The Thought Card: How to Start a Travel Fund

Join us for this exclusive pre-released episode as part of Finance Podcast Week. This episode is brought to you by Danielle Desir of the The Thought Card podcast. … What is a travel fund? A travel fund is a powerful tool that you can use to help you save money for travel. A travel fund is a dedicated bank account (checking, savings or money market) devoted to your travel savings and expenses. With a travel fund you’re intentionally saving money for travel and when it comes time to spend, you have a stash to pull from. The point of a travel fund is to have money available for travel when you need it. Why is a travel savings important? A travel fund is important because it’s so much easier to save money for travel when it has its own home – a dedicated bank account separate from everything else. #1 It’s a lot easier when you keep things separate When you commingle funds you are less likely to achieve your goals. Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to overspend when all of your money is jumbled together in one bank account. So if you ever have to pay for a flight or want to go on a spontaneous weekend getaway, you can tap into the funds you set aside specifically for travel expenses like flights, lodging, attractions and more. #2 Avoids overspending A travel fund can also help you avoid getting into debt and paying high balances on your credit card. At a glance you can check your balance and know exactly how much you have available to spend on travel. #3 Keeps you grounded A travel fund can keep your wanderlust in check and brings clarity to your finances. Treat travel like a recurring bill How important is travel to you? If travel is important then consider treating it like a recurring bill. As a recurring bill you’ll set money aside for it every single month. Put travel right up their with your car insurance, rent and gym membership. Make travel a financial priority in your life by including it as a line item in your monthly budget. If you treat travel like a recurring bill you can potentially save hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars by the end of the year. It all depends on how aggressively you want to save for it. How to implement it? To do this, I recommend setting up a direct deposit with your employer. This way your money will get directly deposited into your travel bank account every time you get paid. Helpful Tip: Don’t wait for the day after or even the week after to make this transaction, do it when you get paid. The set up process is easy. How to start a travel fund? Figure out how much you want to save towards travel every pay period. Set up direct deposit with your employer. Go about your life – set it, forget it and watch it grow! Now if you want to schedule additional automatic transfers after you get paid to accelerate reaching your travel goals, by all means go for it! I believe in you! Hey, if you are getting value from The Thought Card, show me some love by subscribing on your favorite podcast player including Podbean!  Don’t forget new episodes drop every other Thursday. … Finance Podcast Week runs from March 26th-March 28th, 2021 with live-streamed sessions and panels, and brand new, exclusive episodes.  Utilizing Podbean’s live streaming platform, we're offering you the opportunity to join the conversation and be part of the experience. Finance Podcast Week is brought to you by Podbean and brings you expertise and insight on podcast topics ranging from personal finance, budgeting, real estate, cryptocurrency, investing for millennials, the GameStop short, and more!  Follow the Finance Podcast Week channel here for daily meditations, episode releases and more! For more information and to register to join the live streams in real-time go to www.podcastweek.live.finance    The content of Finance Podcast Week is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on our site and podcast constitute a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by Podbean or any third party service providers to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments.