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“How can you afford to travel so often?” This is definitely a question I get asked a lot. Often, it is posed as a genuine question from people who are looking to travel more and want to know how I afford to travel as much as I do. So in this post, I’m going to answer that question and tell you how you can afford to travel the world too.
First of all, I will say that I am not rich, nor are my family. I did not win the lottery. I did not inherit a huge amount of money. And I only work part time. So how do I manage to travel the world so often?
Make choices on how you spend your money
The truth is…I make choices every single day. Choices about how to spend my hard earned money. And the truth is, we all make choices based on what’s important to us at certain times in our lives. We all have different interests and, as such, we choose to spend our money on what interests us.
For example, I have friends who love cars, fine wine and dining, designer clothes, decorating their home, or who have children and, as such, spend their money on these things. Every time we choose to spend our money on something, we are making a choice on what is important to us and choosing to spend our money on that particular hobby, interest or way of life.
My main interest is travelling. And so I choose to spend my money on trips. And I make many sacrifices in order to afford multiple trips a year. I don’t have an expensive, new car. I don’t have the latest smartphone. I don’t buy gadgets and appliances for my home unless I really need them and I don’t buy clothing, shoes and accessories just for the fun of it.
I don’t splurge on fine wine, expensive clothes or homewares. I don’t have a mortgage, nor do I have children. I don’t disagree with any of these things, but they are simply not important to me at this stage of my life. And that’s not to say they won’t be important to me in the future. Perhaps they will. But right now, travel is my absolute priority because it makes me happy.
I’m very careful with how I spend my money. This allows me to take multiple trips each year, while still enjoying a good quality of life at home and spending money on the things I value, such as a gym membership, a night out with friends, experiences and clothing and homewares that I really need. I’m quite fortunate that many of the things I enjoy in life don’t come at a cost, such as hiking, nature and reading a good book.
Ultimately, it’s all about designing a life you love. And for me, that includes travel, as often and as far as possible.
Shop around for great deals
Of course, there are times when I have to spend money but I always try to stick to a budget to make sure I’m spending money on the things that really matter to me. For example, when I need a new phone, I could spend £500 on a brand-new device, or sign an expensive contract, but technology isn’t important to me, so I’ll happily go for an entry level smartphone, rather than the latest model.
There are also times when I want to splash out on an item I don’t really need. Like some Kurt Geiger boots that I fell in love with last winter. At £175 retail price, I knew that I could not justify spending that much money on an unnecessary item. So, I shopped around online and found them a brand-new pair on Amazon for £119, and to top it off I had £100 worth of Amazon vouchers to spend. So the £175 boots ended up costing me £19 of my actual money.
It’s not always possible to find such great deals but there is usually a way around paying full-price, whether it is waiting until the item goes in the sale, buying an alternate brand or just foregoing the purchase altogether. You have to decide what’s important to you.
Buy the best quality items you can afford
I also really believe in buying the best quality items you can afford. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but quality items last longer and this ultimately saves you money in the long run. Buying the cheapest item you can find is often false economy as poor quality items will break and need replacing more frequently.
Not only does this eat into your hard-earned cash, it also eats into your time, having to shop for a replacement. Not to mention the burden that fast fashion has on the environment! I still own clothes that I purchased 10 years ago, that are still in excellent condition because I bought good quality items.
This really ties into my belief that minimalism helps me to lead a life I love.
Make your money go further with budget travel
If you are dead set on staying in 5-star luxury hotels and flying first class every time you go away, it’s more than likely that you’ll only be able to afford one or two trips a year.
I manage to travel so frequently because I invest a lot of time into searching and finding bargain travel deals online. I have a steadily growing repertoire of trusted websites and online travel companies that I go to for the best deals. I know what I am happy to pay and very rarely will I go over my budget. Use websites such as Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights to any destination.
I’m happy to stay in 2-3 star hotels, as long as they are clean and safe. And I’m happy to fly with budget airlines at awkward times because the more money I save, the more trips I can take.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you really and truly want to travel more, you can make it happen. You may have to make choices and sacrifices but it all depends on what is really important to you. If you’re not happy to make sacrifices, that’s your call, but please don’t judge me for my own life choices.
Do you have any tips on how to afford to travel more? I’d love to hear your comments below.
It all comes down to choices, absolutely! I’m trying to expand my sources of income and cut down on my daily expenses (oh how I love my coffee, though…) so I can do more than a road trip per year.
Coffee is a difficult one for me too! I love treating myself to a takeaway coffee! But if it comes to choosing between them, travel wins every time. It’s hard to discipline yourself but it’s worth it in the end!
Preach it girl! So much about affording travel is about choosing to put travel first- to make it a priority!
This totally mirrors my views and how I choose to live my life. I have friends on similar wages who wonder how I afford to travel so much, but they have cars, mortgages, children, new clothes, a make-up addiction, subscription TV, gym membership, and a social life! I have travel 🙂
Travel is everything! We all make choices and travel is our choice 🙂 happy travels
Great penny-pinching tips! I need to start implementing a bit more restraint when it comes to nights out and shopping but this has given me some serious motivation!
Yay! Glad to help motivate. It is hard sometimes, but the rewards are fab when you can travel as much as possible!
I can totally relate to all of this, so it’s quite refreshing to read a post from someone who feels the same way as I do. I’m constantly being called “rich” and having assumptions made about me, simply because I live my life in a way where I spend smartly and am able to prioritize travel above everything else. Much of it really does come down to where you decided to spend, and what you sacrifice.
Yes so true. I guess we’re all guilty of judging others to an extent but it does make me laugh when people think I’m rich! I’m the opposite of rich, I just make my money stretch further!
