We are regularly asked how we saved enough money to travel, which is a legitimate question! We were recently featured on CNN Money and the post focused on just that – how we saved for our first big trip abroad. This made me realize that we have never really written about it here on our own site.
The idea for a trip came about after we went on an all-inclusive holiday in Mexico in February, 2008. Upon returning, we both made a decision that we loved the tropics, were bored with our current lives in Canada, and we wanted an eventyr.
Us setting out on a trip through the jungle by ATV on our all-inclusive holiday in Mexico, look how young!
We started enjoying backpacking and travel programs on TV, and read every guidebook that we could get our hands on.
On November 19, 2008 (just eight months later), we strapped on our backpacks and set off on our very first backpacking trip through Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka.
Flight from Vancouver to Bangkok!
So, how did we have $40,000 Canadian dollars in the bank after just eight months? Her er hvordan:
Taking on a Roommate
When saving for travel, it’s imperative to cut costs wherever you can, and to supplement your income whenever possible.
I owned a condominium back when we were planning our trip. Nick and I both lived there together, with a roommate who occupied the second bedroom.
Having that extra person help to pay the mortgage and utility costs really helped us out. She paid me $800 / month, which allowed me to keep an extra $800 in the bank each month to put towards travel and / or bills.
Downsizing everything Possible
As soon as we knew we wanted to go on a trip, we started cutting our spending. We had the normal cord and Internet packages, and in buy to save some money, we cut them back to the most basic ones possible.
I used to get my hair done at an expensive beauty parlor in downtown Calgary – around $200 for a cut and colour. I would do this every two months. To save money, rather than going to the fancy hairstylist, I gotten boxed hair dye for $10. I would choose a haircut, but not as often, and when I did go, I went to a more affordable place that charged $50 or less.
Instead of spending $800 over eight months that we were saving, I spent about $250 on hair care.
Me and my hair circa 2008! Boxed dye and cheap cut, not bad
Rather than purchasing guidebooks to plan our trip, we rented them from the library. Or, we went into Chapters bookstore and would sit there and read the guidebooks, while having our once a month Starbucks treat in the attached shop (this is a normal thing to do at Chapters in Calgary).
Speaking of Starbucks. I used to get a coffee every day for $5 – $7 depending on the type. That’s $25 / week at a minimum. So, I stopped having Starbucks during the week and would drink the complimentary coffee available at work. That was a savings of $100 / month.
Say ‘no’ to the $5 a day lattes from Starbucks!
Rather than going out to the motion picture theatre for date night, we would rent motion pictures (people rented motion pictures in 2008!). A trip to the theatre cost $13 / person, plus popcorn and other goodies, for a total of about $40. A rented motion picture and microwave popcorn cost about $6.
It’s amazing how much money you can save on small things if you really put your mind to it.
Working Overtime Shifts
Nick was a printing press operator at a factory in Calgary and he was paid hourly for his work. If he worked any overtime (above 40 hours / week), he was paid time and a half. If he were to work statutory holidays, he was paid triple time. If he chose to work on weekends, he was paid double time.
Needless to say, we didn’t see each other all that often while saving money for travel! But, Nick was able to bank a lot of money in eight months, so the sacrifice was worth it.
Nick’s Old office (Right), slightly different From His new office (Left)
Work Payouts and Bonuses
I worked as a real estate paralegal at the time and was lucky enough to earn a good wage, and be given bonuses, holiday pay, and sick pay.
If I didn’t take my allotted holiday time (which was three weeks) or my sick days (which was one week), then I would be able to take that as cash at the end of the year. After the one week trip to Mexico, I was left with two weeks holiday time as a payout. and because I don’t really get sick, I was given my sick pay as well!
The same went for Nick. He was given two weeks of holiday at his job, and after our trip to Mexico, he had one week left over which he took as a cash payout when he quit his job.
ENll of these payouts together equaled a few thousand dollars.
No taking holiday days to go camping! It was done on a weekend, or not at all
Selling a Vehicle
I didn’t have a car when we were living in Calgary, as I lived close enough to my work that I could walk (30 minutes), or take the bus for cheap when it was really freezing outside, or if I were feeling particularly doven.
Nick owned a car because he needed one to get to his job, and it was good to have for travelling around the sprawling city. Plus, the public transportation system in Calgary isn’t the greatest.
