Monday, August 24, 2015

Dispelling the "I don't have money" excuse




The Anatoly Nirshberg that first began travelling had almost no money to his name. Yet, lack of money seems to be the number one reason why people never drop everything, put everything on pause, and travel like they dream of. Travelling has always been portrayed as a luxury for those with tons of money to spend.

            The thing is that’s just not true. I was a student fresh out of college and I was working a pretty boring and average desk job. After taxes and loans, I was probably sitting on around $16,000 to live on. But the reason I had the money to pursue my dreams and passions was because I saved it. Money isn’t just going to magically drop in your lap for you to travel (or at least it doesn’t usually) but if you make travelling a priority, you can save the money. Spending is a choice -- you can either spend money on a brand new laptop or save it to travel. It’s all about choices. So if you are really serious about travelling, it’s time to start saving.

            There are a few ways for you to pursue your travelling dreams for very little (aka basically FREE). Here are just a few of the ways you can pursue your dreams and be a world traveller like Anatoly Nirshberg.

            Teach English overseas. This is one of the most in-demand jobs right now and one of the very best ways you can make money for travel. It actually pays rather well; I came back from South Korea with thousands of dollar in my account. The best part is all you need to have is at most a TEFL degree, but even simpler, complete fluency in English. 

            Couchsurf. Couchsurf is a service that networks travelers like you and I with locals who are willing to house us for absolutely no cost. You will never have to pay for decent hotels or any other accommodation for as long as you use this site. The best part about Couchsurf is you are automatically set up to meet great, hospitable locals. Plus, they work really hard to set up meet ups with other travellers so you can make friends while you’re travelling as well!

            Sign-up for airline mailing lists. A lot of people opt for getting free flights or good deals through their travel credit cards; however, if you’re not eligible for credit cards, getting on airline mailing lists can really help you save some money. Airlines often have great deals such as 2 for 1 miles or even giving you points just to get some traffic on new aspects to their sites or services. Also, shopping at airlines’ member stores, which are stores that are “preferred stores” by the airlines, will usually earn you miles based on the money you spend. Pretty sweet deal to me.

No comments:

Post a Comment