How to Save for the Trip of a Lifetime
Published on - March 14th, 2007 (Modified on - March 16th, 2007) (by J.D. Roth) Ian publishes an online travel magazine (a.k.a. “a blog”) called Brave New Traveler, which is dedicated to providing information for world adventurers. He pointed me to a recent guest-post from Lucia Byttebier, who has some tips on “saving money for the trip of a lifetime”.
The five steps Byttebier recommends are:
- Reconsider your living situation. Can you find a cheaper living arrangement? Remind yourself that it’s only temporary, that you’re saving for a goal. Byttebeir moved in with her boyfriend’s parents for several months, which allowed her to save hundreds of dollars for her trip.
- Practice non-attachment. Get rid of all your stuff. “What good will it all do to you while it’s sitting back home and you’re rafting down the Great Usutu River? … Once you start getting rid of stuff and you see the money pour in, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to part with your prized possessions.”
- Abstain from expensive evenings. Don’t go out to movies, don’t go out to eat, and don’t go out to drink. Save your money. “That money could fund your traveling through Central Asia for an entire month.”
- Find a transient weekend job. A couple months prior to your trip, take a temporary extra job waiting tables, bartending, whatever. “The additional savings will help you acquire the last minute must-haves for your trip.”
- Embrace foreign cultures. Keep from spending your money by converting it to the destination currency in advance. This can keep you from spending your savings. But: “Remember that if you exchange your money’s currency more than once, you’re probably losing money.”
Though these ideas are geared toward a person who wants to travel for an extended period, a few are also great suggestions for anyone who needs to make a short-term push for extra cash. See also a GRS entry from last June: Reader question: Cheap world travel?
[Brave New Traveler: Five steps to save money like Buddha]
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This is possibly the dumbest advice ever. Why is this even printed? Move, sell all your stuff, don’t any money til you go, any free time you have get extra work, and convert the money you do have to forgein currency. This is just impractical.
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Re: Brent
I don’t believe it is impractical. It’s exactly what my wife and I did when we decided to move to New Zealand for awhile. Some people have what you might call “Wanderlust”. I know we have it. This is helpful for anyone that wants to take a real adventure.
Regards,
Jonathan
Our adventure: http://www.dreamingnz.com
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#3 is so true. I visited a phenomenal island in Thailand a couple years ago. The price for 1 night in an amazing room on the beach was less than the cost of 1 drink at a trendy bar in San Francisco.
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Years ago whenever I wanted to take an overseas trip I would set up a separate account in a hard-to-reach bank and had a sizeable chunk of my paycheck automatically deposited in it. Having the bank inconveniently far away (this was in the days before online banking) helped me resist the temptation to pilfer the fund and I had to live very frugally.
A friend of mine was forever saving money toward a house but every few years, once she had $20K or so saved, up she would call me and say, “Brad, I don’t know whether to use this money to buy a house or take a trip to Africa with my best friend.” I always advised her to take the trip, and she had unforgettable journeys to Africa, Patagonia, Asia, and Australia. I suppose I gave her bad financial, but it was good life advice: possessions come and go but experiences live with you forever.
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I think this might be good advice for 20-somethings, but I’m fairly sure that my mom (or my husband’s mom) would most definitely balk at the “cooked for, cleaned for and pampered as I’ve never been, and all the while saving hundreds of dollars a month” part.
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I think this is great advice! This isn’t for somebody wanting two weeks in wherever — this is the beginning blueprint for an extended absence. It’s my dream to relocate overseas in a few years time too.
It’s also great advice for anybody to downsize, get an extra job for saving extra money, etc.
db
http://www.debtblitzkrieg.com
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[...] Rich Slowly has some great advice in How to Save for the Trip of a Lifetime that might be of some value to those that are ready to live an adventure. Note that much of this [...]
