Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to earn more money. And if that doesn't appeal to you, just come home. It's better to have six months travel-
ing the world than no months traveling the world. As the saying goes, “Don't put off to tomorrow what you
can do today.”
How to Save for Your Trip
I remember when I began saving for my first trip around the world. I had a rough estimate of how much
money I would need ($16,000 USD) and thought, “Whoa. How will I ever save that much?” It seemed like
an impossible number to reach. But after writing out all my expenses and seeing where I spent money, I
realized that if I made a few changes to my lifestyle, I could save that much. I still had a job, so all I needed
to do was cut my expenses and watch my savings grow.
The first thing I did was draw up a list of all my expenses—from rent to car payments to the movies I
saw on a weekly basis. After all, you can't know what you need to cut if you don't know where you are
spending money. You'll be surprised at how many little things drain your money slowly without you ever
noticing it.
At the start of this chapter, you wrote down all your set expenses and all your discretionary spending.
Take another look. You can't cut down expenses without knowing what you spend money on. Here are some
proven methods for reducing your expenses and increasing your travel fund:
Eat In:
Eating out is one of your biggest expenses and the easiest of low-hanging fruit to
pick. Instead of having $10 USD lunches and $20 USD dinners, brown-bag it to work and
cook dinner at night. When I saved for my trip, I spent $70 USD per week on groceries. I
cooked once for dinner and had leftovers the next day. Sure, cooking can be intimidating,
as not all of us are Julia Child in the kitchen. However, I found learning cooking was an
invaluable skill, not only because it saved me money before my trip, but because it's also
one of the easiest ways to cut down your expenses when you travel.
Cut the Coffee:
Love your Starbucks? Well, Starbucks loves your money. Coffee is the
little thing that quietly drains your bank account without you ever noticing. That daily cof-
fee costs you $60 per month ($2 for a coffee). At $720 USD per year, that's a lot of money.
What's more important—your daily cup of joe or getting to spend an extra month on the
beaches of Thailand or exploring the jungles of Borneo in Malaysia? Give up the coffee or
switch from the cappuccino to a standard brew, move to tea, or brew your own cup. Fol-
ger's might not taste as delicious as a Venti triple mocha latte with whipped cream from
Starbucks, but it's a lot cheaper.
Drink Less:
It may not be appealing to spend your nights indoors and not out with your
friends, but spending money out can be an even bigger drain than coffee. Before I went trav-
eling, I'd go out on the weekends with my friends to places where drinks could cost around
$5 USD. I enjoyed going out with my friends, but those drinks really add up. Since I can't
nurse one drink, I simply stayed home. It wasn't fun staying in while my friends were out
on the weekends, but that year of semi-solitude paid off greatly, as I had more money to en-
joy the food in Europe. But if you are stronger than me, go out but cut down on the drinks.
Lose the Car:
Cars cost a lot of money, between insurance, repairs, and filling your tank
with gas. If you can, get rid of yours. Learn to love the bus or subway, or walk. It took me
