I am not rich. I always thought that traveling was something only rich people could do. Hell if you ever watch an episode of Samantha Brown’s Passport to Europe you would agree. Her ‘budget’ accommodation in some places was nearly $200 a night! These shows are almost designed to keep us at home. Who thinks about planning a trip to London and budgets $1,400 on just hotel rooms. I don’t have that kind of money sitting around and neither does the average American.
In my travels I have met countless travelers at all budget levels all over the world. I can tell you it’s not money that keeps someone from traveling.
So how did I do it? Clearly I must have some secret right? I hate to disappoint but all I had was some savings, about 15k to be exact when I set off. Mind you this was pretty much my life’s savings there was no more hidden money in 401ks or anything. I had 15k to my name.
I had worked hard out of college and saved for years to get that 15k. Now I know what you’re thinking. 15k! That’s a huge
amount! I am not saying you need 15k before you can travel. I am just stating that’s what I had when I left. Of course you can travel for longer or shorter with different amounts of money. There is traveling for every budget, even no budget! So don’t let the numbers get to you just yet.
- I traveled cheap. Even though I had money to spend I didn’t. The average cost so far has been about $1,200 USD per month of travel. I saved money by eating cheaply, staying in hostels, and traveling in the off-season. I saved my money for the major things that would better my travels like day trips and museum tickets. Why should I spend a fortune for a hotel room, when I only plan to sleep in it? Are you really going to miss out on a new country to enjoy your hotel? I think not.
- I ate cheap. No it was not nights of ramen and white bread. In fact I never felt I was eating cheaply at all. I was always eating local food and experiencing new things. So its not about what you are eating but where that is the key. I hardly ever visited sit down restaurants. Instead I would find street food or take-out places this saved me a ton of money. I have certainly paid less than $10 a meal on average in my travels.
- I took advantage of every opportunity. There are countless ways to travel and experience new things for practically nothing. For two weeks I worked in a hostel in Dery, North Ireland for free accommodation and at the end of my two weeks the company even let me go on one of their bus tours for free. So for my two weeks of work I was given free accommodation and a free 5 day bus tour of South West Ireland. There are tons of options when traveling. Try CouchSurfing, work for accommodations, or try Woofoo’ing. Even if you have no money at all there are opportunities open to you.
You don’t need lots of money all you need is the will to travel. I could have spent a lot less if I had planed better, or worked more. Everyone’s trip is different. But I am here to tell you that traveling is within your reach. It’s not for the rich; it’s not $200 hotels and $100 dinners. It can be anything you want it to be. I stayed in $10 a night hostel rooms and ate $2.50 kebabs but I did it on the streets of Paris, along the Thames River, on the streets of Berlin, and among the canals of Amsterdam. Were these places any less amazing because I was not in a fancy hotel or eating expensive meals? I don’t think so.
