The Manual on Traveling on a Ridiculously Tight Budget

I was thinking the other day that with all my crazy travel experiences, I am now qualified enough to write the manual of travelling cheaply! If anyone is interested in how I save money and still get to travel the world missing out on nothing, I am opening up all my secrets, rules that I follow, and tips! Here we go!

Preparation for a Trip

One big thing I have learned is that travel is not dependent on having a highly paid job. Travel is a choice. You can have a very low paying job and then build your lifestyle around saving for travel. I can attest to that! When I was working as an au pair in Switzerland for one month, I saved everything I earned and only spend $5 the entire month, and now I am living off this money while I travel! Granted, as an au pair, my food and board were already covered as part of my job so I didn't need to spend anything on that, but it's testament that no matter how much or little you make, travel is a choice you make. So instead of thinking about how much money you need for each travel day and then feeling overwhelmed at the thought of reaching such a sum, look at the amount you already have and then divide it by the amount of travel days, then you know what your budget is. The more money you can save, the higher your daily amount will be. But no matter what your daily amount is, there is still a possibility to travel on it.

Take Everything You Need

Take everything with you, so you do not need to buy things along the way. It makes your bag a little heavier but I always can rest easy knowing that I do not need to keep buying things, and when travelling in places where shops are far away or close really early at least I always have comfort knowing I have all I need.

Depend on The Lord

I don't mean to preach here on my blog, but the truth is, there is no way that I could travel on a budget without the guidance, protection and provision of the Lord. There were several times when I was a little concerned about how I would pay for everything, so I would just pray and cast all my fears upon the Lord, and He would always make a way for me. Either I would be miraculously given money, or I would find things on sale or at a cheaper price than expected, or someone would simply give me whatever I needed (without me even asking). I cannot travel without the Lord!!!!

Do Not Buy Things

Really! Do not buy things! Just buy food! I didn't even buy postcards on my trip, except for one or two which I bought when trying to use up the last remaining cents of one currency before leaving the country. I bought nothing. No souvenirs, not even a pencil. I only bought the absolute essentials - and even then I would prioritise and consider everything.

Walk

To save on public transport costs, you just need to walk. Everywhere. Anything in a 3 hour radius I would consider walk-able.

Eat Nutritiously

Candy, chocolate, cakes, pastries - they are all readily available and tend to be super cheap! Yes they can fit into my budget, but they provide no nourishment and nutrition for endurance! So I was very strict on what I would buy. If I was tempted to buy something unhealthy, I would really stand there in the supermarket and weigh up the cost. Not just the financial cost, but also the cost on my body. Then I would put it back on the shelf and instead go and buy an apple or something. My main travelling diet would consist of bread, fruit (mostly bananas, apples and nectarines), vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes), cheese, yoghurt, sliced ham and canned corn.... yes, I have to admit, I would eat some strange things, and canned corn would be my go-to fast food meal. I would sometimes just eat it straight from the can! Sometimes I would just buy a large carrot and have that for my dinner. Travelling makes strange things acceptable.

Couch Surf

I was able to couch surf for almost 90% of my trip. It meant that I only had to pay for accommodation for 1 week out of 2 months. But couchsurfing was so much more valuable to me than saved accommodation costs. Through couch surfing I stayed with locals in virtually every place that I went to, and it meant that in every place I had an immediate friend and expert to show me around, to hang out with, and to learn from. I met so many incredible people through couch surfing. I went to places that I would never have known about and experienced things that I never would have been able to experience if I were staying in a hostel.


Interact with People

If it wasn't for the kindness of strangers on my trip I would not have got very far at all. You have to be bold and outgoing and really make an effort to meet people and get to know them, which can be exhausting, but wow, the generosity that I experienced was incredible.People would buy me food, pay for my entrance into museums and shows, pay for my bus tickets, make me lunches and dinners, give me things. People would spend time with me, teach me things, tell me the history of things, and even share their personal stories with me. It was amazing. Very quickly you learn that locations and places are pretty much all the same, but it is the people who are important, unique and interesting.