So often I am asked how I can afford to travel so much. Or when not asked, people make the silly assumption that I come from a ridiculously wealthy family (which I can assure you is not the case). When really scrutinized, being able to travel often comes down to two things, a desire and wait-for-it … common sense! When saving up for a trip, your every day actions can and will affect your ability to save up. So where do you start? For me, the usual process is as follows: 1. Choose your next destination! 2. Research, research, research. You need to gain an idea of how much getting there will cost, living expenses and what the exchange rate is like. 3. Once you’ve grasped a fairly good idea of what money is like at your desired destination, it’s time to figure out how much money you’ll need for your time away. 4. Once you’ve figured out how much you need for your time away, you need to sit down and make a budget. Look at how much you earn in a month, detract money for rent, bills, food, petrol etc. Whatever you have leftover at the end of each month can be split between savings for your upcoming trip and money for yourself at home. Quite a lot of the time when I’ve been saving up to travel, I’d leave myself with $20 per week for myself. It was hard, but it is 100% worth it once you step foot on your new adventure! Work hard, play hard. Whilst saving money plays a big part in affording to travel, there are also other ins and outs that are worth knowing about to minimize costs whilst abroad. When going abroad you don’t want to be spending a large portion of your money on the airfare. Planes are your mode of transportation for getting you from point A to point B. If you can save $700 by going on a budget airline, that means an extra $700 for yourself while you travel. There are lots of travel websites out there, the one that I use in Australia is https://www.jetabroad.com.au/ When flying in different countries, it’s important that you research the best flight search engines, and cheaper airlines. For example, when flying domestically in Australia, I usually stick to Tiger Airways. When flying around Asia Air Asia, China Southern and China Eastern offer cheap flights. RyanAir offers cheap flights around the UK and Europe. United Airlines and Southwest are airlines that offer cheap flights around North America. Following other search engines like SkyScanner and Kayak can also be useful in comparing prices of flights. In terms of accommodation, there is an array of websites available, making affordable accommodation only a click away. Some websites that I like are hostelbookers, airbnb and couchsurfing. All three websites offer cheap (and free) accommodation to suit almost every kind of traveller. Once at your selected destination. Some of the best ways to save money include, using the public transport instead of taxi’s and buying and cooking your own food from supermarkets rather than eating out. When I travel I am always reminded of how important it is to keep fit as well. If you’re able to walk long distances for long periods of time you can save a lot of money! I hope this post has been helpful. It’s also important to remember that there is no shame in going without when you are saving to travel. I’ve never had nice TV’s, DVD players or clothes; I’d rather spend that money overseas. Happy Travelling! Kachina. Also, I am very pleased to announce that the Gallery has published! So feel free to have a sticky-beak 🙂
