By Nico Prins
Turning a travel dream into reality costs money.Whatever travel plans you may have, you need money to make it happen. As someone who has been traveling for the last decade, I can tell you there is no secret to saving for travel, you just need to make smart decisions. I want to share with you some of the strategies that I use for saving money for world travel.
Ask Yourself the Right Question
Regardless of what it is that you are saving for, there are two questions that you should be asking yourself.
How can I make more money?
How can I save money?
So lets have a look at how can you make more money, before looking at different ways of saving money.
Making Money
The easiest way to make money is to do another job on top of the one that you already have. I know this is not fun. The last thing that you want to do after coming back from a long day at the office is to work again, but if you really want to travel then it is worth it.
My Horrible Life
On my year out, before I started University, I worked thirteen hour shifts putting up large tents for festivals. It was manual labor, the work was tough and relentless. I worked every single minute of my waking day for three months, non stop. I hated it, but I would collapse exhausted into my bed each night at night knowing that I was one step closer to turning my travel dreams into reality.
Build a Business
If you don’t want to do an extra job working for other people then why not try to work for yourself. Setting up a business on the Internet can be done for less than $15 a month, all it requires is for you to sacrifice your time. So instead of sitting in front of the TV doing nothing, sit in front of a computer screen and work. The rewards are
Boarders
If you are lucky enough to own your own house or apartment and you have free rooms available, then you should be thinking about taking in boarders. Not only will these people be giving you money for rent each month, but you might well make a few new friends. If you really want to save money you could even choose to rent out your house and share a house with friends or move back in with your parents. Remember, be willing to do whatever it takes to make your travel dreams come true.
Sell Your Things
Ok, we hit the obvious one here; selling your things is a great way to earn some extra money, but don’t expect to be rolling in cash unless you have a large house and have been hoarding since the age of 12. Most people realize that crap is crap and they won’t be interested in buying it, but it can make you money and as the saying goes, “a dollar earned…”
Working Holiday
I’ve covered this point a lot recently, if you want to save money travelling then make it a working holiday. This is the real secret to travelling indefinitely. There are plenty of different kinds of jobs you can find while travelling, like teaching overseas.
Work Bonuses and Tax Windfalls
Tax rebates and work bonuses are like winning the lottery. It’s probably not money that you were expecting to receive and it’s almost certainly money that you don’t need to spend, so save it for your holidays.
Saving Money
If you want to save money then you need to be clear about what you are saving it for. Before you decide to buy anything new or spend a lot of money on something, you should be asking yourself;
Do you really need it?
Is it worth giving up travel for?
These questions all come back to what you want from life and how much are you willing to sacrifice to make it happen.
Back to Basics
You don’t need much to live and enjoy life. If you really need to you can manage on the bare essentials. If you want to start saving money, then start cutting back on those unnecessary expenses and spend your money only on what is essential.
Eat In
Eating in and making your own food is one of the simplest and best ways of saving money. Spend less time eating out at restaurants and more time by the stove. Not only will you become a better cook if you do this, but you will also save yourself a lot of money.
Savings Account
One of the best ways I’ve found to save money is using a savings account. If you are in a relationship, then try and live off one persons wage and put the other persons wage in a savings account. If you are single then create an automatic transfer, so a portion of your wage goes into a savings account each month. This is great for people who are terrible with money, because if you don’t have the money, you can’t spend it. It’s as simple as that.
Travel Planning
Start planning your trip before you even leave your house. Think about how you want to travel, where you want to travel and what your daily budget will be. This has a huge impact on your budget. If you are traveling in Europe for example, your daily expenses are going to be a lot higher than if you were traveling in South East Asia.
Once you have answered these questions, start finding hotels and hostels in the places that you will be visiting and book early. If you do is you will know you have a place to stay every night and you don’t need to worry about having to spend more on accommodation, because all of the cheap hotels are fully booked.
Remember, believe in yourself, because you can make it happen!
World Travel