Besides traveling the world, one of the main reasons people want to become a travel therapist is to save money. Being a traveling therapist can pay pretty well, but if you’re not being smart with your money then you’re doing it wrong. I know it’s a lot easier said than done and everyone’s situation is different, but with these 10 tips, you can start saving money today!
*These 10 tips may not apply to you or your interests. These are our interests and have helped us save thousands over our traveling years!
BUY AN ANNUAL NATIONAL PARK PASS
Buying an annual National Park Pass has saved us hundreds of dollars over the years! To enter most National Parks you will have to pay an entrance fee ranging from $20-$35. Whereas, if you buy an annual pass it will only cost you $80 and is good for one year. Obviously, if you know you won’t be near National Parks during your contract, skip that year and save the $80. However, for us, we base a lot of our contracts on how close we can be to any National Park. Because we spend a lot of our time at the parks nearby we could easily spend $500 a year without having the pass. Therefore, buy the pass and save hundreds!
This doesn’t just go for National Parks. If you happen to take a contract near a State Park and know you will go a handful of times, buy that park pass as well. We haven’t had to do that yet because typically we will only go once or twice and would need to go an average of 8 times before the pass is worth it. This will vary from park to park, but it’s worth looking into!
CAMP/BACKPACK TO SAVE MONEY
Another great way to save hundreds of dollars is to camp whenever you can. Whether that’s primitive camping/backpacking, or camping at a national or state park. If you’re a traveling therapist then you are most likely exploring any chance you get. For us, that’s most weekends! We will drive anywhere up to 5 hours away from our current location in search of awesome spots. If we were to stay at a hotel, Airbnb, Vrbo, etc, that would add up quickly! However, if you are willing to camp then you’re just spending money on gas and food.
If you choose to stay at a State Park or National Park then you could potentially be spending quite a bit of money because these are hot spots. Most times it’s totally worth it and we’ve never regretted it, but if you’re on a budget and looking to cut back, primitive camping is FREE!
*Download the Campendium app to search for campsites near you.
CANCEL SUBSCRIPTIONS
We live in an age now where everything is a subscription. You have to have 5 TV subscriptions to watch your favorite shows, workout subscriptions, retail subscriptions, and so many more. It can be overwhelming and, when it comes to your money, it’s wasteful. The main thing we have learned while traveling on the road is that less is more. By no means are we minimalists, but we certainly try to be as much as we can. This means canceling subscriptions that we don’t need. We’re definitely going to keep up with the latest TV shows, but we will only keep one or two TV subscriptions active at a time. Do you really need to have all five subscriptions going at once?
Be mindful of what you really NEED vs. what you THINK you need. Cancel those subscriptions and save money!
FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
One of the hardest parts of being a travel therapist is finding affordable housing. Sometimes it can make or break your contract, and maybe even your spirit… Everybody’s budget is going to look different, but after three years of traveling, I can still say that most “perfect” housing options are going to be over your budget. So, how do you find affordable housing? Well, you may just have to decide what is most important to you. Is it privacy? Is it amenities? Location? Or is it price? Once you figure out what you can and can’t live without it does help make the process of finding housing easier.
For us, it’s always price, then location, then privacy, and then amenities. Sometimes we lived with strangers for 3 months for an affordable home. Sometimes we lived in unfurnished apartments because the furnished apartments were out of our budget. And sometimes we lived an hour away from work because those homes were more affordable. However, with each move we made it work. And looking back the hard or annoying things that bothered us then are funny memories that we laugh about now.
*Check out our blog post TRAVEL THERAPY HOUSING PROS & CONS for more information regarding potential housing options.
INVEST IN THINGS YOU LOVE
This one is a little tricky because essentially you have to spend money to save money. BUT, if you’re spending money on something you love and enjoy and you know it could save you hundreds/thousands in the future then why not?! For us, it was our paddle boards.
Because we are snowbirds (we live in an RV and need to travel towards the sun) we can be on the water for the majority of the year. We love to kayak, paddleboard, canoe, etc and were spending hundreds of dollars to repeatedly rent said equipment to enjoy a few hours on the lake or river. We enjoy doing those activities, so for us, it was okay to splurge and rent every once in a while. But renting equipment adds up quickly. And sometimes you can only rent for an hour or two when really we wished we could spend HOURS on the water. So, we bought ourselves paddle boards.
