Do you want to know the secret of becoming a traveler even though you’re broke?

Have you ever thought about becoming a Nomad, Full-time Traveler or just traveling the world for a year or two. But can’t seem to save money for this trip.

Well, this article is for you. I will take you step by step from being broke to a full-time traveler.

I will give 6 lessons (click below to skip);

• Lesson One: Getting the Balls To Commit
• Lesson Two: Going Travel mode on your finances
• Lesson Three: Down Sizing To Save Money
• Lesson Four: Learning to Say No
• Lesson Five: The Actual Saving
• Lesson Six: Leaving to Travel

Each lesson will have a range of interactive stuff for you to do. So I recommend not skipping as I’ve designed this for you to succeed.

Lesson Number One: Getting the Balls To Commit

So the question is… Do you really want to travel?

Weird question, I know. But you need to really want to travel for this method to work.

As I’m not going to lie to you. It’s not going to be an easy fix but it will be worth it.

But saying this… Anyone can do this. Got debts, no skills or just left school it doesn’t matter.

Let’s start lesson 1 the most important lesson and the one people forget or massively overlook

Lesson 1 getting the balls to travel

In this lesson I will cover your main goal, Fears and the reason why you haven’t gone traveling yet.

Your listening to me, right now, You’re going “I know all this, your only saying the same stuff I already know”. And to be fair this is 95% true. but if you know how to travel, why arent you already traveling?

The Reason, Your scared, not physically and you probably don’t even realise it. But you’re being held back by yourself. You’re not taking the next step that you need to take to change your life. You’re stuck on getting your travel balls and before you fail you need to stop and take in what I have written below. Don’t just read it… Live it.

It’s OK I’m going to give you your balls by the end of this lesson you will be talked out of travel or planning your next trip, either way you be able to move on.

Let’s move on to what could be your fears.

Fears and Blocks Of Travels

If your reading this I believe your main fear will be money-related fears especially if you’re currently in debt. I still get this fear and it holds me back. The fear of running out of money while in another country. “What if I don’t have enough money…”

Then you go into super planning mode… “Bananas cost 10p more there and I averagely eat 4 bananas a week that will cost me 40p more a week, that’s over £20 more for bananas for a year. I’m never going to afford to Travel”

Then after all this your work out it would take 1 and a half years to save… But that was 2 years ago and your more broke now than ever. You end up using lack of money as an excuse more than a simple challenge you need to overcome.

The way I conquer my fears is by just doing it or building up to it which I will teach you in another lesson so if this sounds like you, your fear will be worked on as we go into detail about this later on in this article.

But if your fear is something else like hostels, being away from home or something completely different. You might think your the only one ever to have these fears and blocks, your wrong. No one is an instant master of travel. it takes time.

Work out what it stopping you from traveling now

The way I recommend getting over these fears is by testing the water. Hostel near home, short trips away from family do Mirco version of the fear then expand till the fear disappears. When I say disappear you learn how to conquer the fear by expanding your comfort zone, slowly.

Think of the your fear as a challenge, IE staying at a hostel in a foreign country. Build up to it. try a hotel on your own in your town, next a local hostel then a foreign hostel.

You might find these steps are too big hen try smaller steps. Hotel with a friend, hotel alone, local hostel with a friend, local hostel alone, foreign hostel alone. Make each step a challenge but not too scary you won’t enjoy it.

Write a plan to conquer your fear or blocks

Now you know how to manage your fears, you need to have a travel goal to keep you focused

Your Travel goal.

Setting your travel goal…. This one is important.

If you don’t have a goal in mind, your going to give up at some point. So set a goal.

What is a travel goal? Simply, destination and time span of staying.

It’s really simple to set one. Here are a couple of goals that you might want to work towards and this article will help you achieve.

Working holiday visa 1-3 years in another country

Traveling Asia or cheaper countries than your home country.

Traveling, 3 months on, 3 months off continually.

Use one of the above and add a destination, or think of your own. Now write it down on a bit of paper, stick it somewhere you will see it daily. When things get hard and they will your remember why you are doing it.

Recap

Work out why you haven’t gone traveling….

Work out your fear

Think of ways of slowing getting over this fear (unless it’s the money fear as I will teach you this)

Set your goal

Write it down.

Move on to the next lesson.

Lesson Number Two: Going Travel Mode On Your finances

I will say this now, to make this clear. Becoming a Traveler takes place before any flight, train or car journey. It starts here.

You know you want to travel and Your happy to change your life when your travelling right?

Why not start your travel lifestyle now?

This lesson might come as a shock to most and a lot of you might not like this but this is the truth. Why do Backpackers normally have “shitty” jobs before and after travel?

