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I'm not a fair representation because I'm a student and I still live with my parents, but basically 70% of the money I earn goes towards travelling. I spend around 3-4 months a year abroad. When I had a cell phone, I used prepaid services so that I was only paying what I absolutely needed to. Once I had a cheap plan, but I have scrapped owning a cell phone altogether since. If I go out drinking, it's usually once every two weeks and I refuse to spend more than $20 and predrink at home.
But suppose I got a not even that great of a job and started making about $2,500 or less a year.
Rent for a nice studio/1bedroom: 800-900
Groceries: 100 (easy if you know how to actually cook)
Internet/other services: up to 100
Going out: 200
Supplies: 100
That's less than 1400 spent in a month. As long as you get the time off, you can clearly afford at least one very nice, lengthy vacation by the end of the year, or several modest ones no problem. This is assuming you don't have kids or a huge debt burden I guess. But even if you have kids, probably you should be making more and if you analyze and restructure your budget, maybe it's possible.
It really is all about priorities. Maybe yours aren't around travelling and exploring, and that's alright. But the people who do seem to find a way to make it work. My friends don't understand how I afford it either, but their priorities are smoking a lot of weed and and buying records. Whatever floats your boat.
This is why 20-somethings are able to get the most out of travelling, IMO. They can arrange things to take a long amount of time off work (they can just quit their McJob and find another one afterwards if necessary). They're willing to survive on a slim budget, and they're more interested in a genuine cultural experience than just doing expensive tourist sites.
Unfortunately, travelling is so expensive for most people because they refuse to travel the "student lifestyle" way. They want to go to the trendy and expensive must-do tourist spots that everyone else goes to. They want to go to resorts, downtown hotels, eat out at restaurants, go shopping, buy souvenirs, rent a car, visit EuroDisney, do Vegas whenever they have a long weekend, etc. Getting a cultural experience then comes second to being catered to. Travel is very much about self-indulgence to some folks. Fun but not cheap!
I hate to tell you, but you've left out transportation, utilities, insurance, medical co-pays, 401K/IRA deposits, and clothing. You can't eat a healthy diet on $100 a month. I don't care if you can cook or not, it's just not feasible. $200 would be a better number.
I do agree that it's all about priorities, but I think your youth is blinding you to the realities of adulthood.
I didn't consider health insurance because I am in Canada - sorry. And I just sort of lumped utlities with rent. Supplies also covers clothing, assuming you already have clothes and only need to maintain your collection. And then I admit that I have no idea what 401 is, but If that is income tax, I meant 2500 after tax. I did forget to add transport, but I would never drive living in a city, so add an additional $150 for a transit pass to that. Still, even if it you ended up making $2000 by the end of the month, the budget is still very possible.
I know living on the semi-frugal side is not for everyone, and with this budget I don't even necessarily consider it frugal, just modest, but I'm just trying to illustrate that it's not impossible if you make a modest income and genuinely want to travel.
Also, I disagree that 100$ is not enough to eat monthly. Raw ingredients can be quite inexpensive. You can do infinite things with a little flour, water, basic vegetables/fruits and beans/lentils which are very, very cheap. If you think outside the box it can be done. You can make chicken or beef stock for days with just 80 cents worth of unwanted chicken or beef bones and marrow from the butcher. If you can warm yourself up to alternative cuts of meat like tripe and liver, those are also cheap. Same goes with certain types of fish. Also, making your own yogurt and non-fermented cheeses is easy and saves you money. Of course, this only works if you are one person, and you get leeway if part of your going out expenses happened to involved restaurants.
Unfortunately, travelling is so expensive for most people because they refuse to travel the "student lifestyle" way. They want to go to the trendy and expensive must-do tourist spots that everyone else goes to. They want to go to resorts, downtown hotels, eat out at restaurants, go shopping, buy souvenirs, rent a car, visit EuroDisney, do Vegas whenever they have a long weekend, etc. Getting a cultural experience then comes second to being catered to. Travel is very much about self-indulgence to some folks. Fun but not cheap!
Very true. I wouldn't want to do that even if I could, or at least not regularly. That kind of vacation, unless it's a package deal, requires you to spend hundreds of dollars in a day. I couldn't really do that without feeling regret somehow.
I didn't consider health insurance because I am in Canada - sorry. And I just sort of lumped utlities with rent. Supplies also covers clothing, assuming you already have clothes and only need to maintain your collection. And then I admit that I have no idea what 401 is, but If that is income tax, I meant 2500 after tax. I did forget to add transport, but I would never drive living in a city, so add an additional $150 for a transit pass to that. Still, even if it you ended up making $2000 by the end of the month, the budget is still very possible.
I know living on the semi-frugal side is not for everyone, and with this budget I don't even necessarily consider it frugal, just modest, but I'm just trying to illustrate that it's not impossible if you make a modest income and genuinely want to travel.
Also, I disagree that 100$ is not enough to eat monthly. Raw ingredients can be quite inexpensive. You can do infinite things with a little flour, water, basic vegetables/fruits and beans/lentils which are very, very cheap. If you think outside the box it can be done. You can make chicken or beef stock for days with just 80 cents worth of unwanted chicken or beef bones and marrow from the butcher. If you can warm yourself up to alternative cuts of meat like tripe and liver, those are also cheap. Same goes with certain types of fish. Also, making your own yogurt and non-fermented cheeses is easy and saves you money. Of course, this only works if you are one person, and you get leeway if part of your going out expenses happened to involved restaurants.
