The Debilitating Force

The main reason that people don't take trips is due to money. Any time I talk to somebody about my travels the first things I hear are "I wish I could do that but I'm broke!" or "I just don't have enough money yet for that."

Let's be real guys. You can save and save and save and still not have "enough."

Life will always get in the way. Items will come up that you just need. Emergencies happen. Your friends will want to get spontaneous tickets to the local concert or festival. Your coworkers will always want to go out for drinks after work. You will make a goal to save a certain amount, then you will get there and not want to spend it all on one big trip, thinking of all the things you could buy or multiple smaller weekend/local trips you can take. Or you will save the goal amount of money and realize the added expenses of traveling and the activities you want to do and feel the need to save more.

If travel is what you really want to do, make it work! Make a budget and stick to it, it will make saving larger amounts easier. Maybe come to terms with the fact that you might not be able to do absolutely everything that you want to do on your trip. Try cutting out one of those cheesy guided trolley tours around the village, opt for taking a free self guided tour or do your research beforehand and visit the same places as the tours do. Instead of staying in a 4-star hotel, try finding a cheaper places to stay, while traveling you don't spend a whole ton of money in the room anyway. Check Airbnb, hostels, or even Couchsurfing for cheap (or free!) places to stay. Ask yourself if you really need that second glass of wine, second beer, or the dessert plate. If you are really trying to scrounge on a trip (like I often am) you can even cook for yourself and save some extra dollars. On both of my cross-country road trips, I survived off of oatmeal and canned veggies in order to go a little further along in the trip, or to afford that summit beer while hiking some awesome trails around the country.

There will ALWAYS be a way to cut your costs not just on the trip, but while preparing for the trip. Don't let money be such a driving factor in your trip. In the end, it's more about experiencing the culture and environment and meeting the locals, not about how much money you spend on souvenirs or hotels or the like.

Just remember, if there is a will, there is a way!