ILP Blog

Try This 52 Week Challenge To Save Up $1,000

Written by Emily Henkel | 8/8/17 6:41 PM

Wondering how to save up for your semester with ILP? We’ve got lots of options to help you pay for your adventure — here’s another way that might work great for you, especially if you applied in advance! 

If you are wondering how to pay for a semester abroad (like maybe your trip with ILP!) you are in the right place. We have lots and lots of money tips(like this free guide to Affording A Semester Abroad). One way to make saving a lot easier is to follow a schedule for a whole year; it’s easy to stick to and means you’ll know exactly how much to save each week. At the end of the year, you’ll have saved over $1,000! 

Interested? All you have to do is follow these steps:

Step 1: Apply Early for Be An ILP Volunteer 

You can apply up to 1.5 years in advance for a semester abroad with International Language Programs. One of the big perks of applying early is that you have even more time to save up for your trip.

This challenge works best if you can save for a year, but if you can save for a year and a half then you can raise up to $2,067!

Wondering why else you should apply early? We’ve got more info right here.

Step 2: Stick To The Schedule

This schedule makes saving a lot of money really, really easy.  We recommend opening up a separate savings account and just transferring money over each week until you hit your goal. That way, you can see your bank account grow and you won’t be tempted to spend the money on something else.

Oh, and feel free to adapt this schedule — if you want to save more one week so you can spend a little more on your birthday week, that’s up to you! Here’s a chart to help keep you on track:



Step 3: Fundraise The Rest! 

By following that schedule, you'll have a good start on your ILP program fee and would be able to fundraise the rest to fill in the blanks. We’ve had volunteers with lots of success fundraising some (or even all) or their program fee.

You could try out restaurant fundraising, making a website, or sending around a letter. Just asking friends and family might be enough to push you over the edge and make your goal.



You can make a semester living abroad really happen 
 
And ILP is here to help. There are even discounts you can get by traveling with a friend, or being flexible about what country you want to make a difference in.  Want to know more about where you can go and how to make that happen? Come chat with an ILP Representative!