Being in the day-to-day grind can take a lot out of a person mentally and physically. Taking a break from the routine is a great way to recharge yourself and release the everyday burdens.
Traveling abroad is an even better benefit than just exposing yourself to new cultures, histories, and people. There are significant benefits to travel that you probably didn’t know about, either.
There are significant health benefits of traveling abroad that it can provide you.
So how do you travel, make it worthwhile, and not break your budget? Before discussing how to travel effectively and under budget, you need to know some health benefits first.
Travel Relieves Stress
Travel’s benefit is breaking up the routine and alleviating the stress associated with work, school, and bills. Studies show that even after a person returns from a vacation, stress, and anxiety are lower for up to three days, making traveling and a vacation a great way to relieve tension in your life.
Traveling Raises Happiness, Lowering Risk Of Depression
When you lower the daily stresses and don’t have worries associated with the daily routines, people tend to be happier and have a higher level of satisfaction than people stuck in the grind. Therefore, by alleviating stress causes and becoming more satisfied and happier, a person is at a significantly lower risk of depression.
Traveling Is Healthy For You
Studies show that travel can reduce the risk of heart disease by upwards of 30% and lowers the chance of a heart attack by 20%. So travel is a great tool you have at your disposal to live a healthier life.
Traveling Encourages Creativity
Immersing yourself in a new culture and environment increases cognitive flexibility and depth of thought, making traveling a crucial foundation in creative thinking. Travel alone may provide a minor boost, but being fully immersed and engaged in the experiences significantly boosts creativity.
Planning A Trip On A Budget
Planning a trip can be satisfying on its own but can lead to stress after the fact. When you consider how you’re going to pay for a travel trip, it can be stressful. Instead, finding a way to travel, especially to an exotic location, that makes sense for your budget and allows you to plan stress-free is something you can learn.
Here are just some tips for saving money when traveling:
- Opt for the slow season
- Consider renting your home either sublet, Airbnb, FRBO
- Use points on flights
- Book activities ahead of time
- Take pictures, not things – don’t buy souvenirs
- Take public transit and shuttles–don’t rent a car
- Find an inclusive breakfast, or other meals, at the hotel
- Ask the locals and concierge for cheap ideas
- Visit and enjoy the natural beauty of the area
One area when traveling abroad that you don’t want to skimp on is your airline seats. There is a significant difference between economy, business class, and first-class seats.
If you combine your seat upgrade with using points, you can lower the upgrade costs, have free baggage, or even have discounts on corporate partnerships.
For example, combining a seat upgrade with American Airlines business class along with points you’ve accrued on your credit card will allow you to travel comfortably without breaking the budget. You could also accrue enough international miles that domestic flights can become cheaper or free altogether, allowing you to save on another vacation in time.
Other ways to use a credit card and airline points to improve your travel without breaking your budget:
- Use airline points for upgrades or discounts on corporate partnerships
- Exclusive lounges at the airport
- Deals on hotels, events, and other amenities
- Exclusive rates for travel on specific dates and locales
- Purchase protection and fraudulent protection
Traveling abroad provides cultural enrichment and is a foundation for a healthier life.
Budgeting to travel shouldn’t become a burden, and there are innovative ways to travel without going into debt. For example, having a strategy to find an exotic location to travel, enjoy, and relax can be done more affordably than people think if you use all the tools at your disposal.
Whether you’re looking at traveling to the Seychelles or Thailand for cheap, finding ways to make an exotic vacation cheap takes a little outside-the-box thinking, but chances are, you have ways to do it, and you don’t even realize it.
With all the health benefits and opportunities for personal growth, the question shouldn’t be how you can afford to travel abroad. Instead, you should ask yourself, how can you afford not to travel?
