From collecting cans to holiday funds, Aussie cruisers share their cost of living savings tips

• Australians are continuing to experience a cost of living crisis, with inflation rising to 4.6%.
• This makes saving up for holidays important, and many cruisers are turning to new methods.
• From can collecting to strict budgeting, here’s what Aussies are doing to be able to afford their cruises.

Many Aussies currently feel that they’re experiencing a cost of living crisis. Economists have forecasted that if the situation in the Middle East continues, Australia could see its lowest economic growth since the early 90s. 

This will lead to a drop in real wages and steep increases in essential costs such as fuel and everyday groceries. 

When things get tight, holidays are often the first luxuries that have to make way. However, Aussies love their holidays, especially cruisers, and will generally do what they have to do to make sure there’s enough wiggle room in their budget to still go away at least once a year.

Recently, in Carnival Australia Cruise Forum, an online Facebook group, cruisers were asked what they do to save up for their cruises, even as cost of living pressures mount.

A bunch of Aussies offered answers for how they work to put aside enough money to make sure they can get on their favourite cruise when the time comes around.

Jill Botterill shared a budgeting tip she saw online: “I saw another post a few weeks ago where someone worked out their budget by months, assuming there were four weeks per month, rather than 52 weeks per year, then for every months that has extra days, all those extra days go straight into a cruise fund, I thought that was quite snazzy!”

Ronda Harman shared a more old fashioned way of saving up that she employs: “I just pick up cans while out for daily walks, there’s a 10c refund on cans and bottles in some states. Then I walk over to the depot once a month. I get about $10 a month, it’s not much but it adds up when combined with other things and I’m walking anyway.”

Sue Thiele shared her unique way to save that she’s been doing for 17 years now: “I gave up smoking 17 years ago, so I used to book a cruise for hubby and myself and pay off each week what I would have spent in smokes that way I couldn’t afford to do back to smoking. 

Other cruisers such as Joe Hargans simply opt for good old-fashioned budgeting.

“I book two years out, once I book I make up a spreadsheet for expenditures like flights, car parking, accommodation, insurance, internet, onboard credit, tipping etc and then I work out how much it will roughly or cost and from there, how much I will need to save per month.”

Others said they’re opting for more home cooking to save money. Robert Stansfield said: “We don’t go out for many meals or drinks and we don’t get takeaways. All of those can start to really add up.”

Another cruiser added that they have a dedicated holiday fund, “My holiday fund of $400 comes out of my wage every fortnight. Sometimes I will then get a credit card with a minimum spend to get frequent flyer points to pay for the cruise. The holiday fund then pays the card off.”

For cruiser Ko Abau, it’s more about finding cheap fares.

“Being able to book and travel at short notice on cruises that haven’t sold all the rooms is a great way to save. Same for bringing on allowed drinks and ordering drinks online through the hub to be delivered to your room saves money instead of buying an expensive drinks package if you don’t drink much or any alcohol.”

These were just some of the answers that cruisers shared, with Aussies all around the country finding their own penny pinching ways to make sure they still get some days at sea each year.

What about you? What do you do to save up for your cruises and other holidays?