How to set a travel budget with a partner

Jordy and Logan had one big goal: a long-awaited overseas trip that combined family reunion and adventure.
With very different spending habits, they needed a strategy and found it in a simple but powerful exercise.
By making their goal visible and sticking to a plan, they discovered that motivation and teamwork can make saving not only possible but rewarding.

Saving for a big goal is rarely easy, especially when your partner’s spending style is the opposite of yours. But with a plan (and a vision board), Jordy and Logan proved that small changes can take you all the way to your dream destination.

One dream, two saving styles

Like many couples, Jordy and Logan’s relationship is a balance of opposites. Jordy admits he’s a spender at heart – the kind who heads out for coffee and comes back with shoes. Logan, on the other hand, is the saver – more likely to say no to impulse buys in favour of building a buffer.

Their shared goal? A three-and-a-half-week trip to the US and Colombia, offering a chance for Jordy to reunite with family he hadn’t seen in a decade and for both of them to create unforgettable memories together. But getting there meant finding a middle ground between their different money personalities.

The challenge: turn saving into something tangible

The couple decided on a strategy that was as simple as it was effective: get specific about the cost, set a timeline and use visual cues to stay motivated.

So, Jordy and Logan built a spreadsheet to track expenses and, just as importantly, created a vision board filled with photos of New York skylines, Colombian landscapes and family faces.

"Every time we’re tempted to spend," Logan says, "we focus on the vision." For Jordy, seeing those images daily shifted saving from a chore into something motivating: a reminder of the bigger reward waiting on the other side.

The couple created a vision board to help motivate them to save for the trip.

What was easy, what was hard

For Logan, the budgeting side came naturally. But for Jordy, cutting back on everyday spending was the real challenge. "I would buy everything," he laughed, recalling his usual shopping habits. Still, the vision board helped keep him grounded.

Instead of feeling deprived, he began to see small sacrifices, like not buying a new shirt, as steps closer to hugging his dad and sharing adventures abroad. As Jordy put it, "It actually became a beautiful thing to look at."

The results and the lessons

By the time their holiday rolled around, the couple had not only stuck to their budget but enjoyed the trip of a lifetime. From meeting family to exploring new cities together, every moment felt richer knowing the effort it took to get there.

"Now we’re even more prepared for the next trip," says Logan. Jordy and Logan’s story proved that when you break it down into small, visible steps, even the biggest dreams are achievable.

Their saving paid off, with Jordy and Logan enjoying the trip of a lifetime.

To learn more about Jordy and Logan's story, stream The Brighter Side on 10.

Published: 17 March 2026