Brace yourself, you might not want to hear this. Sadly, there isn’t a secret formula in moving abroad, travel and have money at the same time. Your bank account will eventually dwindle and all of your purchases will need to be paid off at some point.

Let’s face it, you need money period. In order to have money, you need to plan to have it ahead of time. Either you save, take out loans, borrow money from your parents or find a job once you land at your chosen destination (if, possible). For the sake of saving, I found a few links that could help you prioritize below.

1.) Travel Saving Tips. Before you go, I suggest having a certain amount of money as a “buffer”. The amount is up to the each individual. Consider your monthly bills and see what expenses you can eliminate. Food was a biggie for me (I’m not gonna lie, I loved my In-N-Out burgers w/ fries) so, I started limiting going out to eat at restaurants. Towards the last few months before leaving, I strictly started making food at home. It definitely saved me at least $100-200.

• http://www.mydomaine.com/how-to-save-money-for-vacation?search=How%20to%20Finally%20Save%20Up%20for%20Your%20Dream%20Vacation
• http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20130213-navigating-the-minefield-of-travel-love-and-money?ocid=twtvl

2.) Use a no foreign transaction credit card:

• http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/avoid-paying-bank-fees-traveling/
• http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/best-current-credit-card-offers/
• http://www.cardratings.com/best-credit-cards-with-no-foreign-transaction-fee.html
• From U.S.A, all you really need is Charles Swab.
  1. $25 for wire transfer fee vs. $45 from Wells Fargo.
  2. No foreign exchange transaction fee.
  3. No international ATM fee.
  4. Ability to use your credit card at any banks.
  5. No fee to open or maintain an account.

3.) Scholarships: This never worked for me but, it could for you.

• For Scotland http://www.scotland.org/study-in-scotland/scholarships/saltire-scholarships/
• http://www.esteri.it/mae/resource/doc/2015/04/bando_a.a._2015-2016_en.pdf
• http://www.esteri.it/mae/it/ministero/servizi/stranieri/opportunita/borsestudio_stranieri.html
• http://www.studiare-in-italia.it/studentistranieri/moduli/Form_A.pdf

4.) Cancel memberships & phone plans. It’s hard to tell what will or won’t work until you’ve reached your destination. Also, how often would you really use some of these services? What once was important could become unnecessary once you arrive in your new home. This is why I’ve decided to cancel all of my memberships such as Spotify (gulped), phone plans, etc. I wouldn’t want to rack up any miscellaneous fees anyway.

5.) Stop buying stuff. This was a tough one. I like to shop (who doesn’t right?) but, I had to suck up and stay away from the mall or removed myself from buying anything unnecessary, completely! If you want to save money and move abroad, it is a full-time commitment (unless, you have a job waiting for you at your destination or you are well-off; then, this wouldn’t apply to you ;)).

Hopefully, that helped. Cheers!

-ASA