How I afford to travel.

Everyones situation is obviously different so take my ideas and personal story with a grain of salt. I’ve read a ton of different travel blogger’s personal situations and everyone’s situation is so unique. Some people are budget backpackers that travel long term, some people are luxury travelers long term and some people just enjoy the occasional international trip here and there. Now not everyone is setting out to be this insane budget travel blogger, some are just looking to take an epic trip somewhere. So I hope this blog helps both, those who are aspiring to be travel long periods at a time and those who are just looking to save to check a country of their bucket list

MY STORY:

I’m lucky enough to travel 3-6 months out of every year, but this doesn’t come without a lot of hard work and sacrifice. It’s an exciting lifestyle but when I am home, I have to work my butt off in order to save enough money to travel for long periods of time. This means working 5-7 days a week meaning social life, dating and all of life normal activities are typically put to the side for me while I’m home. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to find balance in it all.

I have a motto that everyones lives are a direct reflection of their priorities. For example, I work as a bartender at multiple places in Houston, Texas and run my own non-profit organization. Although it is a lot of work, my jobs grant me the flexibility to take off whenever I’d like, unlike a normal 9-5 job and I 100% chose this route in life when I found my love for travel and made it a priority. Besides my job, one huge factor of saving money for me is that I’m just not interested in material things. I don’t buy expensive clothes or designer things, not because I don’t want them, but because that $3,000 bag could pay for me to explore a new country for a couple of months, that pair of designer heels is a flight to Asia.

I also make it a point to find different ways to make passive income. This year I started studying and trading penny stocks. I’m still learning and don’t invest massively, but I make smart decisions and buys on stocks I’m confident will go up for small and sometimes big wins. Just last week, I made a trade that paid for a months worth of travel in Asia I know tons of people who travel full time and work remotely selling products online, drop shipping, trading or run their own business. There are endless options to make passive income, you just have to put in the hard work and dedication to learn.

That being said, I travel within my means. It’s not always as glamorous as people imagine it to be. Half the time I’m budget traveling, staying in Hostels with other backpackers that can cost anywhere from $2-$15/night and enjoy local street food vendors where meals can cost as low as $0.25. Which to be honest, are always some of my favorite experiences. As much as I love luxury travel, you’d be shocked at how incredible budget travel can be.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love to treat myself while traveling as well. Each trip I’ll always make sure to add some stays at beautiful airbnbs/hotels around the world accompanied with lavish meals and incredible nights out. This is where my budgeting comes into play. If I know I only have 2 months to travel but have saved up $10,000 you better believe I will be staying at some nice places during my travels. But the story changes if I know I’m able to travel for 5+ months, I’ll be stretching my dollar to stay out as long as possible, Hostels and Homestays here I come!! Balance is key y’all!

You’d be surprised at how many stunning places you can find on sites like airbnb for super cheap. If you do enough searching you can find stunning villas as low as $30 with private pools and more. Be sure to do a little searching before jumping on something random you’ve seen online!

BUDGET

In the end it’s all about your priorities, what you’re willing to sacrifice in order to travel and the balance of it all. My suggestion is to look at your daily or even weekly spending. One of my favorite examples is going out to eat with friends. I’m horribly guilty of this haha. Anyone that knows me knows that if I spend money on anything at all besides travel, it’s going to be food.

So lets get down to it! As a conservative guess, lets say you’re going out to eat with friends and a meal cost you $25 on average. You eat out twice a week, that’s $50 a week, $200 a month, $2,400 in a year… Add your daily Starbucks 5 days a week… That daily Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte is costing you $5 daily, $25 weekly, $100 a month, $1,200 a year, that’s $3,600 and that’s a supppper conservative estimation. 

A roundtrip flight from Houston, Texas to Bali cost around $1,200, a one way can cost as little as $400-$500. You get the picture. Small changes in your financial decisions will impact your ability to save money for travel y’all! So I suggest taking a second to make a breakdown of your monthly spending, where can you make cuts?

Solution

Solution? Eat out once a week instead, now you’ve got $1,200 a year saved for travel, thats your roundtrip flight to Bali. Cut the Starbucks and make your own coffee at home, a bag of ground coffee cost like $15 and last for weeks. That’s another $1,000 to spend on your next trip. You get the point haha. Make conscious decisions to save, you’d be surprised how much you can save by making those small changes.

Of my tricks is when I see the price of something or when I get the urge to indulge in some unnecessary spending, I remind myself that hey, that pair of shoes is worth a few days spending in Bali. That meal out at this nice restaurant is an entire day of adventures in Thailand. Like I said before you pick and choose your priorities!

Not only will watching what your spend and saving money help, but using websites like Airbnb will give you more bang for your buck! This is my favorite search engine to kind the best unique and affordable finds for accommodation, no matter your budget.

In the end, its all about making those changes, how bad you actually want it and how hard you’re willing to work for the things you want. Like I said, your life is a direct reflection of your priorities! Make the changes and join me on this incredible journey called life. Get out and explore this beautiful world.