Passions are unlimited.

One of the passions I have discovered is traveling and unfortunately, it's very expensive.

Traveling from place to place makes me feel free and I am just in touch with the world around me. I have a heart for adventure and the curiosity to explore, which fuels my passion to see the world.

Currently, I am planning a trip to Greece with my cousin next summer.

We have always wanted to take a trip together and finally decided the time is now to officially make it happen.

The trip will be in approximately a year from now and we each have to save money. Saving money is hard work, it requires a lot of discipline because otherwise, you may spend more. So for the past two weeks, I have been trying different strategies to save money for this trip.

First, we have made a goal for each of us to save $3,000 which includes flight costs, hotel costs, and extra for leisure activities while we are there.

I like to plan whenever I want to do something, it's the organized perfectionist in me. Since we made a goal, I made a spreadsheet of how many months we have until the trip. In the spreadsheet, it displays how much we should be saving every few months and when we should book our flight as well.

personal photo

Secondly, while the spreadsheet displays how much we should be saving each month. We should be saving money every week. A strategy I discovered included this chart that allows you to save $1000 in 12 weeks.

Every week you can choose any amount in the 12 boxes and cross it off once you save the money.

This simply makes it more fun when planning for the trip because you can save more or even less; it's up to you.

During the summer, I'm not taking many classes so I have the ability to work more than 20 hours a week. This allows me to earn more and save more during the summer compared to during the school year.

Also, budgeting is a very important step when planning a trip like this.

Since some of my income is going towards saving for the trip and tuition, bills and other necessities, I need to be aware of how much I am spending each week.

This means I won't be spending too much on new clothes or going out to eat as much, which requires a lot more discipline compared to crossing off the chart.

I have been limiting myself to spend less than $50 dollars every week on personal outings and activities for the summer. It sounds a lot easier than it sounds, but it's progressing and it's happening.

It's such an exciting feeling to do something for yourself in this life.

This year I studied abroad in Chester, England for a couple of weeks and traveled to Wales, Liverpool, and London. It was so much fun and I really want to continue exploring.

I hope to plan a trip out of the country every year to continue to explore and start new adventures.