Cost of a Year (or really 13 months now) of Travel

FAQ: How can you afford to travel for so long? A: This is a common question and I really wasn't sure how much I had spent until I recently did the math. Given that I have never bought a new car, rarely go out to eat at restaurants back home, never buy clothes at full price and never buy drinks when going out on the town, I have saved for this trip since I would rather spend my money on travel than any of the above. I had anticipated $50/day for a total of $18K, but I have spent much less. I bought most of my flights with my 400,000 frequent flyer miles. These helped immensely since flying business class to China would have blown my budget otherwise. Plus, I made 4 trips home throughout the year. In terms of individual costs, to get scuba certified in Belize with 6 dives cost $300, to attend Burning Man (all expenses included) probably cost me about $450, my 24 tickets to Olympic events in China cost $650, 7.5 weeks of 150hrs of Spanish lessons ($5/hr) in Guatemala cost $750, and my biggest expense was the Galapagos at $2K. Since I traveled rather slowly staying in one city for awhile, couch surfing on occasion and eating the menu of the day meals, I have scraped where I can to expand my budget.

In total, I spent about $14K for the last 13 months, or about $35/day, including the above high ticket items and regular pedicures. ;-) For $14K, I can't even afford lodging in SF for a year and can barely buy a cheap new car. $14K is much less than the cost of 1 year of my college education. And yet I think I learned more in this last year about the world and myself than I ever did in college. If I had traveled through South East Asia, I probably could have spent half that amount over a year and I have often thought about continuing my trip in that region. Many other travelers I have met who are truly doing an around the world trip and who are visiting more expensive countries like the US, Europe and Australia are spending about $18-$20K for the year.

Granted, in this estimate my house costs are not included. To keep my house in livable condition and out of foreclosure, I have had to spend additional money that has nearly caused me to have a heart attack at times. But just purely to travel does not cost as much as one would think especially when staying in hostels and traveling through cheaper countries than the US. If you have ever thought about taking a year off, don't let money or even a jumbo mortgage be a deterrent. It is doable and so worthwhile!