Because they can’t get another job? Nope

Because they hate the man? Nope

No one will hire a Backpacker? Nope

For the simple reason, they are easy to get, so easy you have choices of where and amount of hours of work.

Let me explain. Oh before I start, this isn’t a dig on anyone on a min wage job its the opposite. Min wage jobs and what I call “shitty jobs” are perfect and great for travelers and using my methods you can make more money for travel, flipping burgers than working in the stock market.

So you work in an office in London… 25k a year… nice! You own a car, but get the train to work, your rent is expensive as its quite close to London, lets say 1-hour train away. You work 8am -5pm but with trains and that you get up at 6:30 am and get home at 6:30 Pm (12 hour days). You don’t pack sandwiches and maybe have the odd drink after work.

Some might think above doesn’t sound too bad, but the problem is your living month to month, no saving for travel… so what can you do? Get a weekend job, But you’re already out of the house for 60 hours a week and your tired come the weekend. Overtime doesn’t happen at your place either.

Easy solution, get a min wage job, with no transport costs, in a cheap area. Might sound weird but you could go from being out of your house 60 hours a week making no money each month. to being out of your house for 40 hours and saving £500 a month (The work could be a lot less stressful too).

I’ve personally looked into this option. I know some of the best places for this in the UK, it is moving up North, Manchester, Newcastle and places similar or Wales and some parts of Scotland.

Some may see leaving a high-paid job to go to a lower-paying one as a stupid option… but in the long term you want to travel… quitting your job today or tomorrow what’s the difference. Especially as you can travel sooner?

How do you work out how to save as a traveler

Load up an excel sheet (or just write it down) and put everything you brought last month down and the money that came in.

For example

• Rent: £700
• Bills: £200
• Travel: £250
• Food(including work): £250
• Car cost and fuel: £300
• Social Stuff: £300

Total £2000

Money in minus all money out = Current savings

For Example Money in £2000- £2000 money out = £0

Now work out min wage for how many hours you want to do a week. you can find out what your minimum wage by a quick google search. Times that number by the you want to work a week. (for example £8.30 x 40 = £332)

Now times your weekly earning by 52 to give your annual earnings (£332 x 52= £17264)

another quick google search will help out how much tax you will pay on this. Search “tax calculator ” put in the yearly money where it says “Gross (pre-tax) Income” then the website will give you a number for after-tax IE £15,381 you can divide this by 12 to give you your monthly earning after-tax IE £1,282

Which now you can use to work out how to save money.

Let’s say you Currently spend all your 25k which works out around £2000 after tax, but I’m telling you to quit that job and take a job that gives you £1282 a month sounds crazy.

This is your excel sheet (or paper from earlier)

• Rent: £700
• Bills: £200
• Travel: £250
• Food(including work): £250
• Car cost and fuel: £300
• Social Stuff: £300

Lets change some bits now you have a min wage job right next to a room your renting.

• Rent and bills: £400
• Travel: £0
• Food (pack sandwiches) £180
• Car: £0
• Social Stuff: £100 (You don’t know anyone)

Total £680

Money In £1282 – Minus £680= £602 saving a month…

Plus you’re out of the house less time so if you want more hours or a second job you can.

Don’t just think about it

I’m not going to lie this isn’t easy for most people, giving up your normal life and changing it completely to save for travel. But that’s why I said to make a goal. Use your goal to motivate you to actually commit to this.

You can really save a lot of money by becoming a traveler, to save to be a traveler.

Do your own research look for places where you can and want to do this. Then actually do it. You might save yourself months of struggling to save in your current lifestyle as well as picking up skills that you will need for your future trip.

Recap

Write down your month to month costings

research and find how much you can save by becoming a traveler early

Do it

Move on to the next lesson.

Lesson Number Three: Down Sizing To Save Money

I hinted on this one in the last section. Downsizing to save money.

With you now knowing how to sort out your finances, this downsizing is a way of supporting this method. Me saying move into a share house might sound easy on paper but to actually do it can be a lot harder than you think.

The question of “where to I put my stuff?” is an easy question to answer. In one bag. but again it isn’t simple.

Storage shouldn’t be an option.

If I said to you now, here is a free ticket to travel the world for a year but you can only take everything you can fit in a 70lt bag max of 25kg.

What are you packing? and what are you chucking out?

I’m not giving you a free ticket and you might not be actually traveling for a while but This now has to be your mindset from today. YOU NEED TO DOWNSIZE

Love to say that you get this spot on the first time you travel… but doesn’t matter who you are, you will always keep something stupid, thinking you will use it when you get home. For me, my parent kept hold of an ironing board… I’ve only ever ironed 5 things in my life but still I asked them to keep hold of it just in case I need it when I get home.

