5 Ways To Afford Trips To See Your Long-Distance Partner

When Don and I first started our long-distance relationship, we knew that it was going to be a lot of work, time and money. We are both working our first job after graduating uni and earning entry level wage (which is not much). But you know, we are both in love, young and eager to see the world together. We had to make it work even if we have to eat cheap, cut down on things and save. I guess, we are pretty lucky in the sense that Don’s currency is WAY higher than mine. Traveling to me is SUPER cheap for him but me traveling to him is SUPER expensive for me. It would cost him two weeks salary to afford a flight ticket, accommodation + food to Malaysia while it would cost me a month salary to afford flight and money to move around. Despite all the travel costs and having to save diligently every month, every penny is worth it when I get to see my smiley, handsome man when I walk out the gate.

Here’s are some tips on how I save to afford trips to see Don in Australia.

01 KEEP YOUR ROOM CLEAN
Okay, you must be thinking what does this have to do with saving money? When you keep your room (or house if you live alone) clean and tidy, you see everything you own. When you can see the things you own, it prevents you from going out to buy the ‘thing’ you ‘forgot’ you had. For example I make it a point to do my laundry all in a day (wash, hang, iron/fold) so I know where my clothes are. I avoid putting myself in a situation where I go - “shit, I can’t find my white shirt I need for work. where is it? Okay, can’t find it, gotta buy a new one”.

02 USE TECHNOLOGY
We’re so blessed and lucky to have SO MANY apps to help us communicate with our SO for FREE. Be a more resourceful to find what kind of app you and SO like and stick to that. You can save on phone bills and use that money for your trips! You can check out some of the apps I use for my LDR here.

03 PLAN YOUR VISITS
Plan your visits months ahead to give the both of you time to earn and save for the trips. You also have to be realistic with your visits and prepare for hiccups that can happen. Sort out how you are going to pay for flights, accommodations and money to get around. There’s always special promotions, discounts and such going on with flights, you just have to keep a lookout for it. Check out Airbnb for awesome, cheap accommodations. You have to be resourceful!

04 MANAGE YOUR MONTHLY EXPENDITURES
Every time I get my salary, I would instantly put away my savings in another account and pay my bills straight away. Once I have paid my phone bill, credit card, Netflix (SO IMPORTANT), gym membership and etc, I only spend what’s left for food and shopping. To be completely honest, I have only started this a few month months back and it has helped me save more (not much, but every penny counts).

05 BE HONEST AND OPEN ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL WITH YOUR SO
Don and I are honest and clear about our money. When I need help with flight tickets, Don will transfer money to me to buy them. I will try to repay him in whatever way I can - cook for him, cuddles, buy him things he needs and such. We want to be together in the future, it kind of forces us to talk about our finances.

How do you save to afford your long-distance relationship? If you have more tips and tricks on how to save money, let me know!

Inspired by Writing Prompt: Funds