BootsnAll Travel Community

So everyone here has an idea (or an exact number) of what they would like to save. I feel like my end number is too big to really think about so I try to concentrate on smaller goals. It makes me feel like I am getting there faster. Does anyone else do this? Do you reward yourself when you hit them? I thought at first that I would let meself splurge on something, but then I just ended up putting the extra money away, the satisfaction was enough.

Also, how long are most people saving for? I leave next March (10th, 11th, or 12th), and I would have saved for 26 months (about).

The only smaller goals I have is the monthly requirement in order to meet my big goal. I track my money like crazy though, so as long as the graph is going up, I feel successful.

I don't know if I could do 26 months, though. For my last trip I saved for 12 months, and that was as long enough.

It's been a challenge. However, I want to spend a lot of time in Europe so the extra money is needed.

I have a huge excel spreadsheet with my personal country per day estimates compared to those at the Saving for Travel web site. (Like I said, I've been saving for 15 months already so I have lots of time) I think I look at my ing account many times a day. The sheet also tracks how much I have and all that fun stuff.

Kathryn -

I am so with you on the saving goals... I actually have a planned out month to month goal list for the rest of the year with what I need to do that month and how much money I need to save by that time. I'm pretty crazy with tracking it all... check my ING and bank account like crazy... just overall obsessing over it. I have been saving for about 9 months now and have another 9 to go. It is so painful at times to just save and save, we sometimes splurge and get some take-out food or go to a cheap sit-down. It's amazing how those feel like a luxury now hahah.

It was hilarious last weekend when brian's family took us to a movie and his dad was talking about getting snacks... we were like "we get movie theater snacks, too?! That's such a luxury item!" haha

On Friday I'm hitting a major goal. I feel like I should celebrate somehow. Perhaps I will stay in and put the money I don't spend into savings?!?

Live it up, just a little... if it's a major goal, a nice meal or something wont set you back too much, just dont waste money on booze in bars, if you drink go to a liquor store. Plus, you could always leave 1 day later to make up in money for what you spent that day celebrating.

As for my own savings, I'm hoping to leave with $20K, at the end of this or early next year, and I'm a little over halfway there. I do a lot of ebaying, and have bought a bunch of items to resell for profit on there, so I sort of cringe when I have to dip into my funds to buy the stuff, but I know I'll be making it back shortly. I dont really set any goals, but by May or June, I'd like to have $15K saved up hopefully.

How long do you plan on going for and where are you going?

I haven't really done any detailed planning, but must sees would be New Zealand, Thailand, India, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and then on over to Europe in various countries. I'd definitely like to see South Africa and South America but it might not be doable really. Also I'm planning on at least 6 months to a year.

I'm going to Jordan in about 6 weeks. I can't wait. Luckily I get to travel quite a bit this year. Some of it will be for work and free. I think that will help sustain me.

Are you going to Petra while you're there?

Petra, Wadi Rum, Jeresh, the Dead Sea, and I think the place where they say Jesus was baptised.

I can't remember what I said before. But we are also going to Oman and the UAE. It's going to be a fabulous trip. We think that its not a good trip for a girl to go on alone. Both of us tend to be really independent travelers so it will be interesting to see how much we annoy each other. I'm sure we will be able to compromise though.

How exciting Kathryn!

You'll have to give us a budget breakdown from this trip... I guess part of it is work related so... anyways, those are all places brian and i have been jumping back and forth on for the past couple of months So Hopefully if we work our butts off enough this fall we'll be good to go.

This is completly for fun. I'm going with fellow bootie Rachelmh. I will definitly have a detailed budget breakdown when I get back. For now I can tell you that I've spent about $1300 on airfare. I'm thinking Jordan will be about $45 a day, Oman $55, and UAE just like Vegas. So I'm figuring about $2200 for the whole thing.

I just upped my goal I was going to leave with $10,000 but changed my mind when I learned the World Cup was going to be in South Africa in 2010 so I want a larger cushion on my RTW as it will be a much longer trip now. So I am leaving about six months later and will have about $5,000 more in the bank.

How far do you think you can get on $10k? I'm thinking of my own budget and begining to think that I'm worrying for nothing.

I'm interested as well... I haven't done my RTW and I'm really big on overbudgeting "just in case"... so my goal is something way crazier than that.

Mine too. Although that number is inspiring me to spend a bit on a trip to FL for sanity.

Look folks. It all depends on how you spend your money once you start your RTW. I stay in hostels or couch surf. I spend very little on food. I eat in restarunts of course, but not every meal and then tend to chose local place that working folks eat at. They actually tend to have better food than all the places you read about in the guides and are much cheaper. I cook my own meals or eat a lot of bread cheese or hard sausage or peanutbutter for the non restaraunt meals. I do not pre book my tickets as I can usually find inexpensive alternate transport form place to place, of course you have to buy the occasional air ticket from time to time but buses are usually much cheaper and a lot more fun than flying or if a train is available especially in Africa they are a blast and again much cheaper than airfare. I tend to buy small souveniers from stands and mail them home as I don't carry them with me. One trip this was the bulk of my expenses. You buy local brands and not the internationally famous ones when it comes to products, once I went by a factory in South Africa and the same toothpaste that was sold as a local brand was going into an internationally know one. There are lots of tricks to cutting back on expenses but the main one is stay away from packages for tours and hotels and to think before you do pay for the occasional one. Case and point is once I paid a local tour guide to take me and some friends on Safari in Zambia total cost for ten people seven days $650US.We had a great time and the guide catered to what we wanted to see. Another group laughed at us paid $800US each for a Safari with an internationally know tour group and were miserable. They were treated like they didn't matter, following the companies itenerary and when all of them wanted to stop at one place for photos they weren't allowed. The moral of the story is ask around for the wh the best is and usually they are local and cheaper. i have travelled quite abit and have contacts that allow me to find some great local deals so network network network.


EDIT: I plan on being gone for two years on $15,000.

quote:

Originally posted by Bush Trekker:
I cook my own meals or eat a lot of bread cheese or hard sausage or peanutbutter for the non restaraunt meals.

HAHA this sounds like what I eat all the time now... should be set for the road! Brian and I buy those giant PB jars and eat it all the time.

Thanks for the info Bush Trekker, hopefully someday I'll have some travel advice to dish out of my own :-)

I stay in hostels myself and eat cheap along the way. I find that my biggest expensence is often museums admissions.

A lot of how much you need is also dependent on where you are going. Europe is a lot more expensive than, say, SE Asia.