8 ways to save enough to travel full time

If travelling the world was easy, everybody would do it. It takes sacrifice, you’ll have to give some things up

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When it comes to the topic of how we afford so much travel it is easy to assume that we come from ‘family money’ or that we get all expenses paid trips to advertise everything we do. It is a lot harder to learn the truth. The truth is, anybody can do what we do! Maybe photography, videography and blogging isn’t your jam but in terms of travel anybody who has the courage to take a chance and the commitment to see something through, can travel us much as us.

There are two things that stop most people from living their dreams, its a lack of these two things. Time and money! You might want to travel the world like us, you might need more time and money to start up that business idea you’ve been thinking about, maybe you want to buy a house or a block of land or even just spend more time with your loved ones. Everybody is different, we all want different things but there are somethings we wish we all had more of, time and money fall into that category. There are three sides to the dilemma of affording travel, first of all how do you make the money in the first place? Secondly how do you save it? And thirdly how do you find the freedom to spend it the way you want?

How many people do you hear say they would love to become a musician, a wedding planner, a DJ, a freelance photographer, or even a travel blogger

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find seasonal work

There are thousands of jobs you could take in order to earn the capital you need to kickstart your dreams. The problem is most jobs to start don’t pay particularly well. Also how many of these jobs can you leave after 3-6 months and expect to return the following year? This is where seasonal jobs can really make a difference.

This is without a doubt the main reason we are able to do what we do! We work super hard for 4 months a year in the wine industry in Australia saving up every penny, then we hit the road for 8 months. Just to be clear, this lifestyle isn’t what we plan to do forever.

The beauty of working seasonal jobs is not only do you save up the money to travel, you free up the time to pursue what it is you really desire, your passion projects! How many people do you hear say they would love to become a musician, a wedding planner, a DJ, a freelance photographer, or even a travel blogger 😉 but they just don’t have the time to get started? Fill out our contact form if you want more information on how you can get a seasonal job like ours!

spend time doing enjoyable things that don’t cost money

In the past it was always things like drinks with friends that held us both back from hitting our savings goals. One drink would lead to another and the next thing we know we’ve spent $100-200 in one night. Thats like a weeks travel budget in Asia 🙈

We have learnt to enjoy the things that money cant buy like a beautiful sunset, or a walk at the beach, park, forest etc. When you find enjoyment in activities that don’t cost any money you will notice a real difference in the amount you can save. It is important that when you’re working hard to save you don’t stay in your house cooped up all day. It is not sustainable and you won’t get that daily motivation to help you stick to your goals.

spend time doing enjoyable things that can potentially make you money

Spend time doing enjoyable things that can potentially make you money! In this day and age there are an infinite amount of ways to make money. If you develop a skill or learn knowledge that other people are willing to pay for, you are well on your way to creating a side income.

In terms of travel, this means you can make money any where in the world by using your skill or teaching your knowledge. This is the holy grail of long term travel. Now if you can find a hobby with earning potential that you actually enjoy, you will find that mastering your hobby of choice comes easy. All of a sudden you have an avenue to make income while you travel.

For us, our photography and influence has become this avenue, we know people who teach surf lessons, others who teach yoga, some people write blogs, others do graphic design or make videos. Whatever it is, if you can find something you enjoy that has earning potential, spend time mastering it!

Travelling in itself is a lesson in minimalism

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write down your goals & plan your budget

This seems to be a given and most people do this, but how many people actually stick to it? It was only once we wrote down our goals and looked over them everyday that we started to notice how much more we were achieving consistently.

This world is full of distraction and we all lose focus at times. Sometimes we get so distracted we lose sight of what we were trying to achieve in the first place. When you have a tangible list that you can look over everyday it helps you refocus and get back on track every time you slip up.

Build up a mood board that you can hang in your room. Fill it with your goals, to do lists and anything that inspires you to take action everyday.

cook your own meals

Not only will this save you a lot of money, your body with thank you for it. Fill your shopping basket full of fruit and vegetables, staying away from all the aisles with packaged, processed food. The money you save and the extra energy you feel from plant based nutrition will have you smashing your goals in no time.

be a minimalist

If travelling the world was easy, everybody would do it. It takes sacrifice, you’ll have to give some things up. Coincidentally its usually when you give something up and go without it, that you realise you don’t need it. Travelling in itself is a lesson in minimalism. You have one bag for checkin and one bag for carryon. You quickly realise whats important to you when you have to carry it around with you on your back.

Anything that doesn’t serve a purpose worth carrying everywhere will be left behind. If you can bring this mentality into your everyday life you will be amazed by the positive impact it can have. Not only will you literally have less clutter in your house/apartment/room, you will have less clutter in your mind and less to worry about.

All your excess STUFF is like an expensive anchor, all it does is hold you down and waste your time and money. To help you realise what you really need try this little trick: Imagine if your were packing for 6 months on the road, what would you wear, what you you take to keep you entertained, what would you take that would make you comfortable, what would you take that would keep you learning and growing. Lay it all out on your bed, then look at everything thats not on your bed! Do you really need it?

when you feel that hesitation, realise its a good thing, and then make your move.

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bite the bullet

It's one thing to think it, and another to do it. It's so easy to overcomplicate things. If you worry so much about the finer details you will lose the emotion you had when you first thought of travelling the world. The fear and hesitation we all get is a natural response to exposing ourselves to something uncomfortable. It would be easier to stay home, but it wouldn’t be as fulfilling and you wouldn’t experience so much personal growth. So when you feel that hesitation, realise it's a good thing, and then make your move.

the travel secret - it is cheaper to travel than it is to live the 9 to 5

Travelling is in fact not that expensive when you compare it to the everyday expenses most people are paying everyday. It seems ridiculous to think that living a life of travel can literally save you money but this is sometimes the case. Rent, water, electricity, petrol, food, insurance, car registration, parking fines, Netflix subscriptions 😅 and all the costs associated with everyday living, add up.

When you free yourself from these costs you’ll realise you’ve got quite a bit left work with. If it wasn’t for flights we would actually say that travelling is cheaper than everyday living and this isn’t just in Asia we are talking all over the world.

In the end it all comes down to a choice. Is travelling the world what you really want? It's definitely not a stress free life, and it can be unnerving at times. In our experience it has been travel that made us who we are.

The lessons we have learnt and the opportunities that have come our way due to travel are invaluable. If you follow these steps and you have the courage to take a chance, we know you will come across these lessons and opportunities for yourself.

We hope to see you out on the road someday 🙂

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