For those who travelled for a long period of time (say at least 6 months) how long did you save for?
Just curious as I want to take a long trip in 2 years time but don't know if it's long enough to save as I seem terrrible at saving and also have to pay back some debts from planning a wedding this year.
I am not embarking on the traditional RTW, though I will be going Round the world! (just so you can add the appropriate amount of salt to my comments.)
When am I not saving? I have been accumulating cash for the last two years as I've left home and am living by myself.
More salt: I don't drink (alcohol) or buy a lot of new clothes (these ones are fine! I'm not very fashionable you see.) I don't go out to expensive stuff either. I also don't pay rent.
How I would get more: I would work more than I did. I had a pretty slack couple of years studying. I wouldn't have bought the car (but oh so yay for life in general though!) and I could have seriously cut down on frivolous stuff. (like coffee out- but that can be a necessity when at uni- learn to drink it short,it could be cheaper)
You see, even on the crazily low welfare payments (plus some other sources), I've managed to live comfortably and save.
There is no "I must save for x amount of time" rule, but yeah, saving is a good habit to get into, make saving the default way of living and you'll find you've got the travel funds there. However, serious money pinching comes when you have a goal in mind.
Umm, 2 years should be fine- the thing to do is to knock off the little debts first, then use the cash set aside to pay the little ones to pay the big ones. You just have to associate pulling out the wallet/card with "oh woops, that's not going to help the travel fund!" And then put it back.
hope this helps in some way.
I decided I was going to do a 1year stint of travelling about 17months ago and when I depart at the end of December I will have saved around £11,500! I earn £900 per month and on top of that I did overtime at work, sold my xbox360, psp, car and got a bonus of £800.
Its not been hard atall actually... I drink most weekends, done atleast 5 or 6 weekend trips to London and seen friends around the UK on cheap tickets and even managed a very cheap trip to France. Oh and im going to Scotland this weekend on the cheap sleeper tickets!
The key I think is avoid paying rent and use public transport for your commute to work.......
Good luck and believe me the time flys!
That's a good point sonny- (new TT won't let me see your name as I type, sorry for misspells) Move in with your parents/grandparents/other relatives and take the public transport.
It's a fair hike to my university (I don't live on campus) and while it's quicker to drive, petrol prices and potential reading time makes me take the train and bus. If I complain I tell myself that a) I'm saving money and b) it can be "practice" for travelling (hehehe... I lie to myself a lot.)
Just consciously put stuff away- collect your change at the end of the week for example, find another of the saving techniques online.
People have saved before, you can too. :)
Many happinesses!
My fiance and I are getting married and then leaving for a 1.5 to 2 year RTW honeymoon. We started saving about 15 months before our departure date (July '08). We don't make a lot of money. We are both teachers. And we pay rent in NYC - not cheap! But we are halfway to our goal $. We save by not going out drinking or going out to eat, not going shopping, and getting rid of the small things that add up like cable TV. If we do go out, we go out for brunch instead of going out for dinner. He tutors outside of school to make extra money. About half of our pay every month is automatically deducted from our checking accounts and it goes into a savings account (which gets 5% interest). It isn't easy, but it is doable. Two years should be plenty of time to save. Figure out what your goal is at the end of 2 years and then figure out what you have to save every month between now and then to reach that goal. Set high but realistic goals. Or do it the other way around. Figure out how much you can save each month. How much will it be at the end of 2 years? Will it be enough for the trip you want to go on? Two years is a long time so remember that you have to have some fun sometimes, but keep in mind the ultimate goal - travel!
I saved for about 1 year for a 1 year round the world trip, I'm a student and have a car etc and do have a social life (just not involving alcohol), I don't think its actually that hard to save when its for something fun. I'm leaving for another 6 month trip in 7 more months and need to save another $8000 NZD before then, and should be able to do it, I just work 3 jobs on top of studying and keep a good saving plan that I check weekly, and have the summer now to work LOTS...put a world map up on your wall to keep up your inspiration! good luck
I saved for 2 years as a student. The first year i saved 10 grand and the second i have saved about 7 (did honours). Like the others have said you just have to learn to go without. Everything i would look at and want to buy i thought
-Can i buy something like this in another country for cheaper? Plus its great buying clothes overseas. That way when everyone says they like your top you can go oh thanks i got it from Egypt :p
-how many days in country x would this cost me
-when it comes to leaving relatively soon you start thinking about whether it is worth buying something for a few months.
