6 Ways I’m Saving Money to Bike Tour More

If, like me, you’re hoping to travel more in the next few years — this post and video are for you. I’m excited to share 6 of the ways I’ve been saving money to bike tour more.

Cycle touring is a very affordable way to travel, but it isn’t without its costs. So I’ve adopted some strategies to help me save up so I can head out on many adventures over the next few years.

Check out my recent video and the post below for what’s been helping me save money to bike tour more. 

1. Reducing accommodation costs

In my last video I talked about making the difficult decision to move. It was a challenging moment because I really loved my little studio apartment. But living in the city is super expensive and it made more sense to live with other people so I could reduce the cost of rent and save up some extra cash each month.

I know everyone’s living situation is different and moving may not feel doable for each of us. But, with accommodation costs being such a big chunk of our budgets, it makes sense to look out for opportunities to save if we can.

2. Eliminating unnecessary items

Did you know there are 300,000 items in the average American home? I live in Canada but I’m sure we’re not all that far off! Most of us have plenty of excess items we simply aren’t using or don’t need. So I decided to start selling off all that junk!

So far I’ve made $835 from selling things I truly don’t need, many of which I haven’t even used in years. And I have plenty more left to sell. Plus, I’ve often found the person I’m selling it to was so excited to have the item. So rather than sitting the back of my closet, it could now be put to use, and I can use that money to bike tour all over the world. It’s wins all around.

If affordable travel is of interest to you, check out this post on HOW TO BIKE TOUR ON A BUDGET >>>

3. Cooking at home

It can be so tempting to get into a habit of going out to eat or ordering in. Unfortunately, this can turn the already sizeable cost of food, into an immense chunk of our budget. In order to save money to bike tour more, committing to cooking and eating at home can go a long way.

The key place to start is by planning ahead. Think of what you’d like to eat that week and stock up on the ingredients ahead of time. If you don’t currently cook for yourself a lot, start small. Look for simple recipes that won’t feel too overwhelming.

I’ve found the website Tasty Thrifty Timely to be an incredible resource. You can use their pantry guide to stock up on what you need to make cooking easier, and they have plenty of great, affordable recipes as well.

4. Analyzing and reducing expenses

I’ve found it very helpful to take a look each month at how I’m spending my money. I’ll break this into rough categories such as food, clothing, activities, etc. Then, I see where I’m spending my money and if there are costs I could trim out.

For instance, I found I was spending $13/month on a video streaming service I wasn’t really enjoying or making use of. So I cancelled it. I also seized an opportunity to switch my music streaming service to a family plan. Costs like these may seem small but they can add up to plenty of extra cash for travelling.

5. Socializing in affordable ways

When I’m not travelling, spending time with family and friends brings me the greatest joy. But if our habit is to go out for a nice dinner and/or drinks regularly, this can eat up a lot of money we could be saving for travel.

So I make an effort to socialize in affordable ways. I’ll make my friends dinner, or head over to their place for a movie night, or go for a walk or other free outdoor activity. And of course I’ll indulge in a pricier activity every once in a while. But for the most part, I find it’s easy to spend time in more affordable ways. And at the end of the day, I find it’s that time spent together that matters, not what we’re doing.

6. Using the costs of travel as motivation to save money to bike tour

In order to help keep myself motivated along the way, I read up on what different things costs in the place I want to bike tour. How much is a hostel, campground, hotel, food for a day, flight, etc?

Then, when I might feel tempted to order food for $30, I check in with myself and remember that $30 could get me a hostel for a night or a couple days’ worth of food in my dream travel location. The vast majority of the time, when I do this, I choose to save the money for travelling.

An important note here though is that I make sure to approach it from a judgement-free place of curiosity and compassion. It’s okay to treat ourselves when we need it. But often, I find saving that money for bike touring is what my heart really wants.

These are the strategies that have been working for me, but I’d love to hear from you! How do you save money to bike tour or travel? Let me know in the comments!

More on Bike Touring

How to stay positive on a bike tour
4 Mistakes I made on my first bike tour
How to get your best sleep camping