The “Broke” Traveler
It can be a startling reality, realizing you won’t get another paycheck for 7 months. Balling on one hell of a budget, I’ve decided to take the next 8 (ish) months ‘off’ to travel the world. Sounds dreamy right? Except sometimes you have to let go of the glitz and glamor of basic necessities like access to clean drinking water and personal space. I’m starting off my 8 month trip in Cancún, Mèxico. I chose Cancún because when I applied for work exchanges I sent about 50 applications all over the world and this one got back to me the fastest. I immediately accepted and a few weeks later I was standing on the white sand beaches swimming in the clear waters of Cancún. I figured you have to start somewhere right? I can see one of the seven wonders of the world, swim in Cenotes, meet new people, learn some Spanish, and not go too far from home for my first work exchange experience in case things went terribly wrong.
Now obviously saving and budgeting is key. There are a couple of different things I recommend you to help yourself to stay on track. I use the app revolut a lot. I only downloaded it over the summer but it’s fantastic. There are zero transaction fees and they convert your money for free. You can connect it directly from your bank account. I couldn't recommend it more. Something else I use is an app called TripCoin. Not only can you see what you’ve spent (and what you’ve spent it on), but you can also keep a very clear track of your budget. I have $1,000 USD budgeted for my time here in Mexico. Right now I’m about halfway through my trip and I can clearly see that I am also 53% through my budget. I can track my daily average and make sure I’m not overspending in a certain category. I do WorldPackers to save on accommodation, but the sacrifice of that is a lack of freedom while traveling. Right now, I volunteer at the hostel from Monday through Friday, leaving me only Saturday and Sunday to explore the surrounding area. I also feel like I’ve seen what I need to see here and I have a little over two weeks left before I can head to my next destination. It’s all about what you want to put first when you’re traveling. Prioritizing plays a big role when you’re deciding on your budget and travel destinations.
Something else (and slightly controversial) that I do is make sure that I have nothing on my credit cards before I leave. I know many people would disagree with this, credit card debt being the slippery slope that it is, but I like to make sure that I have at least $5,000 USD in available credit in case of dire emergency. I have never had $5,000 USD on my credit card, literally ever, but if it’s the difference between an unsafe situation and a plane ticket, I will rack that card right up and deal with it later. However, if I am not in a life-threatening situation (which has yet to happen), I forget that my credit cards even exist. Every time I swipe my card outside of the US, I get charged a transaction, those also add up. The whole point of this post is to talk about defraying costs and skipping the transaction fees is a really easy way to do that. I take out as much cash as I think I might need for the trip and leave most of it locked up in the hostel, only taking what I need for the day.
When it comes to being a “broke” traveler, I feel really strongly about putting “broke” in parentheses. Am I about to spend at least $8,000 USD traveling for the next 7 months, absolutely. However, I don’t want whoever’s reading this to feel discouraged. We are not poor because look at all we are getting. A lifetime of memories that are as irreplaceable as the people we make them with. My expenses in Mexico, including costs at home, food, transportation, plane tickets to and from here, activities, and more costs less than just my rent did when I lived in Los Angeles. I do tend to fall victim to girl math quite often, but this just makes so much sense. I want to travel, I need to travel. It just feels right and to be doing all of this for less than a it cost to have a rented room in LA? Sign me up.
p.s. always make sure you have enough for a plane ticket home xx