Want to learn how to save money for your next trip to Europe?
Savings has always been a major challenge for many people, it is a kind of discipline that must be established personally so that a person can save for future benefits.
There are many reasons why people save money. For instance, you can save for your wedding, a future house to build, financial freedom, school fees for yourself, wife or children, sometimes, people save money to establish a new business. However, this article will be based precisely on how to save for a trip to Europe.
The truth is that saving money for your European trip is expensive, but the mission before you is what really matters. Especially the Nigerians who have to save $892 to travel to Barcelona, Spain is a bit expensive.
However, there is an adage that says, a drop of water can make an ocean. Another adage says “ Little by little the population becomes larger”. Yes, it is true with savings.
All you need to do is to practice the habit of savings. I am going to outline or mention various strategies through which you can save stress less to achieve your European trip dream.
These strategies, however, will deny you of some fun you normally have, except you are not aiming for a realistic goal. In fact, you may end up selling your favorite properties such as a car, and the rests depending on how important the trip is.
Sometime, your challenge could be that you don’t know how much you will need to save in order achieve your trip to Europe First step you need to take is to have a budget and then a time-bound savings plan. This basic rule is applicable to all types of savings. What is your plan budget?
As soon as you understand the cost of your trip to Europe, for instance, as I mentioned above concerning a trip from Lagos to Barcelona, Spain, you can start to make plans for the actualization of your dreams.
How To Save Money For Your Trip To Europe
1. Start a Local contribution with friends
I have seen a lot of people achieving both their short and long term goals by joining contributions groups or group. What do I mean by contribution group?
It is a group of people with common goals or sometimes the goals may be different, who come together in agreement to help each other financially to achieve a particular goal.
This type of savings method is common all over Nigeria, and it is usually carried out by businessmen and women. Sometimes, it could be a single-gender or mixed gender.
Take, for instance, you are intending to save $892 which is equivalent to #321,120, you may want to join a group of friends who are willing to achieve a similar or equivalent goal. This will facilitate and help achieve your goal at a time-bound.
The contribution varies depending on your capacity. Some contributions may consist of 10 people, willing to help one person with the amount of ten thousand Naira each every day, week or monthly bases so that he or she may achieve their dreams. Normally, the benefit of this method is reaped by roaster method. This means the beneficiaries count by a position you find yourself in the contribution group.
Sometimes, you may seek for an owner of a position for exchange depending on how urgent you need the money, and it may be given to you but not compulsory since the one you sought from may have a more critical reason to maintain his or her position.
Every member of the group will have to pay back as the time may be agreed upon. For instance, the amount to be paid by each member of a group found to be 5000 Naira, it is mandatory that it goes around until the last person in the position.
To determine the position for a member in the group, a leader is appointed to shuffle some card with numbers 1 through 10 or a specific quantity of members are written. The number you pick will determine your position throughout the contribution.
2. Start a Traditional Savings Fund
It may sound local but it can really help a lot when it comes to saving for a future purpose. It is not necessarily that the savings pot should be a calabash or a round object made of baked mud. It could be any container you know is safe to keep the money until your goal is reached.
Your target daily depends on how you have planned to achieve your trip to Europe. Everyone has a way he or she reaches a goal in life. In fact, it is not guaranteed that Kolo is the only means some people save money for a specific purpose. It could be extra savings.
For many years back, or better put, for centuries back, people have been using this traditional method of savings to actualize their dreams in life. It is not only attributed to a future trip, but it can also be used to achieve both short and long term goal in other aspects of life such as planning to buy a school bag or preparing for an occasion.
3. You can also do informal daily contribution
Nigerians are very good at savings, especially the women who are our role models in terms of business and savings for the future, therefore it will not be a surprise if we can easily formulate various ways of saving for future achievement.
Our forefathers believe in preservations, I have heard a lot of stories about treasure preservations by our forefathers. My mother used to emphasize more on preserving our properties for a future reason.
Daily contribution can be a channel through which you can save to travel to abroad particularly, Europe.
The method is carried out by registering your name with a man or a woman who will address him or her self as Baba Alajo or Iya Alajo, precisely in the Yoruba tongue. He or she will collect some information about you and keep in their records book and then issue you a card that will contain a form to fill your basic information such as name and phone number, inside the card, are some small unit, date and amount you wish to contribute daily.
