Article by: Nipapan Poonsatiansup, CFP^® Dependent Financial Planner

Traveling is a popular activity today because it is not only a recreation, but it is a life reward in another form. Specially to travel to foreign countries, I believe it is the goal of many people. In this article, there are tips to plan an enjoyable and economize trip for you to get an idea.

Traveling is a popular activity today because it is not only a recreation, but it is a life reward in another form. Specially to travel to foreign countries, I believe it is the goal of many people. In this article, there are tips to plan an enjoyable and economize trip for you to get an idea.

1. Set aside money and set a budget for trip.

Cannot deny that 'money' is one of the key factors for travel. Having good financial planning we will be travel happily and comfortable. The key tip is to allocate money to a proportion and set a budget for travel, like 10% of income. Then you save 10% of your salary and then separate the account. It may be deposited at savings account or money market fund.

2. Arrange portfolios for trip and bring profit from investment to travel.

From tip number 1, if we can wait longer, we may divide the money from some travel budget to invest. And bring the profit of investment to invest again. We must invest at least 5 years. (If it can be longer than this, will be very good. If you have a long investment period, the interest of the principle will make our money grow a lot more than you thought)
At that time you will be able to use the profit from your investment only and don’t have to use the principle at all. It's like raise a goose to leave the eggs for you to eat them.

3. Plan a trip yourself

Nowadays traveling by yourself is not difficult anymore because we have access to information more easily.
People love to share travel experiences through forums or social media. There is also a travel guide website, compare price, compare promotions like hotel, air ticket and many more that make travel planning easy at your fingertips. However, in organizing the trip itself. Do not forget to consider the safety of the country. For example, in some countries there are difficult get around. Public transport is not ready as it should. Traveling with a tour may be safer.

4. Preparing your own food can save up

Food is very important for Thai people like us because we have a lot of food and it’s cheap. So, when travel aboard, we feel that it is too expensive to eat each meal and sometimes it’s also not delicious. Or some cities are hard to find food or some close on Sunday. So, bring food ourselves is a good solution because it’s not only cheap but we will have food we love.

5. Don’t forget the travel insurance

Travel insurance is very important when we must travel, specially to travel abroad. Travel Insurance is a safeguard during the trip that will make us worry free about unexpected events that may occur during the trip abroad. This coverage will cover both cases of accident, illness during the trip, delayed flight luggage lost and death in the destination country. But what coverage will cover, it's up to the insurance company that the traveler chooses.

Also apply for some types of visas. There are also mandatory requirements for travelers to purchase travel insurance. For example, applying for a Schengen visa It requires a reliable travel insurance policy attached. Most people usually buy travel insurance because it is mandatory to do a visa. And do not buy travel insurance when traveling to a country that does not require a visa. They think it is a high cost and do not want to pay. This is wrong and actually; travel insurance is not expensive at all. The premium starts at only a hundred baht. It depends on the travel time and the conditions of coverage. It is very cost effective compared to the main coverage we receive. It also gives us peace of mind throughout the journey.