“I want to go travelling for 3, 6, or 12 months, how much money will I need?” These are the usual time frames back packers give themselves for their adventures around the world. I would say a strong percentage end up staying longer than planned and on rarer occasions, thrill seeking travellers may end up coming home early due to financial strains. But fear not, this doesn’t have to be you…
Before I went travelling around the Asia-Pacific region for 6 months, I saved over the period of roughly a year, putting £500 in to a savings account each month and also selling my first ever car *insert sad face here* for £900, a couple of weeks before I went. In the end, after flights, vaccinations, visa’s and travel insurance was all paid for; I had around £5,000 for my trip. However, for me, an Australian working holiday Visa was my card to fall back on if money got too tight on the road…
Keep an eye on your budget, so you can keep roaming and see views like this…
Obviously there are a lot of variables with how much money a person will spend whist travelling. For example, if you’re a big drinker and plan to go to Sydney Australia, first, expect your money to completely dwindle before you realise. However, if you budget yourself and check your expenses regularly, you’ll more than likely be absolutely fine! What I found helpful whilst traveling was to document what I spent everyday and by having a rough idea of my budget in each country I visited.
Other options that will help you keep track of your money whilst on the road include phone Apps. This App, created by Never Ending Voyage works with the iPhone and helps you keep track of your money. AND it’s currently free to use up to 25 times before purchasing! http://voyagetravelapps.com/trail-wallet/
Other things to consider on the money front are bank charges and phone bills! These can often be forgotten about and definitely weigh up. Money Expert is a great site for looking at the different options available, depending on where you plan to go. I opened an account with Metro Bank in London before I went away, who were offering no cash withdrawal or card payment fee’s on ANY international transactions! Unfortunately they don’t offer this anymore; however, Metro bank still offer this sweet deal for using your account in Europe which I will hopefully be doing this summer!
Local sim-cards for mobiles are also the cheapest way to communicate via phone, as long as you don’t mind changing your number every time you visit another country. If you plan to ring home a lot, an international sim card may be useful, with outlined rates and free incoming calls to your mobile. Alternatively, why not take advantage of Skype or Viber for free international communication!?
Hopefully the below diagrams are of some help if you plan to go travelling and are worried about your budget! If you would like to see the full spreadsheet of costs during my 6 month travels around SE Asia, Australia and NZ, please feel free to get in contact.
As always, happy roaming!
NB: Currency exchange rates were based on XE.COM at the current time of expenditure during my trip. Also, the lack of accommodation costs in Australia are due to staying with different family members.
And, in turn, the calculator will tell you what kind of household income you may need to accomplish it.
Very true… however it did take over a year to save this.