So, how do we afford to travel?
A
question we seemed to asked most when announcing any travel plans is
“How can you afford it?!”
It's
true as parents our budgets are a little stretched at the best of
time, we live off two incomes, but Aaron's is the only regular income.
I
think the way we afford to travel is living simply. I know it sounds
cliché, but it's probably the main reason we can go overseas so often,
we don't need new TV'S (or really one at all...) we buy op shop for
majority of our clothes (I'm opshop obsessed!), we shop smart, we
reuse, repair and recycle.
That's
not to say we don't spend our money on frivolous items (I honestly
own so many Kikki.K notebooks and stationary, I can't even pretend
it's a work related expense anymore...) but we try and keep our needs
and wants separate.
As well as minimizing our spending, we have also spent the last year cutting out expenses. We bought the bus, so we wouldn't have rent. With that we are going to be fitting it out with solar so as not to pay electricity bills and water tanks under the bed to be semi self sufficient. It's not for everyone, but it works for us.
For us, travelling is a really important part of our lives. It's something Aaron and I are so passionate about, we even hope to make a living off it one day. Because of that, we do everything possible to ensure we can; we work hard at a regular job and make sure that we budget to reach our goals.
It might sound overly simple, but to be honest, we aren't complicated people. We love seeing the world, so we make sure we do, even if it means forgoing that pretty new dress or firsthand book.
Yes!! I love this post Dom! You don't need money to travel at all. It's so much cheaper to spend life travelling than it is to stay in one place I find, it's also so much 'richer' to travel :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! <3 As a fellow traveler (and someone who has traveled with us before) I thought you would really understand :) Travelling is always such an experience.
DeleteSometimes I'm a bit annoyed by all those people asking how in the world I can afford to travel that much... I spent a lot of time on the road during the first half of 2013 and traveled to Bali for three weeks during summer. So many asked how I can afford this and even were jealous... but at the end it's really just about keeping things simple. I love love love traveling, so I spend money on this and don't go shopping clothes every week or something like this. It's just because traveling is important to me and this is it... ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I really hope you keep on doing it for a long long time... I have enjoyed your beautiful Bali pics so much it almost looks I have been there with you, guys! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :D
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