*A LITTLE LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK*
Haha, in all seriousness, thank you for writing this article. What you said about making a choice is so important, and something people who don’t live this lifestyle don’t ever consider. It’s hard to reason with people (especially family members) who can’t wrap their brain around frequent travel, and it unfortunately comes with a lot of judgement. Jokes on them though – we’ve seen way more of the world.
Yep definitely! And I’m so glad to be part of a travel community that completely gets it!! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Thanks for sharing! It’s all about priorities. My husband and I are the same way. We save our money to travel. We don’t buy nice cars, we don’t buy fancy dinners. We do our best to travel as light and as frugally as possible so that we can squeeze another trip in later in the year. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Thank you for the great comment! Yes, priorities are what’s important. So glad we have a fantastic community that makes travel the priority and we can all understand each other 🙂
So many people I’ve spoken to about this seem to expect you to have some sort of secret formula to having more money to travel, when there’s not. I’m exactly the same as you – spend less on other things and get the best deals so you can travel more! It’s all about priorities, like you said.
This is so true! And some people have even said things like ‘Oh you’re so lucky’ or ‘you always fall on your feet’…but it’s got nothing to do with luck. It’s got everything to do with hard work, saving and making choices!
Yep, I totally agree, it’s all about priorities. I have one friend who constantly gripes about how I can travel so much, while she and her husband spent a fortune on their wedding — enough to pay for 2-3 trips at least. None of us get to have it all, we all have to make choices. Granted, not everyone can afford travel even if they scrimp and save, but it’s becoming cheaper and more accessible every day for people who really want it.
Yes, it just depends on what is important to you. A big fancy wedding, great…a nice car, great…a big house, great…but we can’t have it all and as you said it just depends on what you really want. I’m glad to choose travel though…I love it! 🙂
Yes! It really is about the sacrifices. I thought you explained being able to afford travel so perfectly. I just wrote a similar blog post and it’s so interesting comparing notes. I definitely think there’s some overlap. Love your blog!
Thanks, Emma! It’s great to know other people are experiencing the same things.
Yes yes so much yes to this! My husband and I quit our jobs last year to travel and everyone keeps asking how we paid for it and my biggest answer is we don’t have kids! Like you said, people make choices. No one asks why people have kids and given how expensive they are maybe they should! 🙂
Exactly! Noone asks how people afford their mortgages or new cars, so why question what I can afford? Glad you enjoyed the post, thanks for the lovely comment 🙂
This is great! I completely feel you (and many commenters here) about why others feel the need to question anyone’s lifestyle, but then again travel is one of those things. Yep it takes money. But more than that it takes courage. 👍😊
Courage is definitely needed to go against the grain and be different to the majority of people who don’t understand us travelers haha!
So true. Everyone asks us how we manage to save money for travel and there I am on my bike and they in their car, as an example.
Yes! Great example! Choices, choices, choices, that’s what it all comes down to.
HALLELUJAH!! Someone has finally said it. I needed this article for my own sanity and to send it to every single person who is always so concerned about my frequent travelling as if they are paying for my trips. I could not agree with you any more because you are so damn right and so on point I was “mhm”-ing reading every single word like I am Beyonce. Thank you for writing this.
Ha! This is one of my favourite comments ever! So happy my blog post had you “mhm”ing like Beyonce! It seems this is both a popular and controversial subject but one I was more than happy to address! Thanks for your lovely comment and happy travels!
Just discovered your amazing blog through Travelettes!
I can’t agree more with this post. I am ALWAYS asked “How do you afford traveling??” not just in terms of money but also TIME. Most of my friends directly started working after graduation and they did not work while studying. I did the opposite: I worked while studying and was able to save money for traveling after graduation. It is the best time to do so because once you start working (office job particularly), you don’t really have holidays.
I also have an “old” iPhone 4 – it never broke, works perfectly and I have no intention to change it no matter what, even if the trend is to have the last iPhone 17 LOL.
Hi Ji
Sounds like you had it all planned out perfectly with working while studying! It’s so true, you just have to prioritise what you want. Personally, not having the latest smartphone doesn’t bother me too much, neither does not having a fancy car. To other people those things are important and that’s fine. But for me, travel is the most important thing as it brings me so much happiness, so I prioritise it over everything else!
Thanks for your lovely comment! Happy travels 🙂
Zara
Love this post! Currently commenting on a very badly cracked screen for the same reason 🙌🏻
So you understand where I am coming from haha! Thanks for the lovely comment 🙂
Pity people’s nosiness caused you to have to put finger to keyboard. But I enjoyed reading your thoughts/reasons and totally agree. I like to travel too and find people raise their eyebrows when I go so I dont tell them. It is, after all, none of their business and if they cant be happy for me then do I need to tell them. I love reading about your jaunts and learning about different countries through your eyes. May you have many more and I look forward to reading your blogs. xx
Thank you Jean. That is so lovely of you to say. Really appreciate you reading my blog 🙂 I agree that it is not really any one’s business but sometimes you just have to address these things. Hopefully makes people think. xx
Totally agree 🙂
Thanks Danie. Thanks for stopping by and reading my post 🙂
Spot on!
Thanks Damian
People always say to me that I’m always going away – I’m single, no children, minimal outgoings, which they never stop to consider. Instead, I shop about for travel deals, house sit when I can and often eat ‘in’ when traveling….make for cheap but afford exploration 🙂
There are always ways to travel on a budget if you are prepared to put in the hard work to look for the good deals and house sit instead of staying in 5-star luxury hotels! Thanks for the comment and happy travels 🙂