HOW TO TRAVEL THE WORLD WHEN YOU'RE NOT BALLING IN CASH.

Tuesday 21 November 2017

There are people in life who are fine with one big holiday every summer, and there are people who get hit with the travel bug every month and the only remedy is sipping Mai Tai's or climbing a mountain somewhere. The dream would be to be able to hop from place to place, so I am patiently waiting to meet my rockstar boyfriend so I can tag along on his World Tour. For us regular folk, do not despair there are still plenty of ways to make travelling the world more affordable (here's a blog post on bagging a cheap holiday) and a reality. 

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1. Cut the extra ties. 


I've got a couple of trips coming up in the New Year and once the hotels and flights are done stopping myself from dipping into my travel savings account is hard when there are so many Black Friday sales popping in my inbox! If you're serious about wanting to visit all these places then spending £120 on a coat that you're going to use once ain't gone cut it. Cliche as it is I'm putting the money I'd usually spend on coffee and a snack (£5) in a piggy bank each day and voila. In terms of money management I've also been using Revolut to keep my money for travel separate and the great thing is you can exchange your money into different currencies on the app and keep it locked in there. 

2. Get a job that allows you to travel. 


If you haven't got any extra baggage then the world is literally your oyster. If you're fine with always being on the go (and travel sickness) then working on a cruise line, resort or as an air hostess might be the perfect job for you. Even though working on a cruise isn't as luxurious as it was on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody it's still a great way to meet people, visit places and get paid at the same time. 

3. Get digital.


Continuing on from point 2, if you can find a way to be your own boss and work online then you could literally work from a hammock in the Bahamas. The millennial generation is all about being connected and mobile so if you could do this from your blog, consulting, copywriting or offering other online services where you don't necessarily need to meet face to face you're all good. 

4. Don't be a travel snob. 


Unless you're mega successful and rolling around in the cash, then staying in 5 star hotels and flying with top airlines every where won't stretch your wallet very far. I'm all about balance, so if I'm spending a week in a hostel I might treat myself to a nicer hotel the next time. Try street food for one meal and a nice sit down meal for the other, and so on. Actually I could do a whole post on this, so watch this space. 


5. Bag some 'free' accommodation. 


Being a travel blogger means I sometimes get great opportunities to visit some great places free of charge, but obviously have to put the work in after! If you're in the blogging industry it never hurts to reach out to some hotels and ask if they could sponsor your stay or give you a media discount. If not, TrustedHousesitters and workaway are great ways to bag some free lodging by doing a little bit of work. The latter offers volunteer opportunities everywhere around the world, from working in a hostel, to helping pick fruit in a field. TrustedHousesitters is for all you animal lovers, as you basically get to stay in some fab places as long as you look after their pets. They just have to make sure you're perfectly capable (and trustworthy) of taking care of somebody else's little creatures. 


6. Realise you have time. 


One of my major flaws is wanting to do everything now, because I feel like if at 35 I decided to drop everything and travel the world it would look like I was finally having my midlife crisis. If God doesn't have other plans, the average life expectancy of a woman in the UK is 81 (World Bank, 2015) Sorry, that was a habit. So if from birth you visit 2 new countries every year you'll die having travelled the world. So if right now because of your job or financial status you can't afford to live the life you dream of, you still have time. 


This post is just as much advice for myself as it is for you guys, as much as I love travelling having 20 days of leave a year means I have to be smart by combining my trips with bank holidays and so on and I can't go discover myself across Asia for two months, bummer. If you travel often how do you afford it and make time for it? 

G




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