This article is all about techniques that will assist you in saving up enough cash to head off on a long-term travel adventure. Of course, you could leave with whatever happens to be in your pocket and wing it from there (which is super fun), but it is always nice to have some money to play with when you’re travelling, and for emergencies.
Make A Savings Target
One of my favorite things about backpacking is that I don’t have any goals, which is most definitely going against convention. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have goals, but I assure you it feels nice to live independently from them for a while. That being said, one goal is very important before you go travelling. Having a savings goal and sticking to it will enable you to keep track of how much money you are saving for your travels.
I didn’t budget for my first long trip per se, but I did save up as much as I could in a given period of time and worried about how much my trip would actually cost when I started travelling. I began by saving an initial provision for bare essentials like transport tickets, travel gear, travel insurance, and enough for food and accommodation to get me through the first month or so. In my case, this was a target of $3000 AUD, which ended up lasting many months. Once I had reached that target, I just applied a ‘savings percentage’ to my income. A financial planner friend of mine always said that I should endeavour to save at least 12% of my income, forever. Because I knew I’d not be doing him proud by spending all my money on travel rather than saving it, I increased this to 25% in the lead-up to my trip. Saving a quarter of your income may seem like a lot (and it is) but by cutting back on a few things and making some extra cash in the lead-up to your departure, you can get close. In the year before I left for my trip, I saved 20.4% of my income. I didn’t quite make my goal, but it was close enough. I kept track of my income versus expenditure in a simple Excel spreadsheet – not line for line, but just a monthly summary to keep track of my total savings percentage. I was able to save over a relatively long period because my decision to travel was not a spontaneous one, but you can apply this technique to any savings period.
If saving this much sounds too far out of reach, don’t despair. Putting aside any spare cash you may have into an adventure fund can add up surprisingly fast. Put $30 into your adventure fund each week. At the current going rate in Australia, that’s around the same amount as a coffee a day, or three pints of beer at the pub. For the sacrifice of a coffee a day or a few pints every week, you’ll have over $1500 saved up by the end of the year. $1500! That’s enough to get you started travelling, and could even last six months or more if you do some volunteer work, travel in Southeast Asia or Central America, go by bicycle or on foot and camp along the way. Unfortunately for us isolated Aussies it’s probably only enough for our flights and insurance, but hey, if they are covered then the rest of your savings can go towards funding other components of your upcoming adventure.
Buy Less Stuff You Don’t Need
About 18 months before I left to travel, I learned about the concept of minimalism, and this discovery is the primary reason why I was able to save enough money before I left Australia. By eliminating my dependence on excess possessions, which added very little value to my life, I was able to keep more money in the bank. Quite simply, buying less stuff you don’t need is exactly the same as giving yourself a pay rise in terms of cash in the bank. So I abstained from purchasing that new car, that new suit, those new shoes, that new TV, that new tablet/phone/truffle oil/apple corer/lemon zester/other useless crap that I see all too often in stores and in people’s homes. This mentality didn’t only save me money, but it also greatly enriched my life.
Minimalism as a concept is fundamental to the way in which I travel and live my life. Minimalism isn’t just about having fewer possessions, it also encapsulates other concepts such as mindfulness, thoughtful duration of possessions and experiences, quality over quantity, developing meaningful relationships and contributing in a valuable way. If it wasn’t for minimalism I’d have a very heavy backpack, lots of stuff back at home sitting in expensive storage and perhaps a desire to accumulate even more despite my nomadic lifestyle. Minimalism also enables you to consume fewer resources which is better for the environment.
I was first exposed to minimalism by reading The Minimalists, a blog and series of fantastic books authored by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who were first inspired by Colin Wright who coincidentally also inspired me around the time I discovered The Minimalists (I hadn’t yet put two and two together). Leo Babauta of Zen Habits fame was also a huge influence, especially through his blog, mnmlist. Refer to the Appendix for more online resources related to minimalism.
Sell Stuff You Don’t Need
Selling stuff that you think you won’t need when you return from travelling is a great way to get some extra cash before you leave. When I left, I knew that I’d be travelling for at least a year so I sold my car (no use it sitting there and depreciating, plus I didn’t need a car anymore), some of my furniture, my computer, my home gym setup (I gave my other workout equipment such as weights and kettle bells to friends) and some other electronics. In hindsight, I could have gained a lot more funds than I did if I’d worked at selling everything online, but I decided to donate most of my furniture and clothing to charity and friends rather than selling them.
Chances are that even if you feel sentimental towards certain things when you sell them, you won’t feel this when you return from travelling, and you will be so used to living with less stuff that it won’t be a problem anyway. The other benefit of getting rid of most of your stuff is that you might not need to hire a storage unit. If you only have a few things left, you can usually call upon family and friends to look after them for you. Storage is a huge expense and can be a mental burden while you’re abroad, so jettisoning enough stuff before you go is always a good idea.
If you are on a low-income, despite these tips, you may feel as if long-term travel is impossible. Don’t despair – by combining these tips with the money-saving techniques in Part Two, you can most definitely make your travel dreams a reality. Another consideration is of course to simply travel to countries and regions that are relatively cheap to be in. Southeast Asia, India, Central America and Eastern Europe are quite kind to the wallet. If you currently live in those regions, travel within them! There is a wealth of incredible, cheap adventure to be had everywhere in the world. Combine this with couch surfing, volunteering, hitchhiking and other free travel methods and you’ll be able to extend your trip almost indefinitely.
Drink Less, Eat Smarter
Another good way to save money before travelling is to drink less or no alcohol. Alcohol is expensive (at least it is in Australia) and bad for your health, so it is a win-win to cut down or cut out. The same goes for eating out at expensive restaurants. If you cook simple, healthy food at home, you save money and can better maintain your health. Add this to the minimalism advantage of more time for exercise and you will also be far healthier when you set out on your travels. Being healthy while you travel is highly beneficial, especially if you’re in it for the long run. Also, if you’re a keen drinker (as most backpackers are) you’ll have more cash to spend on partying when you’re abroad!
Even if you are cutting out alcohol and expensive restaurants, you still don’t have to forego meaningful social experiences – there are plenty of cheap places to eat, you can have dinner parties, picnics, play sports/walk/cycle or just sit and chat at home with friends. Many enriching social experiences can be had without shelling out heaps of cash. Also, remind yourself that any experiences you miss out on now will be more than made up for when you start travelling.
Take On Some Extra Work
If you’re already working full-time this might not appeal but even by doing an extra casual shift or two at night or on weekends, you can save a bunch of extra cash. I did some online freelancing and catering/conference work while I was saving to travel, and it boosted my little savings pot quite nicely. Some of my friends who work full-time have taken on fun shifts at nightclubs on Saturday nights, conducted personal training and yoga teaching on the side, helped their friends with odd jobs such as moving house in exchange for food or cash, tutored local high school students, taught English and obtained extra programming and web design jobs using online freelancing sites such as Upwork and Fiverr.
