This is going to be a little different. Because listing out what I do every week is boring to write and I'm sure it's boring to read, I'm going to intersperse some advice/commentary on certain aspects of travel. I've been at this travel thing off and on since 2013 and if I do say so myself, I've gotten pretty good at it. I would say about half of it is because of things I've come up with on my own and the other half is advice from people online/in person. These topics are obviously going to be opinionated. Take it with a grain of salt. That said, let me know if you have a different approach to something or have a question about something travel related. I want to try and have this be a little more interactive. I will do my best to answer.
What's on the agenda for this week? Money.
Ah money. No matter how much of a wandering, homeless, nomad you are, you're going to need money at some point to travel. There seems to be this romanticized idea that anyone can drop everything they're doing and travel (more on this in the future). As someone who reads lots of travel forums, almost everyday someone is saying how they are just going to "go for it." Sorry, not going to happen. In order to travel, you need to have some money saved up or you're in for a bad time.
What are the biggest costs of travel?
- Airfare
- Accommodation
- Eating out/alcohol
How can you save money before travel?
- Stop eating out. Maybe don't stop completely but definitely cut down. Yes, this is hard but it really can add up. Numerous times friends would ask to go out and I would decline. Thinking about the end goal helps. Also, use comparisons. The $20 I spend on dinner could get me a nights stay in a hostel. That works best for me.
- Don't buy things unless you really need them. Do you actually need that $200 jacket?
- Here's maybe the saddest one and it goes along with not eating out as much. Reduce the amount you go out for drinks. Like food, this can add up quick. Busting my spine helped with this since alcohol apparently slows bone growth so that was another motivator.
- Not horribly proud of this one but if you have the best parents in the world and you can deal with it, live at home for a bit. There's absolutely no way I could have afforded traveling if I was paying rent, especially in Portland.
How can you save money while traveling?
- Just like in the work force, the best way is to have connections. I've been lucky in that both times I've been in Australia, my incredibly generous friends have let me stay at their places for free. On top of that, if you know someone in the airline industry who is generous enough to let you use one of their job perks, do it! I saved about $1200 on airfare because of this.
- Do a little research and stop spending money when you don't need to! For example, I do not understand why some people pay substantially more to fly with one airline vs. a much cheaper one. You're getting to the same place and a lot of the time there is no difference between the two. Same goes for accommodation. I get that staying in a hostel is not for everyone but why spend a ton of money on a room that you're really only using for sleep? Maybe someone can enlighten me on this.
- Check the exchange rate of the place you're going. Lucky for me, the US dollar is very strong in comparison to the Aussie dollar. I had a mini freak out this week when I saw my bank account but realized it was showing in USD and not AUD. Convert it to AUD and I am much more at ease. If you don't have massive amounts of money saved but still want to go somewhere, look for places your home currency is strong.
- If you have a subscription/monthly payment for something you won't be using whilst away, freeze or cancel it for a bit. Be aware of these auto bills that come out of your bank account. The main thing I have to think about is my student loan payments. These take a pretty hefty chunk out of my account each month but there's really no way around it.
- Avoid fees. Foreign transaction and ATM fees can be killer. The best solution I've found is open a bank account with Charles Schwab. This is the best bank on the planet if you're from the US. They have 0 foreign transaction fees and will reimburse you for any ATM fee you accrue. That means you can use your money wherever you want for free.
- To get local currency, use an ATM (preferably with your Charles Schwab card). ATMs will give you the best exchange rate (side note - always choose to do card transactions in the local currency, not your home currency, if asked). Those shops that exchange money for you will never give you the best rate plus they will charge a fee.
How can you make a little more money before the trip?
- Kind of an obvious one but pick up as many shifts as you can if you work hourly. I didn't have a lot going on when I wasn't at work so whenever I was sat at home, it was money wasted. There were times when I was saving up for Australia where I would work 14 days in a row due to covering shifts. That said, don't work 14 days in a row. Definitely take a day off here or there to help maintain sanity.
- This seems weird but one of the best ways I've saved up money is by doing online surveys. Most pay anywhere between 25-75 cents. The faster surveys pay 10 cents whereas you can sometimes score up to 5 dollars if you put the time in. The more you do, the better/faster you get at taking them. The money I made from online surveys went towards buying all the preparation gear ie. new clothes, electronics, shoes, etc. It's not going to make you rich by any means but it will sure help supplement some costs. Amazon Mechanical Turk is my favorite but I also use Survey Club Research. The best part about surveys is you do them on your own time. Sitting down to watch a show? Do a couple of surveys and earn a few bucks.
Make it...sprinkle. - I never did this but I certainly looked into it. If you have the time, get an additional job.
- This might get some backlash but please do NOT create a GoFundMe page or something of the like. If you want to have an amazing experience somewhere, you should be funding it (or at least you and immediate family). Asking your friends and strangers to give you money so you can have a holiday is ridiculous. I'll give people a small pass who are trying to do a volunteer related trip through an organization, as long as that's what the money is actually being used for and not for travel before/after.
So yeah, there's a little bit I've picked up about travelling and money. A lot of it is common sense but maybe you got an idea or two. If you have any tips or tricks for using/saving money for travel, let me know!
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Some notable things this week:- Went climbing outside again but forgot my shoes. Made for an interesting time but still fun. We were climbing in a "cave" while it was slightly raining. Really cool to see the rain whilst we were still able to climb.
Watching the rain and the climbing - Figured out my next living situation. I'm moving into a hostel in town for a bit on Tuesday.
- Worked a closing shift at the nightclub last night (was officially "hired" as well). Got off work at 7:20 AM but found out I'm getting paid about 3x as much as I was in the states (more about this in the future).
That's all for now. Bye.
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