You Don’t Need to Be Rich to Travel: Our Top 5 Ways to Build a Trip Fund

zengenxplorers
Apr 27, 2025
4 min read

Whenever we tell friends or family we’re off on another jaunt — either abroad or somewhere in the UK — the reactions are often the same.

“How do you manage it?” or “Oh, you’re so lucky. I could never afford to do that.”

So we thought it was only fair to put those ideas about luck and big bank balances to bed once and for all, and explain what we actually do to make travel possible on a limited budget.

Here are the five main strategies that keep our trip fund alive and kicking.

1. Time: Use It Wisely

There are 24 hours in every day, and how we spend those hours is entirely up to us.

When our working week is done, we use our spare time to plan our next escape. Some of our trips have involved 50+ hours of planning before we even press the “book flights” button.

That time goes into:

Comparing routes and airlines
Checking hidden add-ons like bags and seat fees
Researching airport parking
Looking at accommodation options
Building a realistic daily budget

If you’re not prepared to put in the hours, don’t be surprised if you end up paying top dollar. Time really is money when it comes to travel planning.

2. Sacrifice: Cutting Everyday Luxuries

There’s no denying it — life is expensive. For many people, just covering food and heating can feel like a struggle.

But if you’re not completely living hand to mouth, there are often small changes that can slowly build a travel fund. Here are some of the things we do:

Home baking

It tastes better, it’s cheaper, and you know exactly what’s in it.

DIY projects

Unless it involves electrics or plumbing, we usually do it ourselves. We’ve knocked down walls, built patios, fitted kitchens, constructed garden buildings, and done all our own decorating. It’s saved a fortune, kept us busy, and taught us new skills.

Batch cooking

Meal planning stops food waste and keeps supermarket spending under control. Cooking extra portions for the freezer has been a huge money-saver over the years.

Simple celebrations

We’ve long agreed that we don’t need piles of gifts to show we care about each other. Instead of buying more “stuff,” we celebrate birthdays and holidays with simple pleasures — homemade pizza, a walk in nature, or a low-cost day out. The money we don’t spend on unnecessary gifts goes straight into the travel fund.

DIY self-care

Some people love salons and spa days, and that’s fine. But we’d rather save that money for trips.

So we:

Cut our own hair
Colour and style hair ourselves
Do our own nails
Use home skincare treatments

Home-grown produce

You don’t need loads of space or gardening skills to grow herbs or a few vegetables. Even supermarket herb pots can grow into something useful with a bit of care.

Free days out

We love a good hike, and walking from our doorstep costs nothing. It keeps us fit, helps us explore our local area, and keeps our trip fund intact.

Picnics instead of cafés

We still enjoy a café now and then, but most days out involve a flask and homemade snacks. Skipping bought treats can save £15–£20 a day — enough to pay for a night’s accommodation in some destinations.

3. Getting Off the Beaten Track

Our beautiful townhouse rental in Andalusia

One of the biggest ways we save money is by avoiding the obvious tourist hotspots. Instead of staying in big resorts, we often base ourselves in small towns or villages. For example, we’ve rented beautiful townhouses with swimming pools in rural parts of Spain for less than £500 a week in August.

Village life might not be everyone’s idea of a holiday, but we love:

Drinking in local bars
Enjoying free tapas
Buying fresh bread from the van that rolls into the square each morning

It’s cheaper, more authentic, and far more memorable than most package resort experiences.

4. Budgeting: Know Your Numbers

A strict travel budget is one of the biggest reasons we’re able to keep exploring.

At the start of each year, we:

Set a total travel budget
Decide how many trips we can realistically afford
Plan everything around those numbers

If we overspend one year, it simply means fewer trips the next. So we stick to the budget.

We also never travel using money we don’t actually have. Debt would take all the joy out of a trip, so it’s not something we’d ever consider. We also have weekly 'finance chats' at the kitchen table where we go over our finances in detail over a freshly brewed pot of coffee!

And just a little reminder... travel doesn’t have to mean airports and hotels. Even a small budget can go a long way:

A camping trip in a borrowed tent
A low-cost train ride
A picnic by a river

5. Independence: DIY Sightseeing

Planning our own trips gives us freedom and saves money. Organised tours can be great, but doing things independently often costs a fraction of the price. It also means:

Arriving before the crowds
Staying longer in places we love
Exploring side streets and hidden corners

We really noticed this on our one and only cruise in 2022. Instead of paying £20 per person for the cruise line’s coach transfer into Bilbao, we researched our own route and paid about €2 return on public transport. That saving went straight into sampling local beer and delicious pintxos instead. Much better value, in our opinion.