Today’s young generation is often stereotyped as struggling to save money simply because they frequently travel and indulge in trendy coffee purchases. In reality, saving and spending on small pleasures can coexist without one having to be sacrificed for the other. Many personal finance tips often repeat the same advice: cut back on expensive coffee. The idea is, if you avoid spending Rp50,000 on coffee every day, you could save up to Rp1.5 million per month or Rp18 million per year. But if you truly can’t give up your coffee habit, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy your favorite things while saving at the same time. The real issue when it comes to saving for travel or any financial goal isn’t the lack of money to set aside — it’s how wisely we manage and spend what we already have.

Ramit Sethi, a renowned financial advisor, explains in his New York Times bestseller I Will Teach You to Be Rich how young professionals should structure their finances.
His suggestion is not about saving as much as possible, but about finding a balance between your lifestyle and finances so that you always have the funds to do the things you enjoy. The heart of his spending system is actually simple: take time to allocate your money first so you only spend what’s already available in your bank account. This trick helps you focus on how to spend wisely, rather than regretting your spending afterward.

Tips for Saving Toward Travel

1. Limiting expenses vs. prioritizing your interests
Many people who aggressively save tend to live under tough conditions during the process. But this approach is neither realistic nor sustainable for most people. You shouldn’t live in misery just to afford a trip, only to regret spending everything afterward. Instead of cutting everything out, focus on spending money on things you truly enjoy. Make room for more of what you love, which naturally reduces space for what you don’t.

Start by writing down your monthly expenses. Use a piece of paper or open a digital document and list everything you spend monthly, along with the amounts. Then, separate high-priority and low-priority spending into two different lists. This will reveal your daily spending patterns.

2. A spending plan that supports your saving goals
Once you know where your money goes each month, you can start making adjustments. Use the guideline below and compare it to your current habits. Ideally, necessities like rent, bills, groceries, loan payments, and other basics should take up about 50% of your net income. If you’re spending more than that, you may need to adjust your lifestyle. If less, that’s great — you have more flexibility.

Your lifestyle spending should be about 20–30% of your take-home pay. Likewise, your travel savings should range from 20–30%. If you want to reduce savings to 10% to allow more lifestyle spending, that’s okay — just be prepared to save longer. It all depends on your goals.

At the start of each month, pay rent, credit card bills, and transfer money into savings. Whatever remains in your account after those essentials is what you can use for the month. You can safely spend it all because you’ve already handled your priorities. Go back to your priority list and decide how much you’ll spend on each category. Be sure to set aside some funds for unexpected daily expenses too.

3. Save even while traveling
Once you've reached your travel savings goal, don’t treat it as an excuse to splurge. The same financial principles still apply. Stick to a structured plan and decide how much you’ll spend on each part of your trip.

Prices for food and lodging vary by country, so you need to factor that in. Sometimes, depending on where you travel, it may work in your favor. For instance, if you set a daily budget of Rp500,000 in Thailand, calculate all your costs ahead of time, allocate funds accordingly, and use the rest as you see fit.

If there are things you absolutely want to enjoy — like trying street food or sipping a Rp50,000 coffee — include them in your travel spending plan from the start. Following this plan while traveling ensures you don’t feel deprived; you enjoy everything you want and spend with intention. It all comes down to deciding ahead of time where your money should go.