HOW TO TRAVEL MORE WITH YOUR 9-5!

Not all jobs are created equal, with the same schedules, benefits or perks, but one way to travel more, even with a 9-5 career, is being FLEXIBLE and CREATIVE!

Who said everyone had to be an influencer to travel the world?

Here are some tips to help you with creating a plan to maximize your travels even with a job!

Weekend Trips:

One of the ways I was able to travel a lot as a full-time employee and graduate student was by extending my weekends to take more vacations with less PTO. At that time, I was limited to about two (2) weeks of vacation time and two (2) weeks of sick time, all paid time off. A perfect scenario would be around holiday weekends where you are given Friday off or Monday off. You could consider extending your trip by taking off the Thursday before the holiday or the Tuesday after the holiday, which would make for a great five (5) day trip.

Travel Fund:

Of course, travel costs money and this is an important step to setting yourself up financially to begin traveling without debt. Automatic travel fund contributions are CLUTCH! You can begin trying to put aside $50 - $100 or whatever your budget allows, every payday automatically with your employer to a separate travel savings account earmarked for travel only. This helps to ease some of the burden and hassle of always trying to come up with money on the spot, when you want to take a trip. As you have the ability to earn more, you’ll be able to eventually begin increasing your contributions, which would allow you to increase your travels! Don’t worry if you’re only able to take smaller trips compared to everyone on Instagram, at least you’re doing what you can and what you can afford!

Remote Work:

This is NOT something new, but it has gotten more popular since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one of the caveats to remote work is many companies do have certain stipulations that you need to ensure you’re aware of, before you attempt to take your laptop and work from another state or country. Work From Home ≠ Remote or ≠ Work From Anywhere. I would advise reading your employee handbook to understand the terms of your employment regarding what is allowed or obtain guidance from the appropriate individuals. If you are able to work remotely, this is an amazing way to leverage traveling more, while still completing your work responsibilities.

Flying to Costa Rica on Frontier Airlines

Price $120 USD Roundtrip - Nonstop

Budget Airlines:

Don’t sleep on budget airlines as a 9-5 traveler and even if you don’t work a 9-5, there could be a way to incorporate them into your travel strategy. Think about it, if you save on airfare? You can use your money to upgrade to a nicer hotel or book that dope excursion! It’s all about strategy on maximizing your coins to travel more. This may not be your primary travel strategy, but be open to it if a good deal pops up.

Red Eye Flights:

One of my favorite ways to fly to save money is by taking red eye flights, especially for certain domestic trips since you leave late at night and arrive the next day. This travel hack has saved me tons of money over the years and it’s one that many people don’t speak about. Consider taking red eye flights to maximize your time at a destination without taking an extra PTO day. Of course you won’t do this every time you travel, but I do believe if you’re willing and can make it work, it’s a great hack for 9-5’s who do have a flexible work schedule.

Learn more about Red Eye Flights here.

PTO Planning:

As the Type A person that I am, I highly recommend planning out your PTO and it was something that I always did. For anyone who works a 9-5, planning out your PTO in advance is important if you are trying to maximize your vacation time and allow for proper approvals to be granted for your requests (but we know, PTO means Prepare The Others). A perfect way to plan out your PTO is by reviewing your company’s holiday calendar at the beginning of each year and mapping out some general times you would like to take off, while still allowing room for flexibility for flight deals that may pop up! You can then choose to stack your holiday time off with your PTO days!

It is important to know and understand various ways to get around the constraints of traveling with a 9-5 career. It’ll take some work but it’s certainly not impossible to take multiple vacations, while securing the bag!