As far back as I can remember I always wanted to become a globetrotter for whom the journey is more important than the destination. But the society advised me that uprooting my life to do so would stray me from the old path to success. And so, I settled for a ‘responsible’ path to adulthood: attend a college and find a decent job to build a comfortable life.
But after making all efforts to adjust my poor soul in the corporate life, I quit. I was happy to be out of the rat race, but somewhere in deep; I had a fear for my next voyage. At that moment, I realized, dreaming is easy, but the hard part is jumping.
After all, we all have responsibilities: bills to pay and mouths to feed. That’s why many passionate travellers decide to become a digital nomad in order to achieve their travelling dreams while also earning at the same time. When I decided to follow my passion, I was hit with the cold reality of the various demands that I would have to meet to make things happen, including accumulating enough money to sustain my expedition. But thankfully, I managed to successfully travel the world. How? By making travel my priority over other aspects. If travel is not your priority, you will find numerous ‘reasons’ to spend your money, and you’ll never have enough money to travel. I always save to fund my travel plans, and thus, always have little money remaining for buying new gadgets and dresses.
Many people want to travel but due to financial constraints, they fail to fulfill their dream. But you don’t need to be a super-rich person to travel the world. If you think that no matter what you do, you will never be able to save enough, go through the following points to learn the frugality and explore the world within your budget:
Do ticket booking at the right time: You can save a lot of money by booking your air tickets at the right time. In today’s high competitive world, every airline offers seasonal discounts on domestic and international airfares. You should book your tickets during this time to save some money.
Earn reward points: Various credit card companies have tied up with airlines to offer freebies to travellers. What you need to do is choose the right travel credit card and use it as much as possible and earn reward points. Over a period of time, these points can easily add up to enough rewards to pay for an overseas flight.
Pack light: The less you pack, the less money you’ll likely to spend on any means of transport. There will be no excess baggage costs.
Work overseas: Not making enough money at your current job? You should try for a job overseas. You can find abundant opportunities in the world as long as you are not picky. Also, it is a nice way to fund your travel plans. We always think work as a job that requires a resume, interview, and a visa. However, this isn’t always true. If you want to work and are flexible about what you’re willing to do, you can find jobs.
Here are some of the jobs which you can find overseas:
- Hostel worker
- Bartender
- Casino worker
- Waiter/waitress
- Farm worker
These jobs don’t require high qualifications or any work experience and are best to fund your expedition. However, you will need a working visa.
- Teach English abroad: You can fund your travel plans by teaching English. All you need is the ability to speak fluent English and a degree in the language, depending on the country you are visiting. The world is yearning for good English teachers and some Asian countries even pay for flight fares.
- Couchsurfing: Picture this – You arrive at a city you’ve never been before. You spend your day in sightseeing and then head to someone’s house, someone you’ve never met before in person, and then stay there as a guest. Sounds crazy? Well, it is called couch surfing. It is a hospitality exchange programme which allows travellers to ‘live’ on couches by staying as a guest at a host’s home. It is a practice of moving from one friend’s place to another, sleeping in whatever space is available, sometimes floor or couch, before moving to a new location. Moreover, it is a free service.
Crashing in a stranger’s living room is certainly an absurd thing to do. When I did it for the first time, I also found it weird to sleep on someone else’s couch for a week. But Couchsurfing is an impeccable way to immerse yourself in the culture of another country and feel like a local person. It not only saves you a ton of money but also gets you off the monotonous tourist path and into the local life.
- House-sitting: It is the practice whereby a landlord leaves a house for a considerable period, entrusts it to one or more ‘house sitters’ who by agreement are allowed to live rent-free. In exchange, they assume some responsibilities, like taking care of pets, watering plants or doing any other regular maintenance work to ensure that the household runs smoothly even in the absence of the owner. It is an excellent way to have a cheap holiday, or try living differently. Also, it gives you a chance to stay in some amazing residential properties which you wouldn’t be able to afford. Vacant houses become easy targets of thieves, and therefore, it is a win-win situation for both the parties.
- Hitchhiking: Have you heard of Jeremy Marie? He is a French traveller who travels the world by hitchhiking. It is a form of transport in which the traveller tries to get a lift (or ride) from other travellers in their vehicles. It is popular in many parts of the world, including Australia and New Zealand. It is necessary to get over the stigma attached to hitchhiking. Though, there are also safety issues but believe me, if you’re confident, give it a shot.
- Camping: Here’s what the dash of resilience comes for help because conditions are not always to be favorable for camping. But if you ask long-term alternate travellers, they will tell you that you will always find a place to pitch your tent. It’s just that you have to develop a sharp eye for it. Though it might mean carrying extra weight around, being able to sleep where ever you want is beautiful.
- Walking/running/cycling: Have you heard of Steven Newman and Dave Kunst? They both walked around the world on foot. Even at the age of 57, Rosie Swale-Pope ran to travel the world. Cycling is another way to explore the place without spending much on transportation. Dozens of cities around the world offer free public bicycle programmes.
- Travel thrifty: Wherever possible, cook your meal. In case, it is not possible, make sure to eat at cheap eating joints to save money. Cafes and restaurants near the tourist attractions are often overpriced, so it is better to avoid them. Make efforts to cut your expenses to the bare minimum.
- Free food: In some holy places around the world, especially Sikh temples, free food is offered to worshippers. For instance, in India, just head into a temple, offer to roll chapatis (Indian bread) and you’ll be given a free meal in exchange. Also, you can earn a free meal by working in a restaurant. Just head into a local restaurant and ask if they need any help with dishes, bartending, etc. Often, you can work there in exchange for free meals.
- Buy travel insurance: Though, you will need to spend some money to buy a comprehensive travel insurance policy, but it is worth it. The advantages offered by travel insurance policies outweigh the premium amount! The policy saves your money by insuring your trip against various losses or damages arising from unforeseen circumstances, like loss of passport or baggage, flight delay, personal accident, hospitalization expenses, etc. Further, emergency financial assistance is provided if the insured loses all or major part of his/her travel funds due to theft or robbery.
Don’t worry about money, just travel
One of the scariest things to see is a backpacker going back home before he wants to. Therefore, I always want people to go on an open-ended trip, rather than cutting their trip short. There’s nothing more liberating and enriching experience than having an open-minded trip and knowing how to make that Rs 10,000 last your ages! Travelling without money involves lots of adventure. Also, it is an excellent way to explore the world which only passionate travellers can do.
The words of Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian lyricist and novelist, are apt to summarize this, “Travel is never a matter of money but of courage.”