Students - how to you finance your trips?

[Tabitha]

I mostly use student loans. I share a house with two roommates, and we split the cost equally between us, which saves a lot of money. He travels here most of the time though. His parents pay for his trips.

[paulawriteslove]

I have a part-time job and use my student discount

[princessmeg1328]

At the beginning of the semester, I figure out how much I should make every month from my on campus part time job and approximately how much the ticket will cost. Then I figure out how much I need to save every month in order to get to that estimate. Every time I get paid, I automatically withdraw that amount and put it in my debit account that I don't use for anything else.

[OliveOyl]

well as a student my availability for work SUCKS! so jobs are hard to come by! So I basically buy my plane ticket in advance, take a bus across the US/Mexico Border which drops passengers off at the airport!) This saves at least a couple hundred US dollars (domestic MX flight as opposed to flying internationally). I buy my ticket as soooon as I get Financial Aid, which forces me to live on a budget. I quit "wasting" my money, buying things I dont really need. Would recommend staying away from target. I am taking a lot of classes! And getting involved in extracurricular activities (which means im bored less often & therefore spend less). And I bought a piggy bank!! using the bank is toooo easy to withdrawl cash, so I bought a piggy bank! SO i put my money in there and forget whats in it!! sometimes ill put 10-20 bucks in there, otherwise i dump all my change in there at the end of the day. I am also looking for part-time work, babysitting, etc. But, thats hard too when your a student because parents dont tend to trust you with a kid. lol just basically have to budget yourself and stick to it especially when you are on a fixed income like myself!

[Sunbeam]

I have an on campus job and a one-weekend-a-month job (that pays well) and all my money from my weekend job goes to traveling and half on my on-campus paycheck goes to traveling, the other half goes to necessities only, with any extra money for the pay period going to travel.
I also save any and all holiday money I get.
Any excess student loan money will be split between books and leftovers from that goes to traveling.
Also, textbook buyback padded out my bank account for my visit with my S.O. in July.

[hillke]

Well, I have a part time job during the school year (last summer I had a job, this summer was not so lucky) but basically what happens is that I rack up credit card debt and then pay it all off when I get my refund from my scholarships each semester. Right now things are particularly tight as
1) no summer job
2) spent the whole school year paying for a trip to Scotland and Ireland with choir
3) then went on the trip and had to buy things

sooo I've become a pro at searching every single site for airline prices and then snagging a really cheap flight.

[chwdg10]

I usually do a mock budget when I'm planning my trip. This gives me an idea of how much money I'll need to save up by time my trip comes around. Then I try all sorts of discounts to get the best deal (insurance company discount, student discount, etc). And sometimes my SO and I will split the cost.

[Laura_N]

Here in Finland it's very difficult for students (especially to those who haven't graduated at all yet/aren't studying for a certain career) to get a job. I'd like to do a part time job, but honestly, there's none that I could do with my current studies - I'm also having important final exams coming up so I couldn't do anything that took too much time. I have considered offering to help children with their homework or babysit or take dogs out etc. but if anyone has any other ideas when it comes to saving money, I'd be really thankful. I don't spend much money but I do pay my dormitory rent, food and all my study fees by myself, so there's not much left at the end of the month from my small student allowance. :/

[Madge]

I am lucky enough to have a job where they give me hours when I come back after seeing my SO I see my SO twice a year but each time is quite long (7 weeks this time and 12 weeks coming up).

I also don't really go out and have started to bike everywhere instead of taking my car.

[CanadianGirl]

My trips average about $650 - 750 (including travel, food and any fun things we decide to do together). Pretty good for 2-4 weeks in Cali with my honeybunny. I tutor on the side as much as I can and penny-pinch in general. I typically qualify for grant money from the government, so that's useful. It's hard to find a job that works out with my study/fitness/social schedule, but I do what I can.

[lovemnmz]

>.> oh so im not the only one who uses scholarship money or grants to finance my splurges lol Yea my recent visit to see my SO was financed to the left over of my scholarship...im waiting to have lots of money left over so I can go again this winter XD

[mickey's bird]

I went to school in Europe and to travel back and forth between the Europe and the US, I used STA travel. While in Europe, I used the budget airlines and the bus.

[Sora1101]

I save every penny I get be it birthday money or money for clothes or food, I don't get lunches at school, I don't buy new clothes, I hardly do any activity that costs money, I see it as a much needed sacrifice, I could care less about new clothes or anything the thing I want most in this world is to be with my SO and if I have to be very tight with my money so be it.

[Haley53]

I'm pretty tight with money. I tutor, have tutored for several years. When it brings in $50-$60 an hour, and you have satisfied and returning references, it's incredibly worth it. The issue is that it's not a stable occupation. When I don't have students, I penny pinch and do work for my mother. I will soon have my licence and a car, however, which will mean a job and therefore, more stable income.

[nic&matt]

A job. Is there any way else haha?
Two part time jobs for me and a full time job (only during the summer) for my SO
My parents don't pay anything and my SO parents fly him back only during holidays or long breaks but I see him then also!