Why travelling is NOT expensive and why everyone can be a traveller
“How can you afford to travel for such a long time?” “Travelling is so expensive, how do you manage to afford it?” “I could never travel for more than a few weeks, I don´t have the money.”
Do these sentences sound familiar to you in any way? Have you heard them before or maybe even said them yourself? The wrong assumptions about the cost of being a long-term traveller and the overall expenses you have when exploring the world and living your best life are frequent. To be honest, most of us probably thought the same before starting to tour the planet. We have a false image about how travelling really works and how much it will cost you. People tend to take this as an excuse to stay in their own comfort zone. Enough with the lies – here is why travelling is NOT expensive and why everyone can be a traveller. Yes, even YOU.
Why we tell ourselves that travelling is expensive
Let´s start by understanding why we are lying to ourselves. Well, this might sound a little hard as many people do not even know that it´s a lie. But still, we pretend to know that expensive travelling is a fact. Of course, travelling CAN be expensive. Staying in luxury resorts, flying first class and getting a massage every day is quite heavy for your wallet. But is this really travelling? This would rather be considered as a vacation. But travelling rather refers to exploring, getting to know a culture and to move around. This does not necessarily include the expensive hotels and activities (surely, you can always add them).
But why do we tell ourselves that travelling is expensive? A decision to go travelling for a while really does push you out of your comfort zone. Leaving with your backpack only, starting a new life in a foreign country or getting a job abroad is a big step. You are leaving behind what you know and start into a completely new situation. Many have the urge and the dream to travel, but only a few actually make that happen. False assumptions and excuses protect others from leaving their safe place. And that’s the turning point. That´s the point where you either start lying to yourself and tell yourself that all of this will be too expensive and you cannot afford it. Or, the other way round, you believe that you can make it and just give it a go.
Our safe place: the comfort zone
We lie to ourselves to protect us from leaving our comfort zone. It frightens us and leaves us anxious. We do not know what will happen. We do not know how life is on the road. And this goes for both shorter trips and long-term travelling plans. Both require a step out of your comfort zone and a little bit of courage to make the first step.
So, this might be a good time to ask yourself: have you been telling yourself the same lie? Or are you slowly changing your perspective?
The best reasons why travelling can be CHEAP and is not expensive
It is not easy to make other understand how cheap travelling can actually be. But here are the best reasons why travelling is all but expensive:
You can easily adapt a trip to your budget
As mentioned before, travelling can have any price. It can be incredibly expensive, but it can as well cost you a few euros per day. It is best to set your own budget. How much money are you willing to spend? How much did you save?
After calculating your budget, you can easily adapt your travel plans. For some, it is easier to set up a daily expense on which basis you can plan your trip. You can book hotels, flights and transportation based on your budget, you can choose between cooking yourself, street food and eating in a restaurant. Or you can choose between hostels, hotels and homestays, dorm rooms or single rooms.
This wide variety of choices makes it easy for any traveller to create their very own plan. Your budget can be great orientation, but does not necessarily have to limit your adventure.
Earn money while living abroad
One of the best parts and most convincing reasons when someone says, they cannot afford to go travelling: earn money while doing it. Working and living abroad has become a popular choice for travellers and nomads. It connects both your thrive for the unknown and the adventure and helps you earn money and save some for the next trips.
Some of the most popular options for earning money while travelling are Work and Travel, Workaway or teaching abroad.
Click here for a full guide on how to make money around the world.
This reason is obviously best for those looking for a long-term travel experience. You can combine living and working in a country with exploring the culture. Depending on the country you decide to work in, you can actually make some good money which will later help you travel freely for some time without having to worry about your expenses.
Many experiences are for free
The best proof of how cheap travelling can be: many experiences are completely free. You do not have to pay an entry fee. Hiking, spending time at the beach, exploring forests and jungles, snorkeling… the list of free things to do is endless.
You do not have to join expensive tours or visit museums and temples. There are free experiences you can do and put on your list. You can explore without spending money and get to know a country better. Actually, these kinds of experiences are much more worth than the paid attractions. They introduce you to what a place really is about and will help you get off the beaten path.
You´ll see, budget travelling is actually so much fun!
The truth about budget travelling
Travelling with little money is mostly known as budget travelling. A style of exploring that requires only small expenses and focuses on spending as little money as possible. But budget travelling is much more than just to travel for cheap. It does not only focus on being as cheap as possible and missing out on the best experiences (another false assumption).
Budget travelling can be described as the true travelling by being closer to a country and its culture. Budget travelling allows you to experience a place differently. It allows you to get insights into a world that stays unopened for those in the resorts. It helps you connect with the locals, taste their kitchen and understand their beliefs. Spending your time in home stays and in local restaurants offers the real experiences during travelling. And if you ever have the chance to stay in fancy hotels and eat in expensive restaurants, you´ll quickly discover that this does not get as close as budget travellig. Especially in countries in Asia or South America, budget travelling can be your best chance to really get to know a place. But see for yourself!
Travelling is not expensive – but what else do you need?
It should be clear by now: money isn´t what you need to be a traveller. But what is it instead? If money is not what you need to start your journey, what is it?
Actually, you need a couple of things. But to truly start travelling, you need courage, wanderlust and a dream. You need to be brave enough to leave your home town and get out into the unknown. You have to chase the extraordinary and be on the search for the adventure.
And no, you do not need a plan. You do not even need to have booked your next accommodation. Maybe you should have a travel insurance and an international Visa card 😊 So much for the “boring” part of getting your travel plans started. But apart from that, it really is just all about doing it. Not so much about dreaming and planning. Bu to turn your dreams into reality and chase them.
Are you willing to be a traveller? Because the world is waiting for you.
Need more tips on how to save money? I got you, click here for 9 effective tips.