This is normally done based on your agreement with the collector i.e. the Baba or Iya Alajo. The agreement could be that, daily, you will be contributing a specific amount of money, and monthly, you will withdraw a specific amount of money.
The collector may have some percentage out of the money you contributed monthly. For instance, if you contribute 100 Naira daily, he or she will remove 100 Naira month-end.
This practice also can help a long way to achieve your European trip dream for you.
Note: your collector must be reliable, honest and trustworthy otherwise, you may risk your entire savings to fraud.
4. What if you try a Savings Account with a Bank
Savings account comes with some interest depending on how active and meaty your savings is. You may decide to open a savings account with one of the local banks around you. It could be commercial banks such as FirstBank, Union Bank, or Guaranty Trust Bank. If you don’t trust commercial banks that much, which is rare, you can try a reliable micro-finance bank.
Start your savings for the trip. What is your time-bound? Is it in 3 month’s time? Whatever it could be, just ensure you reach your goal conveniently. Before you start your savings for any trip or any goal in life, ensure that you have enough income for such savings.
5. You will have to slow down on certain things
No matter how much you care about your stomach infrastructure, you need to discipline yourself to be able to achieve a goal in life.
There is a saying that, without courage, you can’t achieve anything in life. It is true, you need to make some sacrifices in life, and that is only done by being courageous.
If you spend 3000 Naira monthly for food, it has to be reduced to 2000 Naira or less. It is a sacrifice you must carry out, otherwise, forget about your dream.
6. You may need to put some of your Properties on Sales
Depending on how important the trip is to you if you don’t have money for it, there is no need for keeping your properties. Disburse some of the unwanted properties to raise money for your trip.
After all, you are not going to use them out there. Sometimes, your trip could be to stay in Europe permanently, this will make it easier for you to put your properties on sales.
Mostly, a single property that can be sold to raise money for travel from Nigeria to Europe is a car, though it could be any other things such as pieces of jewelry or even a small land you know you don’t need. I don’t advise people to put their land on sales until the problem to be solved is extremely critical and involves life and death.
7. What about Starting a Small scale Business
As it is normally known by almost every wise person, money brings money. In leadership, we have been taught how to use a specific asset to achieve more.
If you are in need of a trip to Europe and find out there is no much cash at hand, the little you have can be used to start a business to generate more.
Always remember that business involves a lot of risks and technical know-how. You don’t jump into business and think it will bring in income flow. You must understand the business, to be able to lead and manage it successfully.
If you are successful in building the business, overflow of cash will be available for you, and then, your trip to Europe will be easier.
8. Start Teaching in a remote School or a Federal level to save more
Almost all dream in life involves money, even to sleep in your own bed involves money because you have to pay house rent before you may be allowed to keep your bed in the room in the first place.
You may be stranded of ideas to use in raising money for your trip of a nearer future. You don’t want to steal, especially here in Nigeria where jungle justice is rampant. You also didn’t want to dupe people, because you have a good name to protect, why not try a teaching line if you are qualified for teaching?
Through teaching, depending on your salary, will be able to raise some amounts of money to travel to Europe. However, savings involves a lot of discipline. Always remind yourself of how important the trip is to you, and this will burn out your greediness to none saving habit.
9. Ask your Family Members for Some Help
Especially in a large family where you have a great number of brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties that are always ready to help you. Come to think of it, is this not a cool business? As one of the lately born kids in the family, you can actually take advantage of your rich siblings and relatives to raise money for your trip.
I am not teaching you how to become a professional beggar, in fact, this option should be the last after you must have exhausted all other options you have.
You may ask your siblings for help and relatives some specific amount of cash per month. Depending on the cost of your European trip. Don’t be a spendthrift, always save as supposed, eat well but don’t eat beyond your limits until you achieve your goals.
Bonus points
No matter what, ensure that the reason that is taking you to Europe is very important and relevant. Don’t waste your money in the name of travel to Europe just to show off.
There are many reasons why people travel abroad. Some so for business purposes some for relaxation with family, some do for conferences and meetings that will benefit them in return. These are the reasons why people travel.
It is obvious that people don’t know how to save to achieve a specific purpose in life if you are lucky to see this article, it is a sure strategy to use for the achievement of your purpose in life.
Remember, these strategies can be applied to achieve other goals in life.