.jpg)
Affordable Traveling Tips for Students and Professionals
Over the past few years, many people have asked me how I’ve been able to find the time and money to travel so much during medical school. Honestly, the biggest factor for me has been having the motivation to make traveling a priority. I started traveling during college – weekend trips to Florida, Texas, California, etc. and over time, it evolved into international destinations. As students and professionals, it’s often difficult to squeeze frequent vacations into our already busy schedules but it can definitely be done! Here are several tips that will hopefully motivate you to start planning your next getaway.
1) Make it a priority & Carve out Time – Frequent travelers often declare that they actively make time to travel. As a medical student, it’s challenging to find time between studying and trying to maintain your sanity. The best times to travel for med students are right after exam blocks (particularly those that end on a Friday), spring break, a gap year (in my case, it was while I was getting my Masters of Public Health) and end of the fourth year. For professionals, scheduling a weekend or week-long vacation is a good place to start. The thing about traveling is that once you start, you can’t get enough and you’ll find yourself making more time for it.
2) Plan Ahead – I am CONSTANTLY stalking various travel websites for great deals. I love websites that let you set your destination as “anywhere”. This allows you to see when flights to various destinations are the cheapest. Aside from the occasional impromptu trips, I find that I’m planning my vacations 3-6 months in advance and looking for free time in my schedule. This gives me the time to wait for ticket prices to drop, ask local friends if they have an extra bed, compare Airbnb and hotel prices (Priceline Express Deals is my go-to), and gauge interests from potential travel buddies – which also saves me money! Planning a vacation at the very last minute may cause you to spend more money on flights and accommodation, have ridiculously long layovers for international destinations, and prevent you from having a solid itinerary.
3) Think Cheap – This tip goes hand-in-hand with planning ahead. I’ve found that the earlier I plan, the more money I save. It is often helpful to have a set maximum dollar amount for each vacation and find trips that will fit within that budget. If you’re lucky to live in the Northeast region of the US, please take advantage of the fact that you’re in close proximity to states with the most tourist attractions. Perfect set up to take a road trip and a great way to cut costs. In cases where a road trip is not possible, cheap websites like Frontier and Skiplagged are great ways to find cheap tickets. I’m okay with flying on budget airlines to get to great destinations.
4) Save, Save, Save! – The most crucial and often, the hardest step. For students, finding ways to make extra money can be challenging but it’s certainly doable. Side jobs like private tutoring, driving for rideshare services, babysitting, etc. are all ways to make a little money on the side. I’ve been very blessed that I’ve been able to travel without using my student loans and it’s all thanks to my side gig as a private tutor. Over the past 2-3 years, I’ve stashed all the money I made into a separate savings account, mainly devoted to traveling. Essentially, I was “tutoring for trips”! If you’d like more information about the private tutor websites I’ve used, please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to share.
For the working professionals, having a strict budget will help you limit spending and get you closer to your vacation goals. Budget spreadsheets are great for tracking expenses and apps like EveryDollar allow you to track all your costs and allocate parts of your paycheck to travel expenses as you see fit. If you want other means to fund your travel expenses, find ways to make some disposable income! Do you own a property? Set it up on Airbnb from time to time. Do you have some free time and a car? Dabble in ride-sharing. Whichever route you choose, start saving and plan your next trip!
Comments