I Traveled Europe After Saving All the Tips from My Waitress Job—It Was Worth Working 12 Hours a Day

A waitress worked tirelessly for three months to finance a European tour, which was funded solely on her tips.

Hannah Davis, 22, from Lexington Park, Maryland, saved nearly $4,000 in tips and spent it all on a solo vacation through Europe.

The travel enthusiast worked the longest shifts possible to make her dream come true – and thanks to her hard work, she managed to visit six countries in Europe.

She started her European tour in Greece, before heading to Austria, Italy, Malta, Cyprus and finally Spain.

To keep all her tips contained, Hannah kept them all in a glass jar, sometimes adding hundreds of dollars worth of tips at a time.

When the jar was full, Hannah took her trusty hammer to the container and made her way to the money.

Hannah said: ‘It took me three months of saving to make the trip possible. I worked full time and saved almost everything I made for the holidays.

“I worked 12-hour shifts all summer, Wednesday through Sunday, and I made sure I didn’t spend on anything other than necessities.”

Hannah had always wanted to visit Europe and decided it was time to take the plunge and do everything she could to make her dream a reality.

Over the next few months, the waitress worked long hours at her seafood restaurant, sacrificing many nights out with her friends.

To her surprise, through her hard work, she had saved over $3,800, easily covering her flights to and from Europe, which cost a total of $750.

She was ecstatic about her trip and couldn’t wait to get started – and she still had about $3,000 left to spend – on tips alone.

During her trip, Hannah managed to stick to a strict budget by staying in cheap hostels, cooking her own food and sticking to buses instead of trains.

Hannah managed to save almost $4,000 in tips and spent the entire amount on a European vacation alone

She started her European tour in Greece, before heading to Austria, Italy, Malta, Cyprus and finally Spain (pictured in Austria)

Once the jar was full, Hannah took her trusty hammer to the container and made her way to the money

Despite sticking to a tight budget, Hannah had loads of fun on her holiday, with lots of sightseeing, sunbathing and new friends.

Hannah’s TikToks about the ‘tip jar’ and her European tour have been viewed millions of times and she wants to show people that you don’t have to be rich to travel the world.

Now she has already started saving for a new trip through Europe with a brand new tip jar.

She said: ‘I had been planning to travel after graduation for a while, but it wasn’t until I started saving that I realized I needed to be able to visualize my progress.

‘I decided to look for a piggy bank that was transparent, but couldn’t be opened at all, so I couldn’t take any money out. It was a way to keep me on track.

To keep all her tips contained, Hannah kept them all in a glass jar, sometimes adding hundreds of dollars worth of tips at a time.

To her surprise, she had collected over $3,800 from her hard work, which easily covered her flights to and from Europe, which cost a total of $750.

During her trip, Hannah managed to stick to a strict budget by staying in cheap hostels, cooking her own food and sticking to buses instead of trains.

Hannah’s trip was done on a budget, she stayed in hostels, took the bus instead of flying and cooked meals in hostels

Despite being on a tight budget, Hannah had loads of fun on her holiday, with lots of sightseeing, sunbathing and new friends

Now Hannah has already started saving for a new trip through Europe with a brand new tip jar

‘I made sure I only spent money on necessary things. I stopped eating out with friends, stopped spending money at bars, and limited all shopping unless I absolutely needed something.

‘Every moment of my journey is cherished. I have dreamed of traveling all my life and to be able to work on this dream and succeed was so special to me. I had the time of my life and I hope to make another big trip as soon as possible.

‘The trip consisted of sightseeing, chasing the sun and the sea, making connections with people from all over the world and having experiences that changed my life. It was definitely worth all the work.

‘This trip was done on a budget, I stayed in hostels, took the bus instead of flying, sometimes cooked meals in hostels and generally made it as budget-friendly as I could.

‘I used to think that travel, especially big trips like mine, was an impossible dream, and that it was only possible for rich people. Although money is needed for these kinds of big trips, it is entirely possible for anyone to do this, as long as they work on their dreams.’