Beating the Travel Budget Blues

If you are here reading with me then you probably aren’t a millionaire and haven’t inherited a secret stash of cash from that Great Aunty back in the mother country that no one ever knew about. Like us I’d take a guess that you are a keen traveler and adventurer with a thirst to see the world and some financial limitations. For example you need to work to make the monies to save the pennies to travel.

So often as I’m walking around the world wide web I come across the usual How I saved money to travel I feel that there is a fairly common set of unwritten rules floating around.

I worked really hard for my money
I never buy anything ever (but won’t admit to being a freegan cause that’s not traveler cool)e
I always cook and never go out for dinner/drinks/movies
I never buy a latte/my lunch/cupcakes
I never go anywhere or do anything

If you are following these rules you might just be suffering from the Travel Budget Blues. These don’t leave you with a lot of room to still enjoy the life that you have right now and not the magical unicorn that you will become once you step off that plane and become a traveler.

We’ve briefly touched on this recently in- Living the Latte Factor or a Deposit into the Bank of Guilt. It’s important to keep yourself happy and mentally healthy when your preparing for an adventure. Yes you will see and do amazing things, but this shouldn’t stop you from enjoying what you have now. For us this still means going on trips, socializing with friends and family and generally enjoying life. One of our favorite activities to battle to Travel Budget Blues is to pack up the family, hop into the car and travel locally. The general rules are within a three hour drive from our home and dog friendly. This is a great way to take a leap out of your comfort zone and experience something new.

On average these short trips cost us under $200- including fuel, any accomodation to fees and food (self catering and eating out) and alcohol. These short trips allow us to recharge the ol batteries and still keep in the food books with friends and families. We don’t feel like social hermits and come home with renewed energy to save more, work less and travel more.

Still not convinced? Here are a few happy snaps taken in the first few weeks of 20-14.