Before you begin, lets talk why I’m getting you do this now… before you have saved any money for travel and it might still take you a year to save…

First and the main reason is getting into the travel mindset. having only a bag gives you freedom. freedom for work, freedom for travel and the travel freedom mindset. You have committed to this travel lifestyle you now are a traveling with all you belonging in a bag. You are a traveler

The second and third reason is you will know how much stuff you can take traveling with you, which saves you money in the long run when you buy stupid things for traveling like sleeping bags (hostels have duvets). plus you will learn how to live jus out a bag. This will also stop you from buying stuff before you travel. you won’t buy it if you can’t carry it. saving you money.

here is a basic list of everything you should keep. Sell, recycle or bin the rest.

• clothes for 8 days
• Work stuff (boots, badges, shirts)
• Phone and keys, wallet, passport, this stuff
• one travel bottle, a single book, a set of cutlery
• wash stuff

That is really all you need to survive a year. in this country or another.

There is something scary from going from living in a house to living out of a bag. You will have attachments to random “shit” and it is normally shit. Birthday Presents, old school stuff, extra shoes and clothes, stuff you “might” need.

My tip is to go mad, the more extreme you go the easier it will be in the long term. I promise its easier to buy something you need than carry something you don’t (You will work out, you don’t need much at all)

Get rid of everything that doesn’t fit in to a 70litre bag and aim for 20kg, and no more ever than 25kg as that is really heavy as a long term bag.

Backpack over suitcase is recommended as it is more portable and will force you to think about weight

Recap

Get a bag

pack clothes

Sell, donate or scrap your stuff

Have all your items in a bag no more than 25kg

Move on to the next lesson.

Lesson Number 4: Learning to Say No

if you have listened to my other lessons, it really has taken you away from many situations that you might have already had to say no too.

This lesson is all about balancing your goal, to the present. Friends and family will ask you to spend money or time. Not directly but for a cause ie; birthday, Christmas and the odd night out. But learning to say know can be hard.

Love to tell you to say no to everything,

Once upon a time, I would have been this harsh but sometimes an odd yes can be good for your mental state. Becoming a backpacker can be stressful especially if you no longer with your friends and family. Just spend time and money wisely and treat it as a treat.

If you have taken my advice from early you probably far enough away for them not to ask you to come down for every stupid thing and now, ask you to come down for the bigger stuff. which is great already for saving you money. but now you need to add travel costs to get to the place especially if you don’t have a car.

Here is a great way of not being a dick to yourself and your family. It’s all in the planning. Plan in a month or two go and see them. and when someone asks you to come out to play you can say no but… I’ll be down on X date.

You need to remember one thing, when traveling you won’t be able to go to these things and it won’t make much of a difference to the other people then. Don’t let the excuse of going traveling be the reason to go out. “your not going to see me for a year when you travel, whats one night out?”

Recap

Learn when and when No is the right response.

Move on to the next lesson.

Lesson Number 5: The Actual Saving

This lesson isn’t something you have to learn, You already know everything I’m about to say as you just read it above.

This lesson is about doing everything above, not just reading it. So answer these questions

What is your travel goal, where do you want to go?

Where can you move to and save money?

What day are you going to move there?

Have you started selling all you stuff that doesn’t fit in your bag?

Are you planning to visit back home once a month? or every 3 months?

When you start saving and living in the travel mindset it can be extremely hard to stay focused. I recommend having a daily reminder of why you are working so hard.

This could be a different YouTube video on the place. Reading a book or just having a look on google images. Just stay focus it will be worth it.

Start putting plans in place, visa, flight and research on stuff you need again a google search or YouTube search will give you these answers (for visa always go on government websites- for that country)

Lesson Number 6: Leaving to Travel

Normally people would say travel is going to change your life… but getting to this stage has made you change your life already.

You don’t need to pack your bags (well you can chuck out work stuff and change it for shorts but your already packed as you been living out that bag already)

You don’t need to say goodbye to friends and family (you can do it again) because you have done that when you moved away.

Quitting your job… This isn’t as hard as it was. because you work for money in your “shitty job” and you know you can get another one when you get home.

Getting to this stage means your already a traveller and you have done the hard part, now for some fun.

So how do I know all this?

This is my actual strategy plan from when I lost everything, my house, car, job and even the ability to travel. I went from nothing to traveling to every country in the world.

Ok maybe it hasn’t happened just yet but this is the goal. If you want to see how I’m currently doing or even watch me do exactly what I mentioned above I have recorded myself doing this and talk about the challenges I face and the ones you may face too.

Thanks for reading, Check out the rest of the site for more weird and wonderful travel related stuff

Sean Brett