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TRAVEL YOUNG & BROKE
TRAVEL YOUNG & BROKE
TRAVEL YOUNG & BROKE
TRAVEL YOUNG & BROKE
TRAVEL YOUNG & BROKE
TRAVEL YOUNG & BROKE
Traveling while you are young, especially to more than 1 country a year, seems for many people something quite far from reality.
Even more if you already have other expenses to pay like university or rent, and you are not exactly allowed to spend your parents credit card.
Growing up, I used to think that traveling was only for the rich and famous people, however, this couldn't be further from the truth.
As someone who has traveled quite consistently over the last 4 years, I have learned a few ways to travel at a very low cost and even for free.
I started to travel when I was 18. That's also when I started to earn my own money, so I tried to reduce my travel costs as much I could to travel as much as possible. I opted for shared dorms with 8 people in hostels, cheap food, cheap flights, nights at the airport to save money from accommodation and I even used public transports without buying the ticket (something I don't do anymore and that I highly do not recommend at all!) .
If traveling is something that you would like to implement in your lifestyle, whether you don't have any money at the moment, whether you have some savings to start, this post is for you!
There are many ways to start traveling while you are young and I wish I had known all these things at the beginning of my travels, that way I would've saved hundreds if not thousands of euros.
I would like you to feel more confident to buy that plane ticket or to start thinking about future trips, so today I'm going to share the fundamentals to get you started.
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Where you are at this point?
In order for your travel dreams to come true, you have to start by checking your current position. Write down so that it is more practical and organized, what your monthly expenses are. Make a list of the following things followed by the total you spend on them. That way you will have a better understanding of where your money goes and you could then try to see if there are any unnecessary things you could exclude from your monthly expenses so that you can save more.
Purchases
Rent
Transport
Medical costs
Food
Car
Insurance
Uni
Clothing
Makeup
Starbucks
Gym
Netflix
Night outs
Then write what your income is, how much money falls into your bank account per month.
A big turning point for me was when I realized that the money I received per month was not that much and that I could definitely increase it.
So I started looking for jobs that would pay more per hour.
My point is, if you're not happy with your income, take a few hours looking for different alternatives and maybe you'll be surprised with the results.
September
October
November
840€
790€
900€
Finally, write all the things you could try to eliminate from your list.
How much money do you spend every time you go out? How much money do you spend on girl stuff every month? How many unnecessary subscriptions do you have? Do you really need to buy the latest iPhone?
Maybe once your priority is to save money to travel, a lot of things will start to feel unnecessary.
Time to evaluate the situation
Maybe being away to travel the world with no date to return isn't exactly what you're looking for, maybe right now a weekend away from your country is your goal, or maybe what you're looking for is exactly a long trip in search of different cultures and new adventures.
How much money you have saved for your next destination will influence your trip a lot so I will cover all kinds of budgets :)
Bills
Entertainment
1- BARLY NO MONEY
Living expenses
If you only have a few €/$/£ in your bank account or you are unemployed, it is possible to experience the outside world without having to starve or sleep on the street.
Working abroad is a great way to do it and there are two ways to do so.
1. You can choose to move to a new country, bearing your costs until you find a job that covers everything.
That's exactly what I did in 2019 when I moved to London. In the first days that I was there I lived out of the money I had saved and in 1 week I got a job in a kindergarten working 9 hours a day, with Friday, Saturday and Sunday off, which gave me a lot of time to explore the city and some neighbors countries.
2. You can choose to work in exchange for food and accommodation and in some places you even get a salary, lower of course, given the benefits.
That's what I did in Ubud. I volunteered at a hostel, helping for a few hours a day organizing events. In exchange they gave me a room to sleep, 3 meals a day and free tours around Bali.
You can find this type of projects on sites like WorldPackers, Workaway, WWOOF, and it's a great way to experience living abroad, explore new parts of the world, meet lots of new people and have unique moments.
- If you are looking for a weekend or just a few weeks away, you can use the skyscanner website to find the cheapest flights to your chosen destination. There is also the possibility of type “To any place” in the destination bar and that way the cheapest options from several airlines will show up.
2- FEW SAVINGS
If you have some savings you can do a series of neighboring countries and choose cheap transportation to go around such as bus or train and stay in hostels. That way you will be able to travel a lot and for a good period of time.
When choosing destinations, keep in mind the cost of living while, for example, countries like Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Estonia are quite cheap, countries like Finland, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, will make your savings go way a lot faster.
3- A GOOD AMOUNT OF SAVINGS
If you saved a good amount of money you can now go for a good amount of time abroad, you can not only go for a long-term trip but also on destinations further away from your country.
You can invest part of your money in volunteering somewhere or you could take a gap year or, for example, a work visa in Australia, which gives you the possibility to stay in the country for 1 year.
GoAbroad and Gap360 are two sites that deserve your curiosity, if you are interested in spending time out exploring and experiencing new things.
Planning a trip is one of my favorite parts because that's when I start to get a better idea of the places I'm going to visit, and that gets me really excited.
Remember that the more you search about your destination the more informed you'll be, which can save you money in the future.
The next list contains the things you'll need to plan and organize before you go.
-Buy Flights
-Where to stay
-Search for pre trip expenses like visas, vaccinations, required travel documents and insurance
- Places to eat
-What to visit
TIPS: -Never buy a flight without first getting your visa approved.
-In many countries, such as America, having health insurance is doubly important given the cost of health services.
After having an idea of where you will stay, what the itinerary will be and where you want to go, it is time to buy the flights. Try to buy as far in advance as you can because that way, in most cases, you will get better prices.
The prefect destination differs from person to person, but the truth is that there are certain countries that are just perfect for young travelers with limited money.
Southeast Asia, Central/South America, Central/Eastern Europe and Africa. They allow you to experience many things because of the low cost of living and because they are known for it, they are full of young travelers, many of them solo.
One thing I realized from my own experience during my travels is that even if someone says that some countries are expensive, it doesn't mean that you will have the same experience, because each one chooses their own travel style.
Where you eat and where you stay has a huge influence on the total cost of the trip, so even if you want to choose a country with a higher cost of living, follow the techniques I share with you and you will see that traveling is not that expensive.
Planning & Booking part
Destinations
My favourite destinations
New York
Santorini
London
Irland
Malta Bali
Save while your traveling
To keep your travel costs even lower I have some tips that will save you a few extra €/$/£.
Free museums on Sunday
If you like to visit museums try to go on Sundays because in most countries they are free.
Travel with Revolut, Binance or Monzo,.
To save on exchange rates when travelling, pay with these cards because they are travel friendly.
Travel with a cabin suitcase
Choose to take a smaller suitcase so you don't pay for hold luggage. You will save a lot of money, especially if during your trip you take several planes
Google 'free things to do in...
There are always free activities and events happening and beautiful free spots, just search for them.
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