10,000 mile road trip was a trip six years in the making, mostly because it makes the trip- and its planner -seem much more epic.   The truth is, the actually paper planning part of the trip could have been done in mere months (or weeks, if I completely ignored my children.)  But, there were other details, like money, that extended the planning time.   Buying a camper and then planning for the cost of traveling for an extended period of time was no small feat.   That part of the planning was never a huge deterrent though, because we felt that we had plenty of time to save.    When the idea to travel long term around the country was born, our children were five and younger.  We definitely wanted to save such a memorable trip for a time when they were all old enough to really remember it.

That gave us plenty of time to save money bit by bit.

We made some changes; including downsizing our home and our cars to make the monetary part of the trip possible, but mostly we just saved our nickels and dimes from our normal household budget over those six years.   Bit by bit as waited for our children to grow, our savings for this trip grew as well.  When it was time to travel, we cashed in our change jar and hit the road.

Seven years, and many miles later, time is no longer on our side.

The sands of childhood are more than halfway gone for two of my children, and time doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.  If we are to plan any more epic trips, we will have to speed up the timeline.  That means finding a way to fund the project has to be more creative.

A New Way to Save Money for Vacation: Make More Money

It is part experiment and part challenge, but it is a challenge born out of the craziness of my own head that I intend to meet head on.  My plan is to find ways to make money above and beyond our typical household income.  I have a goal in mind and I am hoping to find a way to meet that goal.  I am a goal oriented person, so this just feels like one big party with a great goodie bag at the end.

For the purposes of this challenge, I will not consider any current income suitable for this fund and I am calling this campaign, the Found Money Frenzy.  (No laughing.  Giving it a name is like good PR and elevates me from the crazy garage sale lady to a driven campaign leader.)

Found Money is like the $20 cash you unexpectedly find in your winter coat or the utilities deposit that is returned to you, but like either of those scenarios, I am going to have to make the money find me.  It won’t be a passive endeavor, but I think it will be a rewarding challenging with a worthwhile goal. 

So, what’s the plan?

1. Use my skills.  Despite the fact that being a stay at home mom often makes me feel like my only skills are short order cooking and potty training, I do actually have some marketable skills.   I believe everyone, if they look at it creatively, can find a set of skills that they can offer to increase their income.  I will be looking at freelance writing as my primary skill set, but I am really trying to dig deep.  I am a teacher by trade, so I could offer tutoring or other educational skills.  I am also thinking about the things that I know how to do that I can teach to others.  Anyone can be a consultant-you just have to have someone and something to consult.

2. Craigslist and Ebay. Anything that I can find around my house that has any value over $25 dollars, I am going to sell via Craigslist or Ebay.  Craigslist will be best for large and bulky items, while Ebay is great for clothing, collectibles, and other small, shippable items.  The $25 mark is important because anything that is worth that much is too valuable to relegate to the garage sale pile, but more importantly, Ebay and Craigslist can be time consuming.  I definitely want to keep an eye on the value of my time, so the $25 limit helps me spend my time wisely.

3. Garage Sales.  Oh, how I hate the dreaded garage sale, but they are the best way to get rid of small items and make a bit of cash in the process.  As a bonus, I’ll actually be clearing away some of the clutter, which is always a plus in my book.

4.Involve the Kids.  No, I’m not talking about child labor. (Somebody remind me why that is a bad thing again.)  My older boys are actually at the perfect age to really be able to grasp the concept of earning extra money for something not in the normal budget.   They are also almost at the age when they are ready to start taking on odd jobs for the neighbors.  In the meantime, it is the perfect time to set out on some tasks with mom and dad to watch over their shoulder and serve as backup while they learn to be reliable workers.  Fall may find us creating “Mama and Sons Leaf Raking” posters to hang around the neighborhood.

5. Make something. I’ve always said that I don’t know how to make anything-except babies-but with the right motivation, I might be able to find a crafty bone somewhere. It’s still an idea in the making, but in an effort to leave no stone unturned, I’ll be exploring every option.

Stay tuned….

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