Money is a touch topic to talk about. But I have received these kind of questions since last year when I started to travel ( a lot i might say ). And not only people whom I do not know ask me from some random app, but also my friends’s been questioning how comes I travel all the times and where do i get money from to go from places to places. So today I think I am gonna all the answers to this kind of questions in this post.
I am coming from a privileged family (which was not privileged from the beginning because my parents were immigrants), but I worked very hard for everything in my life since I was 18 and this was everything that mattered to me, until today. Nothing has changed. I worked and saved money to enjoy traveling and to treat myself sometimes with nice designer bags and shoes. Of course my parents supported me with everything I wish to do and to have, but I just prefer to do it on my own. What I wanna tell you is that I wasn’t born rich. And the word “Rich” can be defined in many ways. Rich doesn’t just mean to be a wealthy person or having abundant possessions. Let’s see it in a different perspective. There are many ways to be rich, rich in kindness, rich in intellectuality, rich in creativity, rich in friendliness and so on.
I started working ( not for my parents ) when I was 18 years old, last year of high school as a baby sister for 6 months. At first, this was just a 2 months thing but then I clicked with the kids and their family so well that was why I continued for doing for 4 more months. The reason I had to stop doing this was because my final exams were coming and I needed to focus on studying even I love the kids so much and the payment was great too. That was the first time I made my own money and I felt so great that for the first time of my life I invited my family out for dinner and I was the one who paid it with my own money. Ever since then, I know that I love working and earning money by myself. I think it is because of the feeling it makes me feel. I feel proud of myself and I feel that I am not a total useless as I always felt about me growing up. I am telling you this because I want to explain how I appreciate money and knowing that it is not easy to earn money at the first place.
So back to saving up. Finding ‘extra’ cash for travelling is a tough ask at the best of times, and can be especially challenging when you’re a student. Once you get organised, however, you can nibble your way to a savings fund without feeling overwhelmed. Even when you have your parents to support you but I highly recommend we need to save up on our owns. Trust me, once you get the feeling earning and spending your own money, it feels so amazing and satisfying . You can do with it what you please.. ( talking as a student here)
I have heard from countless people, both in real life and online, that the hardest part about travelling is having the MONEY to do it. In many ways, they’re right; travelling can be expensive. Depending on where and when you go somewhere, the expense can range from doable to absolutely out of reach.
Personally, I saved money all specifically for travel and treating myself. After going spending a semester in my freshman year, I knew I wanted to continue to travel both during my time at school, and after. To do that, I needed to save up little by little to reach my goals.
Here are little somethings that I did/do to save money:
1. Get a part time job
I worked as a full time waitress in a Vietnamese restaurant at the weekend and part time on weekdays. Having a part time jobs helps you become disciplined and develops great habits for success. The more money you earn the sooner your piggy bank for travel fills up too and the more traveling you can do.
2. Minimize spending on material goods
I, like many other people, love shopping. However, when I started saving my money I realized the quickest way to have more cash in my wallet was to just stop buying unnecessary things such as new clothes, products and shoes. Instead of spending $40 on a new sweater, search sales for a $20 one and put the extra $20 in savings. My shopping rule is now that if I don’t love it, I don’t buy it. AND if I do LOVE it, well then screw it I will buy it lmao. Okay it is a joke. Normally it is what I do when I see something and I love it. But when I am saving up for my next trip, and I see the product that I LOVE. I wait a day to think it over. Most of the time after 24 hours I realize I don’t really need it and it’s not worth the money.
Of course, if you’re a big shopper then you’re probably going to have to reign in the amount of things you’re buying. But if you’re a big shopper there’s also a high chance that you’re buying a lot of things that you don’t really love. If you can’t even remember what you’ve bought in the last month or you’re already thinking about what you’re going to buy next before the thing you’ve just bought has even made it to your wardrobe, then you can probably afford to buy less stuff. And even with that, you can still buy the things you love.
Don’t give up shopping, don’t create that sense of deprivation or lack.
3. Have a monthly target
Divide your total trip cost by the number of months until you go away. This tells you how much you need to save or earn to be able to afford your holiday.
4. Sell Your Crap
I sell my stuffs online. If it’s worth good money and you can’t travel with it or you did and you just won’t use them again, then is it really worth hanging onto? In my case, I took a long, hard look at my clothes one day, decided to sell it, and bought a bunch of new stuffs to replace it ( joke)
5. Have more house parties
This one relates to spending less on alcohol. If you have a house party you get your friends to bring the alcohol for you and you provide the venue. It’s a win win for all. In exchange for hosting the party all you have to do is clean up the next day. Being the host comes with it’s own benefits too, everybody wants to meet you 🙂 Increase your popularity status and save for your trip at the same time.
I havent hosted any house party yet. I just go to house parties 😀
6. Go to class
You’re paying for it and skipping is like throwing money out the window!
7. Cook More
Now is a good time to learn the art of cooking. It’s entirely possible to buy low-cost, healthy ingredients, and cook your own tasty meals at home.
8. Earn extra money before you travel
I work from home as a freelance online translator. Translating text from one language to another is becoming a fast-growing online profession. And the requirements are pretty easy too, so virtually anyone can become a translator part-time, or even full-time.
Most translation jobs require text-based translation. In some cases wherein you’d be translating live, you’ll need Skype to join conference calls or conduct one-on-one translations with a client.
Full-time translation jobs and extensive one-off projects are paid on an hourly basis. You can expect to earn around $12 an hour, but technical, legal or scientific content often pay up to $40/hour. Those with translation certification are given higher-paying jobs.
For smaller projects, such as brochures, lyrics, one-page document, slogans and the like, translation fees come on a per-word basis (around $.10 to $.20/word).
Translation jobs are also available on freelance websites like Guru.com, Fiverr.com, PeoplePerHour.com, Freelancer.com, UpWork.com, and more.
9. Resources To Get You There
These are useful tools for learning how to track your spending, budget your life, save money fast, or earn extra income.
- YNAB – Excellent budgeting software & system to help you get out of debt and save money.
- Mint – Popular free app for tracking your finances and managing your money.
10. My last step to saving money, is being motivated to actually do it.
If you see a picture of the Taj Mahal and think “wow, I want to go there,” know that it may take months or years to save up the money to go. But that motivation will be what is driving your hard work and trust me, it WILL be worth it. If you have the drive, the rest will fall into place.
So, saving money won’t be easy. But it is NOT impossible! Learning how to save money for travel as a student can be a bit of a challenge, another but, anything challenging is rewarding! Rewarding yourself with the adventure of traveling the world, meeting new people, exploring different ancient civilizations and learning from new cultures is something that no other experience but travel can give you. It is important to view a big trip as an investment in your own life. Treat it with the same respect and dedication you would if you were buying a brand newest product that you one time saw on Instagram.
Best of luck – and I hope to meet you out there chasing your travel dreams! ★
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