Tips
1) Stop drinking alcohol (if you do). Or at least stop drinking out
2) Start catching the bus/walking
3) stop buying non-necessities. Pull out those old clothes that have become fashionable again
4) look for the cheaper option wherever you go. You can still have lunch but have a soup or something rather than a full on meal
every little bit counts- especially if your looking at going to cheaper countries like India. That top could be a weeks travelliing!
That was pretty much how i saved. You get used to living without after a while. And after all its all worth it!
Cat
Thanks everyone for the tips!
Will try out some of the suggestions. I don't drive at all and walk to work already so can't really cut out any transport costs. I don't have any family nearby so will have to keep paying rent - maybe I could move somewhere cheaper but I like where I'm living at the moment and don't think I could go back to living in dodgy student dives again. I have tried cutting back on drinking but it is hard when all social life at my work revolves around trips to the pub or out for meals and I feel like a social outcast if I turn down all opportunities for going out. I could drink slower but it is difficult when all my friends go with the system of buying rounds so you have to keep pace with everyone else and buy one for everyone when it is your turn. Probably my main problem is still wanting to take a few short trips during the year as I tend to feel depressed after awhiel if I don't get away somewhere....perhaps I just need to think of the ultimite goal a bit more.
Couple of things:
1) Get out of the buying rounds mentality - it's easy - we do it - when it happens say "sorry, I'm saving for a big RTW trip and I just can't afford it" - everyone understands, particularly if you are a slow drinker - heck - I got out of rounds in large groups years ago - it just makes you drink more than you wanted and costs a fortune, and there is always someone who drinks something twice the price of everyone elses :-p
If they don't like it then it's seriously time to analyse who yoru friends are. I was stuck on a hellish holiday many years ago with some old friends from when I was at college (I'm 38 now). They drank like fish, and there were 12 of us. I'd end up going home halfway through the night as I'd be slaughtered. On the 4th day I removed myself from the beer "kitty" and they kicked up an almighty fuss - it was costing me a fortune - buying 12 drinks every night when I was good for 3 or 4! - I don't keep in touch with any of them any more :-)
2) - Not something mentioned much - one of the most important things to do, in my opinion, is open a specific savings account, preferably one that makes it a little difficult to withdraw from! - Once you put money in it it's safe from "you", accrues good interest, and it's very motivating to watch it add up each month. Leaving it in your main account is a recipie for disaster.
Cut up ALL your credit cards (you can get replacements later on)
Cut out dross like Sky tv
Pay off anyhting and everything you owe
Save like a loon - put the money straight in, and give yourself your monthly allowance in cash! - it's much much easier to keep control of your spending when you are a cash person. Using your debit card soon adds up - it's sooo easy to spend £5 here £8 there etc on misc. rubbish and find you've blown your budget halfway through the month.
Seriously, once your friends get used to you having a very strict budget they will understand, and more often than not, be helpful.
I'm leaving for approx 3 years in Jan 08 with my wife. We paid off our wedding, and £15k of cards, then saved. 18 months later we have £60k - it's a lot easier for couples to save tho - staying in is as much fun as going out! :-) - and we were quite high earners. But if we can do that much with debt, all in 18 months, it shows what can be done - and we used to spend every penny each month on general "stuff"! (and we have a mortgage)
I didn't save at all - I got made redundant from my job and got a nice payout.
But if I WAS saving, there are some good tips above. It amazes me to be honest how much other people spend on totally unnecessary things, like colleagues who spend $10 a day buying coffee from the coffee shop when there's a perfectly good coffee machine in the office, and girls who spend a fortune on cosmetics when cheap ones have been shown to work just as well.