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A lot of people think traveling the world has to be this expensive, luxurious, extravagant adventure. But it doesn’t have to be. To be honest, some of my favorite traveling stories was when I budget traveled throughout Europe for a month and a half out of a backpack. My daily budget was less than €50 a day and sometimes I even spent as low as €30. If you saw my pictures, you definitely wouldn’t be able to tell I was budget backpacking, but I was and I’ll tell you some tips on how I did it!
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My budget backpacking trip around Europe was one of my favorite adventures still to this day and I want to share some of the ways I made it happen. Here’s my guide on how to afford traveling the world:
Saving is going to hard, trust me I know. But I like to think of saving money as a mindset. If you put away a specific percentage or amount with every paycheck it’ll add up over time, no matter what. Keep a savings account or a checking account specific for traveling and don’t spend it until it hits a certain amount. For example, putting 20% of your paycheck into a checking account and not touching the account until it hits $2,500. Once it gets to that point or above, you’ll have enough to plan an amazing trip around the world!
I know, it’s easier said than done. But if you discipline yourself into doing even just a little bit, it’ll help in the long run. I like to thing of saving as a mindset instead of a chore. Saving more forces you to spend less, which will let you have an adventure of a lifetime!!
Seriously, take advantage of them! I use the Chase Sapphire Card and the United MileagePlus Explorer Card and I’ve gotten some pretty awesome rewards because of it! Getting double points for dining out or for any travel purchase racks up points and you can use them on a different number of rewards, even round-trip flights!
I try to use my credit cards for most purchases, but I’m also really discipline about paying off my credit card balance! Be sure if you’re using the travel rewards credit cards that you pay off your bill on time!
I actually prefer traveling during the off season mostly because you avoid the crowds. You’ll be able to be immersed in the culture since you’ll most likely be surrounded with locals instead of tourists! Traveling during the off season saves you some cash and lets you take some kickass pictures without a bunch of people in the background.
You’ve heard everything about Paris and have dreamed about going to Rome, but the world is ginormous! There’s so many places that are extremely beautiful and 10x cheaper than most tourist-trap cities. Some of my favorite trips were just spontaneously going on Google Flights or going to the train station and booking the cheapest tickets! You never know what you’ll find!
Seriously plan ahead. The very first backpacking trip I did, I thought it’d be a good idea to book my hostels as I went. To start off, I was traveling during the peak season so hostel prices were through the roof and I had very little options. Basically I was S.O.L. Planning ahead will give you the best prices and save you some serious cash if you do it right.
I book all my accommodations with booking.com and always find the best deals on hotels and apartments, you can book here and receive $25 off your accommodation!
If you’re looking for an even cheaper option and want to go the hostel route, I book all my hostels through hostelworld.
This is crucial. Giving yourself a daily budget is so important when traveling the world because it forces you to track your expenses. Give yourself a total budget for the entire trip and divide that number by the amount of days, which will then give you your daily budget.
The trick is carrying over the extra cash of your daily budget to the next day. For example, say you have an $80 daily budget and on day 5 you only spend $70. Since you have $10 left of that daily budget, you can add it onto the next day’s budget (day 6’s daily budget would then be $90). If you budget wisely in the beginning, you might allow yourself to splurge the last couple of days and still stay within your budget!!
The internet is kind of effed up and can pretty much track every click you make (if you think about it a little creepy too lol). Travel websites, accommodation websites, and even Google tracks the cookies on your computer. Sometimes they’ll get you by increasing the prices of flights to scare you into making a purchase.
To avoid this use a private search engine or go on incognito mode on your web browser! This makes it so that the internet can’t track your every move and you’ll find some of the best deals! For more tips on how to book the cheapest flights you can check out my 15 Travel Hacks to Booking Cheap Flights blog post!
Don’t be turned off by that 38 hour layover in Iceland or London, take advantage of it! Sometimes you can find tickets with a layover over a day in a super cool country. That super long layover will turn into one kickass adventure at no extra cost to your initial flight!!
So there you have it, my guide on how to afford traveling the world and some of my best budget travel tips. I hope you found this post useful and can save big on your next adventure. Comment below your plans for your next trip and ways you save on traveling around the world! I’d love to grow this list and share it with the rest of the world 🙂 Until then, I’ll see you in the next post.
Xoxo, Angelique – Ang Around The Globe
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Check out some of my favorite tools and companies I actually use when I travel.
Need a Bank Account for Life Abroad? Wise is the best option for travelers, study abroad students and expats. I use it as my everyday checking account since it lets me hold and spend in multiple currencies without getting hit with a bad exchange rate every time I cross a border.
Want to Travel for Free & Skip the Foreign Transaction Fees? I put my spending on my Chase Sapphire Preferred card and let the points cover flights and hotels I'd otherwise be paying for out of pocket. I've been able to use the points I earn on this card to pay for flights, hotels and meals all around the world!
Please Don't Forget Travel Insurance! Travel insurance protects you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. I never go on a trip without it. My two favorites are:
Need a Flight? I personally love using Google Flights to track prices and compare dates before I commit, the flexible date view alone has saved me a lot of money. Skyscanner is another great search engine to find cheap flights because it searches sites and airlines around the globe, so you know no cheap deal is being left on the table.
Getting Around Southeast Asia? Book your buses, trains, and ferries with 12Go Asia. One search shows you every route and price, so you're not digging through ten different local booking sites.
Need a Place to Stay? Book your hotel with Expedia, where I start looking, especially when I want to bundle flights and stays together. Hotels.com is my backup when I want to compare prices or I'm chasing their rewards program for a free night.
On a Tighter Budget? Hostelworld is where I go for hostels. It has the largest inventory out there, and you can search for dorm beds or private rooms depending on what you're after!
Want a Free Way to Travel? Try TrustedHousesitters! You look after someone's home and pets while they're away, and in exchange you get free accommodation (minus the subscription fee). It's a great option if you're traveling long term and want to cut costs. I personally use this as a host and a sitter, and it's truly great!
Need Inspiration or Just Want to See What's Out There? Go Guides is a solid resource for destination guides, must-see landmarks, local markets, best beaches, and things to do, browsable by place or by theme. It's a good stop whether you already know where you're headed or you're still looking for your next destination.
Check out my full packing gear guide for everything I bring on international trips, or browse my favorite travel finds on Amazon for quick links to it all.
Check out my full resource page for every company I use when I travel. I list them all in one place so you can go from planning to booked without digging through old blog posts!
Hey there, I'm Angelique!
I'm a Filipina-American, Chicago native living abroad and running my online design agency from Chiang Mai, Thailand. Over a decade of traveling in, and yes, I still pinch myself. With family split between the US, UK, and SE Asia, travel has always been part of my story. This blog is where I share the honest side of living and traveling abroad, the places I explore, my best study abroad tips from personal experience, and the little hacks that make this life actually work. Glad you're here, friend!
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