How to Save for Extended Travel
One of the reasons that people tend to avoid long term travel is because they think it is expensive and feel they will never save enough for a trip. That is not true. Despite popular opinion, travel doesn't have to cost a fortune. People think you need to be rich because they see advertisements for expensive vacations and assume all travel is like that. But it isn’t. In fact, travel can be quit cheap. You can travel around the world for under $15,000 dollars for one year of travel. If you only visit cheap countries, you can do it for even less.
$15,000 dollars sounds like a lot of money right? Sure it is but in terms of living off just that for one year, it’s quite reasonable. You probably spend more than that already. It also sounds impossible to save but you’re wrong again. It is not impossible since there are many ways to save money during the year. It simply requires persistence and making saving money a habit and priority.
$15,000 dollars is about $1,200 dollars per month, which is a lot but perfectly doable if you restrict you’re spending and cut your bills. In order to save, you need to be frugal. People waste a lot of money on small purchases every day. Cut out your extra spending and watch your bank account rise and rise.
Cut out your vices first. One cup of coffee a day is $150 dollars a month. A smoker can save hundreds of dollars each month. You can save over $400 dollars a month if you stop drinking at bars. Already we have saved $400 or more dollars, depending on your habits.
Those are the low hanging fruit though. The real way to save money is to eat in and consume less. If you are an average person, you probably eat out 5 to 7 times a week. If each meal costs an average of $20 dollars, that is between $400-$560 dollars per month. If you make your own meals, you can save a lot of money. That saves you a lot of money, since you probably already do some grocery shopping too.
If you reduce your consumption and buy what you need, you can save. That is the real secret to saving for a trip around the world. Buy only the imporant stuff. People spend hundreds of dollars a month on little things that they don’t really need- DVDs, music, movies, drinks, and a lot more. All of that adds.
If you only eat in and go out once a week, you will only spend $340 per month and save over $800 dollars per month just by doing those two things. To save even more money, move into a smaller apartment or get a flatmate. Even consider moving home if you have that option.
If you do all of these things, you can save well over the amount of money you need per month by simply living frugally and smartly. Your friends may think you are living like a monk and it may seem that way at times but think of the reward you will have waiting for you- one year around the world. It is worth it.
