See a Penny, Pick It Up

All day long you’ll have good luck. Well, that part is debatable. What you will definitely have, however, is a penny.

This week’s Indie Travel Challenge is about one of the hardest parts of travel: the saving. Whether you’re planning a week in a neighbouring county, or nine months spanning three continents, before you can even think of setting foot out the door there’s that nuisance of an issue – money – to deal with. BootsnAll have issued a challenge to all who want to take it up to cut out a major expense from their daily lives and see how much more they can save towards their travels in doing so. I would take up the challenge except for the fact that I already did just over a year ago and also wrote a post about the subject.

Since that post was written I have continued to save and, whilst some months have been harder than others, I have a tidy sum put away and am on track to having what I need in time for D-Day. The main expenses I struck off the list were:

• Buying breakfast/lunch at work – average of €5 a day
• Boozey nights out on the weekend – easily €60 per night
• Frivolous online spending (eBay, Etsy, Amazon, etc.)
• Gigs
• Holidays (except to visit family)

 It’s not easy. Since my best friend moved here from Malta last August, I have been more tempted than ever to go out more frequently and I feel a bit guilty for having to say ‘no’ to her so often. I’ve been getting a little lax lately as well so I think I’m going to have to tighten up the belt once more to make sure I remain on track. That said, I am spending a week in Malta soon and (hopefully) seeing Florence and the Machine and Snow Patrol in July so it’s not all doom and gloom. I allow myself the odd treat 🙂

I think one of the best ways to help you save is by asking yourself the following question before you buy something: Can I take it with me? No? Then don’t bother buying it; it’s just going to be one more thing to get rid of before you leave.

For more ideas on how to do some big-time saving, Steph has written a great post over at Twenty-Something Travel: How to Save 20k in Two Years.

Now, although there are no huge expenses left for me to cut out, I have decided to set myself a small challenge, which will hopefully help me to save a little more on a weekly basis. I have a ‘penny jar’ in my room where I like to throw all the 1c, 2c and 5c coins that fill up my purse.

I haven’t been using it much lately but, as of this week, every Friday I am going to empty all the change up to €1 coins that I have left in my purse into it. I’m not sure how much is in the jar at the minute but I’ll just consider it a head start. In a few months time I will count it out and let you know how much I have managed to save. Wish me luck 🙂