It is a New Year and a “New You.”
Most people say they want to travel more.
Yet, a lot of people are talking about the same travel goals this year as they were this time last year.
We are in a pandemic, but I think people can accomplish their travel goals more than they know.
I want you to travel more.
I think you don’t have to spend a lot of money doing it either.
The mission of this blog is to spend as little on travel as possible, whether using points or other budget tricks.
If money were no object, wouldn’t we all be jetting off to our next big international destination frequently?
Why should you not be jetting off to your next vacation or small trip for pennies or nothing?
The key to doing this is setting goals.
You can call them resolutions or goals.
I prefer goals.
People who set goals accomplish their dreams more than people who don’t.
Even when it is not a New Year, I have travel goals.
Goals (whether travel, money, parenting, etc.) move you toward accomplishing your dreams again.
Even if you don’t get there as quickly as you want, you get there.
I don’t get to my travel goals as quickly as I plan, but I get there.
Here is how you can set travel goals and accomplish all your travel dreams, both small and large.
I want you out traveling more again.
I don’t want you just talking about travel like a lot of people do.
So, read this post, and set your travel goals today.
Again, people who set goals accomplish things at a higher rate than people who don’t.
Two Types Of Goals
In order to set your goals, know there are two types of goals:
- long-term goals
- short-term goals
Long-term goals are your big goals for 6 months or a year.
Many people set travel goals bigger than a year though.
You can do that too, but have a long-term goal for the year too.
Next, short-term goals are your goals for the week or month.
These are the here and now
I find short-term goals fun.
Why?
These are the goals that you can do now (within a week or month again).
For instance, if you live in Washington, D.C. and have never been to Philadelphia (3 hours away), that could be your goal.
By the end of the month, you could easily knock that off your list.
Good short-term goals to accomplish are:
- road trips
- day trips
- trips to attractions in your state like a National Park
- domestic flights
Most road trips only require gas and lodging cost if you have reliable transportation.
What travel goals do you want to accomplish this week or month?
Get Started Setting Your Goals Today
I want you to accomplish your travel goals again, so here is how to set them.
A lot of people talk about the same travel goals for years.
I have a friend who lives in D.C, who says she wants to visit Boston.
She has never been there.
She has been saying this for years.
Now, in all honestly, this may not be important to her, and she could just be talking.
Boston is 8 hours away from D.C.
It is not as close as New York City, but not the other side of the world either.
I drove to New Orleans, 6 hour away, in May 2021 (last year now that we are in 2022).
Without my mom’s knee surgery, I would have probably had a second trip to NOLA (New Orlean’s nickname) by now.
So, within a year, I would have been to New Orleans twice.
This only cost me gas and a hotel.
I think people can spend years talking about travel again.
I don’t want you to do that.
After you read this post, I want you to have a plan to accomplish both your small and big travel goals.
Here are the steps to start:
Step 1: Write down both your short-term and long-term goals
You don’t have to write down your goals, but I think it will help.
I just put mine in Google Keep.
You can use similar apps like Evernote.
No one can stop me from using my simple Google Keep!
I don’t care if those other note taking apps are more popular.
Step 2: Set A Time Frame
All goals must have a time frame.
Otherwise, you will just mean one day, which could be years.
For example, a short-term goal (within a month) could be a road trip by the end of the month.
Even if it takes an extra month or so, setting a time frame will get you there.
I am never on time for a lot of my travel goals.
I usually am a month off.
I accomplish my goals though.
Step 3: Make Sure Your Goals Are SMART
Everyone has heard of SMART goals.
This stands for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
Make sure your goals meet all of these traits.
Step 4: Have a Plan To Start Today
After you read this post, have a plan for how you will start at least your short-term goals today.
For example, “by the end of the month I will visit X place on a road trip.”
Again, if you don’t get to your goals in the time frame you set, it is ok.
You will get there.
My Short-Term Goals
To give you an example of how this works, I will use my goals for this year.
I am imperfect (always behind schedule), so I think this will inspire you.
I always get to my goal though, and you can too.
It is a lot of fun too.
Travel is a leisure activity.
It is not like that report on your desk that has to be completed.
Your travel goals are relaxing.
As for my short-term travel goals, if you follow the blog on social media, you probably know I want to fly twice a month.
That means every other week.
This looks easy enough.
I said I would start in December and didn’t.
I have two other businesses and a full time job.
I am aiming for January, but if I am still off, it is ok.
That is the fun thing about travel goals again.
No big deal if you don’t do things when you plan, you do them.
You see people who don’t set goals, usually don’t do anything.
It may be March before I get to my goal, but I will get there.
Many people say they will do things one day.
One day could be years later or never.
My second short-term goal is to travel every week as a blogger (including flying twice a month mentioned earlier).
I am moving slowly with this one.
In November, I took back to back trips in my own state.
One of the trips was to a major attraction an hour away.
Imagine, I had never been to this attraction an hour away.
Anything new is a lot of fun, even in your own state.
It was a day trip that only cost gas too.
My Long-Term Goal For The Year: Cover Continents
I know people can set goals bigger than a year again.
Feel free to include those again when you write your goals down.
I like to have a big goal for the year though too.
This year, I want to cover all the continents I have never been to except Antarctica.
I only have three remaining: South America, Asia, and Australia.
I have been to Europe, Africa, and of course we live in North America,.
I lived in Africa as a study abroad student, so I had been to several countries in Southern Africa.
That was a long time ago though.
I only got into points and miles in 2015.
Before that I was not traveling even to visit friends yearly in New York like I usually did a couple times a year for a very long time.
I lived in New York City for almost a decade.
I still have not been to West and North Africa though.
I have been to Canada, but not Mexico or the Caribbean.
Since the Caribbean and Mexico are easy to get to, I would like to take a 2-3 trip to both of those this year too.
That is a smaller goal to get to by the end of the year.
As you can see, my big goals are all international.
As usual, you should prioritize international travel.
It is what points are made for.
Small international trips that do not require crossing an ocean like mine (Mexico and Canada) can be done quickly.
Of course, with omicron, who knows what will happen, but those were my long-term goals for the year.
Conclusion
Goals are like the wheels on your car.
They get you to your destination and keep you going in the right direction.
Many people say they want to travel more, but they have the same travel goals as they did this time last year.
I understand.
Life is happening around everyone.
I am not trying to be critical.
I want you to accomplish your travel goals, so I wrote this post.
I like to travel frequently and think you can too.
Frequency can mean different things to different people.
For someone who takes 1-2 vacations a year, that could be a third vacation.
For others, that could mean traveling a couple times a month.
You decide.
Travel is about you and what you want.
Again, travel is also something fun, so if you are off on the time frame to accomplish your goals, it is ok again.
I feel no guilt that I did not get to my goal to fly twice a month in December.
Even it is March before I get to my two flights per month again, I got there.
That is the point of setting goals.
You get somewhere.
I want you to accomplish your travel dreams again.
Go out today, and set your short-term and long-term goals.
Make sure to do something today.
I would love to hear everyone’s travel goals
Leave them in the comment’s section.
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