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It is also a good idea to bear in mind that a week’s vacation does not have to cost as much as many would have you believe. As J.D. likes to often mention, mass-market advertising is a good thing to AVOID. There is a very healthy resale market out there for vacation property these days and unlike traditional real estate, properties like timeshare decrease in value as time goes by. It’s a fact that a lot of unsavvy buyers learn the hard way when they buy directly from the resorts. It’s just like a car, the minute you sign on the dotted line, your property has already very likely decreased in value. (There are some exceptions, like really high demand properties in Hawaii, etc.)
Timeshare typically comes in week-long blocks, and there are lots of people out there trying to sell their properties for a variety of reasons. Often times these sellers will price their properties below what the market value is for their property just to get it sold. There are also a lot of people who will rent out their timeshare, it’s a good way for them to help recoup the maintenence fees on their property.
What all that boils down to is that if you’re willing to do a little research, it is possible to find accommodations in a way that doesn’t force you to live a completely spartan lifestyle for weeks on end beforehand.
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@Brent
I don’t think this is the dumbest advice ever. It may be the most poorly written entry I’ve ever composed, but I think the advice is good. In fact, I know at least two people who have followed similar steps in order to travel around the world. I admit that it’s completely impractical for somebody like me. HOWEVER, for some people, particularly young people or those who are not yet married, this is terrific advice, and a great basis for preparing to travel.
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Badly written, but sound. JD – I am married and my husband and I have chosen travel as our major regular indulgence. We usually travel twice a year and plan to move overseas soon.
We have done this by living in a basic apartment for many years (though we now rent a starter house), eating out inexpensively (we like Thai and Indian food rather than pricy dinners), and buying less. We haven’t gotten rid of much (and my husband’s a record collector) but we are definitely adding less. We also do not own a car.
We don’t yet own a home but we wouldn’t trade the experiences we have had for anything.
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It’s really not badly written JD.
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I think these are absolutely great suggestions, especially if for someone planning a gap year. In fact, most people I know that took gap years (pre/post college travelling round the world) followed one or more of these suggestions.
Getting into this sort of mindset before you go, also means that you’ll probably spend less money whilst you are away, which means that you can keep going for longer.
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I’d make really sure I knew how stable a foreign currency was before stashing dollars away in it. Nothing like socking away $1000 over a few years to find it’s now worth $250.
They forgot 6) Take vacations you can afford without altering the rest of your life.
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I think its pretty good advice really… and having saved enough money to travel the globe for 2 years, I should know what it takes.
I wrote an article along similar lines but from a personal view point…
http://www.travmonkey.com/2007/03/secret-of-successful-saving-for.html
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great advise! i have been trying to convince my partner that we should stop eating out and put the money we would have spent into a jar to put towards a “trip” of a lifetime
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Saving and Planning for a trip of a lifetime should both be part of the plan.
One trip I thought I might not ever be able to afford was paid for completely in advance, because I planned a year ahead of time for it.
My wife at the time and I decided to go on a Caribbean Cruise from South Florida to Cozumel Mexico, Georgetown Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios Jamaica.
If you plan for a trip like this a year in advance, you can get your room upgraded because they want to have the cheaper rooms available for later travelers. As such, you can get a Category 6 room for a Category 4 price (or better if you plan earlier).
Also, we took some tips from previous cruisers online and saved lots on drinks. We brought our own blender, booze (some we got ashore or duty-free on the ship), Crystal Light for mixers, and a Playmate cooler that we told the room steward to keep full at all times. We made our own frozen drinks in our room and put them in a non-see through sports bottle or refilled a previously purchased plastic glass to be discrete. We saved a HUGH bundle just on the overpriced drinks.
PS If you want to cruise, don’t ask for a cabin on the water side with a view. It is a waste of money. You are not in the room long enough to enjoy it, you are either out and about, showering/changing, or sleeping. Save the money that the outside cabins cost for other things.
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[...] has written about how to save for an overseas trip and how to have a vacation on a budget, but if you have time on your hands and like the idea of [...]
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