Like most things in life—including eggs these days—travel isn’t cheap. How can you do it without blowing your budget and racking up credit card debt?
1. Pack up and move there
It doesn’t have to be forever. Living in Vancouver, Kamloops, and Edmonton allowed me to spend my time off traipsing about the city and making local friends. As an educator in Bangkok, I was immersed in the Thai culture. It was super cheap to take side trips to Phuket and Chang Mai, not to mention weekends in Myanmar and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2. Give your time, get a trip
Volunteering is a terrific way to fund a trip. Depending on the organization, you may be able to have your whole stay covered. The Amity organization, which partners with the Presbyterian Church in Canada, enabled me to spend a month in the summer teaching tips to new ESL teachers. Locals happily paraded us around northern China to places we wouldn’t have otherwise experienced. We were invited to a 12-year-old’s birthday party—which in Inner Mongolia is a very big deal since it’s the only birthday they’re allowed to celebrate. You see somewhere new, and it feels pretty darn good to give your time.
3. Live someone else’s life
Go on an exchange. In high school, I did two—to Quebec and to Germany. It didn’t matter that I didn’t speak a lick of German. Going to school (and being put in a class with 10-year-olds) quickly changed that. Before you ask: yes, there are adult exchanges. Check out Worldpackers.com.
4. Friends, family and fun
Hang with your peeps. In England, I spent Christmas break with a British friend I’d made in the Cook Islands. In Basel, Switzerland, I woke every day to the scent of Schoggiweggli wafting from the bakery below belonging to my then boyfriend’s ex (okay, so it was a little awkward). Be sure to gift generously and remember reciprocation is sweet so be prepared to make up your guest bed and invite them back.
5. Travel off-season
Watch for staggering deals. Brave enough to book last minute? Go for it. And if you can travel off-season, you’ll avoid throngs of fellow tourists and have more moola in your pocket. Low seasons:
- Africa – October to April
- Asia – May to September
- Europe – late November to March
- Middle East– spring or autumn
- North America – November to March/April
- South America – September to November
6. Get a side gig
Instead of budgeting until your brain is smoldering, why not get a side hustle? Find something you love and earn some “fun money”. I’ll share more deets about my moonlighting in a future blog.
7. Make (sometimes hard) choices
In our society, we’re told we can have everything—and have it now. Hm. Even richypants people gyrating in bathtubs filled with twoonies have made trade-offs. You’ll have to make (sometimes hard) choices that fit with your lifestyle and your values. Do you want a week next to a pool in Jamaica or do you want your kid to play hockey? Is spending your paycheque on booze and Temu getting you closer to your goal of visiting Lisbon?
“Everything you do in life is a trade-off. Anything you say, do, or pursue has a cost and a benefit. Those costs and benefits may not always be immediately apparent—sometimes the costs and benefits are dislocated in time, the benefit being immediate and the cost in the distant future. Sometimes the costs or benefits are subtle and psychological. But nonetheless, there is always a trade-off.” Mark Manson
Read more about my hard choices in an upcoming blog post.