Got curious? You´re not the only one. From the beginning of the of the trip until now, I guess I received about 559 thousand questions about the money – how much it costs, how I can travel like that, if I have a sponsor, if I´m a millionaire… Lol… There are so many questions that I decided to write about it!
So let´s do it, answering the FAQ!
ARE YOU A MILIONAIRE?
Do you really think that if I were I would go through all these stuff every day, bargaining everywhere, skipping meals to save money, camping and doing Couchsurfing? I love to travel on a budget, but definitely there would be no need of being on a shoestring like that! Ok, next question, please!
DO YOU HAVE A SPONSOR?
Nope, unfortunately not, all the money I spent came from my work. Maybe next time! Sponsors, look at me!
SO HOW CAN YOU TRAVEL LIKE THAT?
Do you wanna know the secret? It´s in two magical words: Priorities and Saving.
Everyone has its own priorities. You work hard so that you can use the money for many things: to buy a new car, a new house, to pay the expenses, to live a comfortable life, to buy a new cellphone every year, to go shopping, to decorate the house etc. My priority is called traveling. Simple like that. And that´s where comes the second magical word: Saving.
not enough money for trekking clothes… lol
It seems obvious, but I only had money for this trip because I saved for that. I spent three years writing down all my expenses on an Excel sheet, and cutting down everything I could.
No beauty salon – I have friends that paint their nails every week, while I do it by myself, as I do with waxing. I don’t go out eating in restaurants, just a few times, and if it´s very cheap. I don´t have my own house, I live on a rented apartment. I sold my car to complete the money for the trip. I used to go working by bicycle. I don’t buy branded clothes. I go to the supermarket with a defined budget to spend. I don´t have cable TV. It seems to be tiring to save like that all the time? And it is indeed, but it is justified by the first magical word: Priorities!
AND HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU SAVE? HOW MUCH DOES IT COST A WORLD TRIP?
That´s another very common curiosity! It´s a very personal question, isn´t it? But ok, I´ll tell you, just because you´re still reading the post! =) I saved U$ 6,000 in three years (if you think, it´s about U$ 170/month, not that hard!), and had plus U$ 6,000 from the car that I sold. You see, it´s not impossible! If you save U$ 340/month, then you don´t even need to involve a car selling!
My trip lasted a bit more than a year and I spend U$ 12,000 in total, including all the expenses, even the flights. If you wanna know how that´s possible, check it out this other post: How much does it cost a World Trip.
Do you have any questions about it? So just comment here in the post!
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