It was a hefty purchase but one that, in the end, was so worth it! Now, we don’t have to worry about forking over hundreds of dollars for a few hours on the water, renting beat-up equipment, and sticking to someone else’s schedule. Our paddle boards have paid for themselves multiple times and now we have a FREE activity to go do whenever we want and have saved hundreds because of it!
MAKE THE WORLD YOUR GYM
As a traveling therapist, you have to relocate frequently. This means finding a new job, a new house, new grocery stores, and even new gyms. And gym memberships can be expensive! So try opting for something cheaper to help you save money when you can. One way of doing that is trying out Planet Fitness. They have contracts for just $10/month! One of the cheapest gyms you can find. It may not have everything you want (not having squat racks kills me), but I’m sure it will have everything you truly need.
Another great way is to take advantage of your rental’s gym, if applicable. Not everywhere you move will have a gym on-site, but when they do take advantage of it! Even if it is the dingiest, basic, and equipment-ridden gym you’ve been to. Get creative! There are all kinds of free resources out there to help make home workouts possible. We do this as much as we can! Order some workout bands, a kettlebell, and adjustable dumbbells and I promise you can get a great workout in!
And lastly, make the world your gym! Go for a run at your nearest park, hike a mountain, do pushups on the bench outside, do lunges in your backyard, or find a FREE outdoor gym like here in California. There are so many ways to make working out affordable without having to spend a few hundred dollars on a gym membership where you have to pay a sign-up fee, an early cancellation fee, and an annual fee. Skip the gym, save money.
SAVE MONEY BY CHOOSING FUN & FREE ACTIVITIES
Depending on what interests you, finding fun and free activities to do can be challenging. However, I do believe there’s something out there for everyone that can help you save money. Here are a few ideas of free things that we like to do:
Some other fun and free activities we enjoy are going to the beach and playing frisbee or catch with a football. Reading in a hammock at our primitive campsite, game nights with friends, and exploring murals around our nearest city. Fun activities do not have to be costly. Change your mindset, and romanticize the little things.
TAKE HIGH-PAYING CONTRACTS & SAVE MONEY
An obvious way to save money is to take high-paying contracts. If your sole reason for pursuing travel therapy is to save money, then you can find some GREAT high-paying contracts located all around the country. There’s a catch though. Some of these high-paying contracts are going to be in very remote areas. There won’t be an abundance of fun activities or national parks to visit, but you’ll bring in thousands each week. Is that worth it to you?
*Contact me to get my recruiter information to help hook you up with those high-paying contracts!
USE CREDIT CARD REWARDS
This tip is only for those who are good at managing credit cards. I would never try and convince people to apply for a credit card without understanding the risk that credit cards can bring. For those of you who can manage credit cards, I would suggest applying for credit cards that have great rewards. Our favorite credit cards are the Southwest Credit Card and our Chase Sapphire Credit Card. We put everything we possibly can on those cards alone. We pay it off immediately and then can claim free flights and free hotel stays frequently. This comes in handy when we need to fly home for the holidays, visit friends across the States, or want to book a decent hotel stay once in a while.
WALK/BIKE/PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
I think most people forget that being able to afford a car is a luxury. Keeping up with oil changes, tire rotations, gas, and parking meters is an expensive luxury. Don’t get me wrong, having a car is great and allows us to do so many things, but it’s costly. However, if you can walk, bike, or use public transportation to get to and from work, you could easily save money.
To be honest, most of the time I haven’t been able to do this. I’ve had over a 30-minute commute to work for most of my contracts, or have had home health jobs where I’m required to drive within an hour’s range to multiple people’s houses. Walking, biking, or even using a public bus has been out of the question. However, there was one contract in Fargo, North Dakota, where I lived 5 minutes from work. I could have easily driven there and saved 5-10 minutes but walking 15 minutes to and from work helped me save on gas, and mileage, and, honestly, I just loved it.
If you live in an area where walking, biking, or hopping on public transport is feasible you could save on gas money (which we all know is expensive) and parking meters (which in big cities are EVERYWHERE). So, try it out! It not only helps you save money but could also be a great form of exercise!
These 10 tips have helped us save so much money over the years and I hope maybe you learned a thing or two. Leave a comment below if you have any more great tips you want to share! Always feel free to contact us if you have any further questions regarding travel pt.
Awesome post and great tips!
Thanks so much!