2019 & Travel – Planning our travel year

I started the New Year with budgeting on my mind and being more intentional about it. Mr E and I are very similar on how we view life, money, travel and luxury so we are usually in agreement with most life decisions we make without having too much to compromise. I would say that the only difference is how we handle our plans. I am a little more visual about everything; from excel spreadsheets to “post-its” to phone notes while he is more under the radar with his; almost like all the information is saved somewhere in his brain. My way is obviously better haha

When 2019 was drawing close, we decided to slash our usual yearly travel budget by half. The main reason is that our priorities shifted and we thought to channel more of our income towards our savings and investments. We have a few big plans that involve a lot of having to step back from all our usual extras and luxuries if we were serious about hitting our targets.

Our usual travel steps are quite simple –

• We decide the travel budget for the year by December of the previous year,
• Mr E tells me if he has any countries/cities on his list for the coming year, I add mine,
• As the planner and “treasury captain” of our household, I start to look at costs and narrow down about 8-10 possible destinations for the year,
• I would usually start to book some of the trips by January to take advantage of the sale,
• I book whatever our remaining budget allows throughout the year.

Now, we have actually never travelled to 10 different countries in one year. I wish! We tend to average 6-8 trips depending on work, budget and destination. We also like to mix and match. So we look out for short city breaks during the colder months and tend to book longer breaks for warmer trips. It gives us a variety of cultures and climates to look forward to experiencing. From historical cities to a beach resorts to trendy-must-see destinations, variety they say is the spice of life!

So what did I do differently in 2019? Not much actually.

• We decided on our much slashed budget in December 2018 and I started looking for deals asap,
• I noticed that British Airways and a host of other airlines had already started their sale which meant that Expedia and Skyscanner had better price comparisons so I went shopping!
• By the end of January, I had booked some of our trips for the year and saved the rest of our travel budget to spend if we decide to go away later in the year.

It does seem like an eager beaver thing to do but for someone who loves to travel, is dependent on visas and is doing so on a specific budget, this works best for us.

My top tips when planning your yearly travel

Have an up to date passport

Imagine booking your dream trip to New York; you get to the airport and realise you cannot fly because your passport is not valid. Most countries will not let you through immigration without 6 months validity on your passport. Some countries will allow 3 months validity; others are less finicky and won’t mind as long as your passport is valid. The important thing is to check the entry requirements of your destination in advance.

Have a yearly Budget

This includes travel and spending money. Unless you are Kim K rich, you probably have an estimate of what you would like to spend on a trip. I have realised that it does help to have a budget as it makes you more disciplined in regulating how and where your income is being allocated.

Look out for the sale

I have noticed in the last two years that the airline sales now start as far back as from Black Friday in November. The airlines now usually have a flash Black Friday sale for that weekend up until Cyber Monday. Then it starts again around mid-December, spikes by Boxing Day and keeps creeping up until end of January the following year. There is also usually always an end of summer sale so you have another chance to buy discounted trips in the middle of the year!

Make a list

Draw up a list of where you would like to travel to but be flexible enough to work around it. This list is very essential to give you something to plan with however, be open to other destinations which might be cheaper for the period you want to travel.

Visas

Consider visas. This is a big one for planning on a limited passport. Do you need a visa for where you would like to travel to? Where can I go to with what I have? Am I planning to apply for any visas?

Any possible transits? Remember that if you are buying an airline ticket and you are going to transit through a different airport, you might need a visa. For example, on a Nigerian passport, going to the Dominican Republic is visa-free; however you have to be careful with your transit routes. If you need to transit via the US, you will be required to have a US visa. Another scenario is if you are flying through a country and your transit involves changing airports in that country, you would be required to have a visa for that country.

Got it? cool cool!

What travel plans do you have for 2019? Have you drawn up a list yet? Share!

Bisous, ‘Bugo