Budget Travel Tips :
in this article am going to show you the top 10 budgeting tips for your backpacking adventure so all that money that you've saved lasts as long as possible and you don't blow it all in one go on just unnecessary things.
1- you must come up with a daily budget or have a daily budget in mind:
- do some research of the country that you are just about to visit and come up with a realistic daily budget,
when you have a figure in mind of what you roughly should be spending you're less likely to go crazy and forget that your bank balance is not infinite
2- keep a track of your spending :
- easiest way to do this is to always have your daily budget that you had in mind out in your purse in cash that way you can see throughout the day how much is going and always how much you have left.
- alternatively if you're super conscious or don't trust yourself or just ridiculously organize, there are a bunch of free apps that you can use which help you track your spending,
you put in your daily budget and then you'd say exactly how much you've spent on what and it obviously adds it all up for you, tells you if you're over your budget, under your budget and these can be really good for tracking your spending.
you put in your daily budget and then you'd say exactly how much you've spent on what and it obviously adds it all up for you, tells you if you're over your budget, under your budget and these can be really good for tracking your spending.
3- live as cheaply as possible (cheap accommodation):
- couchsurfing is an app where you can stay on a locals couch or if you're lucky even a spare bed for free, there is obviously the option to camp if you have a tent and of course there are hostels .
4- eat as cheaply as possible:
- in Southeast Asia it's often just cheapest and easiest to actually eat a meal out which is absolutely fantastic, however in countries like Australia this is not the case so most decent hostels are equipped with a kitchen so use it .
5- physically travel around as cheaply as possible:
- always check out all the options available when it comes to travel.
- offers for private shuttles will constantly be thrusted in your face when you're backpacking but, if you want to save money always check to see if it's not too much hassle to get a public bus or a train to your next destination.
- sleeper services are always better as well because obviously you save a whole night's accommodation.
- if you are going on a particularly long cross-country flight it's definitely worth checking Skyscanner and sta travel you'll be surprised at how cheap some domestic flights can actually be .
6- do activities as cheap as possible:
- like the private shuttles you are always going to have tours thrusted in your face as a backpacker sometimes these are great and well worth the money but alot of the time these are a massive ripoff and you find out that you can organize a trip pretty much identical to the tour and by organizing it yourself and it would just be a fraction of the price .
so talk to people in your hostel or people in the area to find the cheapest way to do an activity or the cheapest operator that provides a particular activity .
- also countries like Australia have their own version of Groupon you can actually use it when you're on the road as well , there may be activities that you want to do so it's definitely worth checking that out for cheap activities.
7- share your costs:
- this is obviously much easier if you are traveling with friends but even if you're traveling by yourself it's still very much doable.
literally just ask people in your hostel if they want to team up for food, activities, lifts, free drinks most likely outcome will be a yes because believe it or not everyone is trying to save money and you also make friends at the same time which is great.
8- research the best place to do a particular activity so you can spread them out throughout your trip:
- for example say you're doing the east coast of Australia and you know you want to do a skydive, research before you go the best place or the place that you would most like to do a skydive .
so just research where you're going before you go and if there is like a particular activity that you want to do in a particular place so save it for that place spread out your activities throughout your trip, you want to keep having fun .
9- just do things for free:
- hiking, wandering, beaching, are all free activities and are great ways to explore the country you're in without spending any money.
don't think that you have to spend money to have a good time.
10- work abroad:
- if you find yourself running out of money or you want to stay longer than you originally planned consider getting a job in the location that you're in.
- hostels are a great way to earn extra cash whether you're doing promotion work or housekeeping work for accommodation .
- working abroad it is worth thinking about whether you think you're gonna maybe want to work abroad before you leave for your trip because there's places like Australia, New Zealand where you need a visa to work in that country.
so think about it before you go if you think it's something that is worth doing and definitely get yourself a wacky holiday visa as opposed to a tourist visa.
- it's also worth thinking about if you are going to countries which don't speak English to take a TEFL course before you go because another good way to earn extra cash is to teach English and that's a very rewarding experience as well .
Conclusion:
- it's no fun to get caught up with your budget and just be constantly worrying about how much you're spending but it's even less fun to completely run out of money on your trip and have to go home.
so all I can say is do your research of the country that you're about to visit so you don't get any financial shocks .
make sure you have more than enough money in your bank account before your trip and although you should keep an eye on your bank balance it should definitely not be something that you're constantly stressing about .
saving and budgeting are all a big part of the backpacking experience and this is a big part of how your farm field trip is actually teaching you like lessons about money and being resourceful.... etc