How I Traveled The World on A Shoestring Budget and Still Going

When people find out that I travel full time and live abroad, one of the questions I receive is always “how do you afford it?”

We all want to know about money, how much money you save, how much money you spend, how much money you make, money, and money?

We are obsessed with money, and the real reason you do need money is to survive. Except you do not need as much as you think.

How to make your money go further while on the road.

Always think in the currency of the country you are in, do not think in dollars, or you will go through money faster than you imagine. In Colombia, 4k pesos is 1 USD, so it is not a big deal to spend 20K pesos on something.

I think the opposite, the average wage in Colombia is 5–7K pesos per hour. So it puts it into perspective.

Do what the locals do; it is not customary to tip here. The server will ask you if you want “Servicio” added to your bill in Medellin. It’s not much; we always say yes, as that is common in Medellin.

Here in the countryside, we do not tip. It is not customary. You can leave a few pesos that you have left from your bill, but that’s it. I am not being cheap; this is to keep the balance of their ecosystem.

If things go up because of more gringos, the locals can not afford to eat or shop there. It has happened all over the world. So stick to the rules of that area; if you do not know the system, ask Google or a local.

Find ways to do exchanges. I have been doing work away, which is a volunteer website. You can sign up (affiliate link) for 35/year and access tons of hosts worldwide; the real secret of how I have been able to keep my costs low.

I volunteer for a bed, and usually, breakfast depends on the hosts. I have also volunteered at some places where I got all three meals included. I went months with not spending more than 100 dollars.

Use air miles to travel. Especially if you were like me in the past and your credit card was your best friend. Use the points you have already accumulated, and stop using the credit card.

Since I have stopped using my credit card, I barely spend any money. I take out cash from the ATM and always use money; there is a different feeling with paying in cash vs. swiping a card. I am more conscious of how much I am spending also.

Find ways to make money online and earn in USD or GBP, or EU. I have had a few online jobs, from nurse consulting to teaching English and writing. I recently signed up for crowd content to add additional income as well.

Travel slow and live outside the tourist areas; I do not stay in the touristic areas for longer than a week and find out the rules in my local place regarding tipping, where to stay, and volunteer opportunities online or offline.

I was thinking about this today, how people see me. I want to laugh most of the time with all the money questions I get. Life is not about how much money you have.

What are you going to do with all the money in the bank? If you are miserable, is it worth it? I could have stayed in my cushy corporate nursing job, spending money on alcohol, things I don’t need, and continued into depression.

I would of most likely driven my car off a cliff due to sadness. Instead, I chose to differently. Anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

The problem is that most of us sit around talking about what we want and throw shade at those who are out there pounding the pavement to reach our dreams.

My dream was to travel the world for as long as I wanted. That is what I am actively doing.

To find new adventures and chase them. If there is a will where there is a way; I have no idea who said this, but I firmly believe it. Those who criticize what others are out there doing are the ones who are scared.

I have gotten so much hate for my lifestyle choices. Friends asking me about retirement, growing older, and settling down.

When I tell them I have the retirement, they usually stop the questions. I also find out they have none. They are the ones worried about me yet they are not living the life they want. They are the ones stuck in an unhappy situation.

There will always be haters. People will tell me, “you just want to survive.” I never think that I am just surviving the way I live is thriving, just because I do not choose to live in a luxury penthouse apartment; so many attach things to quality of life.

I am not asking for others to support my way of living; I foot every single one of my bills and have figured it out.

I do not live in debt, except for student loans, which I think never go away, and I almost let them hold me back, and then I decided not to let money ever hold me back from doing anything in life.

Everything is figure-out-able if you are determined and know what you want. I should add, willing to do the work. So many criticize; I always say take a good hard look in the mirror before you throw daggers.

XOXO

S