How to travel more without going broke or getting fired

It will not come to a surprise to anyone that I love to travel. As a travel writer by profession, this is probably something you’d expect. There is something about being away from home and the daily grind—whether it’s on a weekend trip to the nearby Oregon coast or a 6-week backpacking trip through the jungles of Panama—that invigorates my senses, wakes me up to new experiences and satisfies my desire for adventure. It’s not that I do not enjoy hanging out in my beautiful hometown of Portland, Oregon, it’s just that I feel most alive when I’m on the road discovering new things and opening myself up to the possibility of the unknown.

Unfortunately, work and finances prevents me from gallivanting the globe on long term trips (not yet at least), so sometimes I am forced to get a little more creative with ways to get away without a) breaking the bank and b) losing my job. Weekend getaways are a great way to satiate your travel bug, while still remaining gainfully employed and with money in your bank account.

Especially with summer here, now is the perfect time to think about weekend trips where you can get away from home, unwind, enjoy the warm weather and forget about responsibilities of home for awhile (without spending much money). Here in the Pacific Northwest, this will mean weekend road trips to the coast and mountains, camping trips in the Cascades and maybe even a rafting trip down the Rogue River.

My mother was definitely the one who instilled a love of travel in me from an early age. Growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, her weekend trips as a child usually involved heading to the beach in the summer and to the Pennsylvania mountains for skiing in the winter. With so many great little beachy hotels in Virginia Beach (and a great beach), it is no wonder this was a favorite weekend getaway spot for my mom and my grandparents when she was growing up.

Another great way to make more weekend trips is to take cheaper trips. This means staying in hostels, cutting down food budgets and finding ways to save. If you spend less on each vacation, you’ll have more money in the bank for the next trip. Whether you are new to hostels or their old hat, reading up on the hostel blog can help you not only find a hostel, but also what to expect (for example: did you know more and more hostels are offering private beds or want to know the most notorious hostels in Europe?).

Until the day I either win the lottery, discover gold, or marry a multi-millionaire I will continue to scheme up ways of saving on each and every trip and how to get out and hit the road as often as possible.