Travel May Require Sacrifice

Regardless of how good a budget traveller you are, travel is almost never free. It is going to cost money, usually on top of the cost of maintaining a home in your place of residence. That may mean that in order to afford the travel you want, you may have to do without certain other things--perhaps a car, new clothes, new furniture, a second home, etc.

There is an interesting blogpost today at www.xojane.com/fun/backpacking-for-idiots where she discusses some of the ways she manages to travel extensively on a limited budget. I too, because I have made travel a priority in my life, have spent long periods without some of the trappings of the normal North American lifestyle.

When I was travelling the most, sometimes flying overseas twice in a month, I lived without a car. I also had a comfortable but non-luxury condo in downtown Montreal with low maintenance fees. (Those were the days, when real estate prices in Montreal were low.) Most of my furniture came from my parents' home, a few pieces were bought second hand, a few even came from the street.

Today my financial situation is better, but I still economise on a lot of items in order to afford travel. I have a car, but one that was purchased second -hand and that will turn 18 in July. My furniture is still second-hand, but some of it is newer second-hand.

There are lots of ways to economise when you travel, including perhaps not visiting the best-known attractions in a particular place. Jane writes about having decided to skip Macchu Pichu during a visit to Peru because the excursion was so costly. Not everybody would do this, but it is worth considering.

Jane recommends making a list of travel destinations for the next five years or so, doing some research and attaching a price tag to each trip. That way, when you are tempted by a designer purse, a pricey meal or some other indulgence, you can decide in favour of your trip to Kenya instead. It's all a matter of priorities.