How You Can Take a Weekend Trip Without Breaking the Paycheck
Travel is a big element of self care for me. It fills my SOUL you guys. I love experiencing new places, people, food, etc. And I’m here to tell you that YOU deserve to reward yourself with travel every once in awhile.
After graduating from grad school, I wanted to celebrate this accomplishment with a fun trip with my boyfriend to let loose after all that hard work and stress. But without a salary kicking in yet, I didn’t have the money for a trip…
My solution? Get crafty! I’m going to share with you the four ways that I covered the entire cost of my weekend trip to Savannah, GA.
This post is going to give you 4 ways to take a weekend trip without breaking the bank.
First, I planned out everything that I wanted to do in a spreadsheet (That’s right, I’m a spreadsheet nerd) and did my online research to budget out how much everything would cost.
I divided these items into several categories: Gas money, hotel, food, and entertainment. This little bit of planning really helps you determine how to cover these costs.
1. Survey apps
I covered most of my costs for the trip using a couple of survey apps where you can earn points by filling out surveys and then redeem those points for gift cards.
My favorite survey app by far is Swagbucks. You can earn points for so many things – filling out surveys, online purchases, watching videos, uploading grocery receipts, etc.
Whenever I sat on the couch and watched TV at night, I would open up Swagbucks and fill out surveys or do various things to earn points.
Another great way to earn points on Swagbucks is through online orders for certain brands you might be shopping at anyways.
For example, every month I stock up on my Sephora must-haves and if I go to Sephora’s website through the Shop section of the Swagbucks app, I earn 5% points for every dollar I spend.
Swagbucks lets you redeem your points for gift cards to tons of different brands. For this trip, I knew that I wanted to redeem a gas card that I could use for my transportation to Savannah and a Hotels.com gift card to cover our hotel expenses.
Another survey app I like to use is called Perksy which notifies you when a survey that applies to you is available. After that you have a certain amount of time to complete it before it expires.
I definitely don’t earn points as quickly as I do with Swagbucks, but it has paid off before. Similarly, you can redeem the points you earn for various gift cards.
2. Apartment Community Awards
I utilized the community rewards offerings at my apartment complex. The last few places I’ve lived, the apartment complex offers you rewards points for various actions, such as leaving a review of the complex, attending community events, etc.
This option didn’t have as many gift card choices as the survey apps, but once again I got a little crafty.
I used my community awards account to redeem points for an Amazon gift card which can then be used to purchase other gift cards, like Hotels.com, on Amazon.
Check to see if your apartment complex or your workplace offers any kind of rewards program where you can redeem gift cards!
3. Consign your old clothes
I sold my old clothes at a variety of consignment options. There are various outlets you can use Plato’s Closet, Clothes Mentor, and Poshmark.
You will likely find that going to multiple outlets made me get the most bang for my buck because none of these places are going to take all of your stuff.
Plato’s Closet and Clothes Mentor give you cash on the spot for gently used name brand clothes. Cash on the spot is so nice because it allowed me to cover food and entertainment charges while on the trip.
Each Plato’s Closet and Clothes Mentor location has slightly different guidelines and specific types of clothing they are looking for so if one location doesn’t take some of your items I definitely recommend trying a different one as well!
Poshmark is a little different – it’s an app on your phone where you upload a picture of any of your clothes, accessories, or home goods you want to sell and then list what price you’re asking for it. Poshmark does take a portion of the sale, so you should plan accordingly.
Unlike Plato’s Closet or Clothes Mentor, it’s not cash on the spot and a customer needs to purchase it before you get anything, so you need to give yourself more time between listing the item and when you need the money.
4. Trade in electronics for cash
I don’t know about you guys, but I know when I got a new phone, my old one was just sitting in my desk drawer collecting dust for months. Well the good news is that you can trade in your used electronics for cash in various outlets.
I used Amazon to trade in some of my old electronics, but I know Apple and Best Buy do the same thing. Each store provides payment in the form of a gift card.
I preferred Amazon in this case, because as I said before I figured out how to turn an Amazon gift card into payment for my trip.
However, if you’re looking to treat yourself to an Apple Watch or a new laptop then another option may work for you too.
In addition to these major stores, you can also look into local stores who buy used items or places like Ebay and Craigslist.
Those are the four tips for taking a weekend trip on a low budget.
These four outlets made me enough money to cover an entire weekend trip to Savannah, GA for two people.
My boyfriend and I had an amazing time – and even better the time to let loose and relax did wonders for stress relief and my mental health. Not only that, but experiencing a new place broadens your perspective and gives you new inspiration.
Comment below if you try any of these ways to make some quick cash, and tell me all of the places you want to travel!