Not buying it. I don't buy processed foods (things like rolled outs aside) and there is no way I could eat a HEALTHY diet long term that included lean proteins, fresh produce, whole grains, and healthy fats.
OK, so you have provincial health insurance (although depending on your province you have to pay towards it if you are making over $20K a year), but it doesn't fully cover your dental and in most provinces, prescriptions.
401K/IRA is retirement savings. I think they are referred to as RRSP's in Canada.
Bottom line, while I applaud your efforts towards frugal living in order to travel, your numbers don't jive in the real world.
Very true. I wouldn't want to do that even if I could, or at least not regularly. That kind of vacation, unless it's a package deal, requires you to spend hundreds of dollars in a day. I couldn't really do that without feeling regret somehow.
That will change as you age. When you are established in your career and living in a comfortable place, and have a more limited amount of time in which to travel each year, you will decide that sleeping in a hostel with people snoring and farting in the bunk beds around you is probably not the way you want to continue to see the world. I'm not saying you need to spend a huge amount on luxury accommodations (although we often do and have no regret about it--it fits our budget) but I don't know anyone who is well into adulthood who would even consider traveling the way they did as a young adult.
These suggestions for college students traveling make me laugh. No matter how much I tried to scrimp and save there was no such thing as saving money in college. I put myself through school with work and student loans and lived paycheck to paycheck. No traveling on that kind of budget. I had to wait until I actually got a decent job.
Some people actually have good paying jobs. Others have jobs where overtime is plentiful (me). Others prioritize their lives and travel is their "passion." Therefore, they don't eat out every night, drink alcohol, pack a bag lunch, and do other things in which to live life frugally. The money they save is the money they use to travel.
I project my travel plans out by a minimum of 6 months and its usually 8-12 months. I'm in a good position, for where I work we get our vacation time based upon seniority. There is only one person with more seniority then me. So, once I decide to go, I calculate the costs for the trip, double those costs, then I just have to figure out how many overtime days it will take me to reach that goal. I rarely, if ever, use my credit card when on trips. If I do, I immediately pay it off by, again, working overtime.
I also have the "luxury" of no more children living with me and my wife earns a good income, along with opportunities for overtime too. She actually makes more money then I do.
So not everyone is "lying" about their travel. Many put it first. Just think how much money, in one year, you could save if you didn't smoke or drink alcohol? How about eat dinners/lunch out? How much could you save by skipping that Starbucks speciality coffee and make your own, or buy a cup at the local gas station? Or even just a plain black coffee at Starbucks. Don't go to the movies, wait for it to come out on Pay Per View. I could list thousands of ways to save money.
It all comes down to what is important to you. If you need money for travel, you will find it. And I'm sure many are going to say: But I can't work overtime. Maybe not. However, I'll bet you, you could find a second job. Few, if any will, for they "want," but not want it bad enough to work for it.
Some people actually have good paying jobs. Others have jobs where overtime is plentiful (me). Others prioritize their lives and travel is their "passion." Therefore, they don't eat out every night, drink alcohol, pack a bag lunch, and do other things in which to live life frugally. The money they save is the money they use to travel.
I project my travel plans out by a minimum of 6 months and its usually 8-12 months. I'm in a good position, for where I work we get our vacation time based upon seniority. There is only one person with more seniority then me. So, once I decide to go, I calculate the costs for the trip, double those costs, then I just have to figure out how many overtime days it will take me to reach that goal. I rarely, if ever, use my credit card when on trips. If I do, I immediately pay it off by, again, working overtime.
I also have the "luxury" of no more children living with me and my wife earns a good income, along with opportunities for overtime too. She actually makes more money then I do.
So not everyone is "lying" about their travel. Many put it first. Just think how much money, in one year, you could save if you didn't smoke or drink alcohol? How about eat dinners/lunch out? How much could you save by skipping that Starbucks speciality coffee and make your own, or buy a cup at the local gas station? Or even just a plain black coffee at Starbucks. Don't go to the movies, wait for it to come out on Pay Per View. I could list thousands of ways to save money.
It all comes down to what is important to you. If you need money for travel, you will find it. And I'm sure many are going to say: But I can't work overtime. Maybe not. However, I'll bet you, you could find a second job. Few, if any will, for they "want," but not want it bad enough to work for it.
I do agree with the prioritizing. I am more than willing to forego going out to eat and going to the bar to save up for a nice vacation. The same thing goes with buying expensive clothes. I also try not to use my credit card if I can help in.
I pay for everything with my credit card to acquire points which can be used towards travel or with one card, cash back. I pay them off when the bill comes. Why anyone wouldn't get "free" money and hotel rooms and plane tickets, etc. is beyond me.
That will change as you age. When you are established in your career and living in a comfortable place, and have a more limited amount of time in which to travel each year, you will decide that sleeping in a hostel with people snoring and farting in the bunk beds around you is probably not the way you want to continue to see the world. I'm not saying you need to spend a huge amount on luxury accommodations (although we often do and have no regret about it--it fits our budget) but I don't know anyone who is well into adulthood who would even consider traveling the way they did as a young adult.
I don't think i'd ever slum it in a hostel.
The lowest i've been is a 3 star hotel and I hated it!
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