Nicks car, thankfully it sold so we could have money for travel!
Nick sold his car a few weeks before we set off to Bangkok. After selling his beloved car, Nick pocketed $6,500 (he gotten it for $12K. cars are never a good investment).
Selling real Estate
A large chunk of my contribution to our first trip came from selling my condominium in Calgary. Unfortunately, I didn’t sell it earlier (ignoring recommendations from, well, everyone). had I done so, I would have made much, much more money.
The value of the condominium was very high during the oil and gas / real estate flourish in Alberta. But, when I went to sell the property, it was during the downturn into a recession (remember, this was all happening in 2008).
We had talked about keeping the condominium and renting it out while we were away, but the cost of a property manager was high, and I didn’t want to have to deal with renter’s issues while laying on a beach in Indonesia. Plus, I wanted (needed) the money for the trip, and I just wanted to be finished with that tie in Calgary. It felt ideal to sell.
The lower level of my condo in Calgary! I cant believe I found this photo ?
After the cost of sprucing up the place with some paint, having a stager come in, paying off all debts and fees (credit card, realtor, legal, mortgage and line of credit), I still made a pretty good amount of money from the sale of the condo.
Totals and Budgeting
Even though we cut down all of our bills and monthly spending, we still had loads of mandatory living expenses during our final eight months in Calgary:
Mortgage, cord TV, cell phones, internet, condominium fees, city taxes, home insurance, car insurance, gas for the car, groceries, electrical energy bill, toiletries, and entertainment.
But, even after spending money on all of those needed expenses, we still ended up meeting our goal of saving $40,000!
On our first backpacking trip! This was in Indonesia, 2009
We planned to travel for one year, but we ended up staying overseas for 13 months. We spent roughly $33,000 for the both of us for 13 months of travel around SE Asia and the Subcontinent.
This amount includes getting all travel gear before departure, our day-to-day travel expenses, travel insurance, flights to and from Asia, travel visas, Nick’s scuba diving certification, and internal flights as well.
Var det det værd?
Spending a little over $30,000 on 13 months of travel was absolutely worth it!
The Taj Mahal in extraordinary India
That money was spent on experiences and activities, rather than material items and superficial things. We learned about other cultures, met terrific locals and travellers, tried new foods and activities, and exposed ourselves to another way of living.
Thinking back now, we can’t believe how much money we used to spend on living expenses in Canada. I don’t indicate anything fun like weekends away, date nights, or any sort of enjoyment – just basic, every day costs.
We calculated that while we were living at home we were spending roughly $3,500 / month on all of the “essentials” before we even woke up.
Putting that into perspective, after we booked our flights to and from Asia, paid for travel insurance and gotten our gear etc., our travel budget while on the road was just $50 per day (or around $1,500 per month).
That’s less than half the cost of living in Canada, and we were enjoying a much a lot more satisfying life overseas.
After our SE Asia trip, we realized just how far our money goes abroad, and how much money we wasted on things that didn’t bring us any happiness in Canada.
At that point, we only had SE Asia and the Subcontinent to compare it to, but having now travelled around the world for nearly eight years, we know that there are lots of countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia where your hard earned dollars will go additionally than in Canada, the USA, England or Australien.
Smuk Leela Beach på Koh Phangan, Thailand.
For $ 1.500 – $ 2.000 / måned kan et par nemt rejse i mange dele af verden. Det samme beløb er næppe en prioritetsbetaling eller en husleje tilbage i Canada.
Rejse er nu blevet vores livsstil, og vi er evigt taknemmelige for, at vi havde modet til at forlade vores job, sælge vores aktiver, opbevare resten af vores ejerskaber (som vi senere mistede i en oversvømmelse) og siger farvel til vores velkendte bor i Canada. At tage af sted på vores første backpacking -eventyr var øjenåbning og livsændring.
Jeg kan ikke tænke på en bedre måde at bruge $ 33.000 på?
Forhåbentlig gav denne artikel dig nogle gode ideer til at begynde at spare på dine egne rejsemål. For nogle meget mere råd og inspiration til at spare penge til rejser, se på disse indlæg:
Den største guide til en førtidspensionering
7 ideer til at spare $ 15.000 på kun et år
Sådan rejser du verden, når du absolut ikke har nogen penge
10 måder at spare penge på en verdensrejse
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