{"id":28447,"date":"2013-12-17T11:38:15","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T17:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/?p=28447"},"modified":"2016-12-14T20:45:37","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T02:45:37","slug":"travel-the-world-to-save-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/travel-the-world-to-save-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Quit your job, travel the world to SAVE money"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years ago, I took a leap. I chucked it all\u2014the cushy TV producing job, the serious relationship, the lux condo on Chicago\u2019s North Side, my car, a lot of my \u201cstuff\u201d\u2014and left the U.S. for nearly three years to travel around the world<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t an easy decision. In fact, it was years in the making, but my wanderlust had gotten the best of me and if I didn\u2019t do it now, I\u2019d always regret it.<\/p>\n

During my travels, I met amazing people from all walks of life. I ate delicious local food. And I witnessed the great beauty of this earth.<\/p>\n

And I saved money.<\/i><\/p>\n

The question I get the most: How the heck could I afford to do this? Was I rich? Did I inherit lots of cash from a wealthy uncle?<\/p>\n

No and no.<\/p>\n

Actually, if I stayed in Chicago to live my normal city life, I would have spent way more money than I did in Argentina<\/a> or Costa Rica<\/a> or, yes, even London<\/a>.
\n\"shutterstock_277374104\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Travel is cheaper than you think<\/b><\/h3>\n

I wasn’t on vacation. Therefore the money I was spending wasn\u2019t in addition to living expenses back home. I essentially cut out any expenses at home\u2014from cancelling my cell phone bill to selling off most of my stuff. So there were no bills except my credit card.<\/p>\n

While traveling I simply had to worry about transport, lodging and food. I did not need a car. I did not need to stock up on all the things you need when you have a home: from toilet paper to vacuum cleaners to sheets and towels. I lived out of a bag and life was easy. Less was more.<\/p>\n

\"Torres<\/center> <\/p>\n

No stuff = no worries<\/h3>\n

So, back to that question: On average,\u00a0I spent about $2,000 each month\u00a0depending on where I was in the world. In Asia and Central America you can cut that in half.\u00a0 In\u00a0London, I stayed with friends. Plus, I ended up working odd jobs and freelance writing while I traveled, so I broke even part of the time.<\/p>\n

Although I\u2019m a foodie and love to eat out, I had to enjoy cheap eats or cook at my friends\u2019 homes a lot. I splurged on occasion and stayed in nicer hotels (like the B2 Boutique Hotel + Spa in Zurich; Ventana Inn & Spa, Big Sur<\/a>; Salt + Sill in Sweden; Vancouver Shangri-La<\/a>) and sometimes took a vacation from my travels.\u00a0Like that time I went to Thailand and decided to hang out on the beach for a week and do nothing.<\/p>\n

The most expensive part of this kind of trip is transportation, but even that is still cheaper because you\u2019re only booking one-way tickets and your dates are flexible so you can find\u00a0amazingly good deals.\u00a0 Plus, the slower you travel, the cheaper it is.<\/p>\n

How to start saving now<\/h3>\n

-Cut down on things like new clothes, gadgets and eating out
\n-Sell off things you don\u2019t need on sites like Craigslist (when\u2019s the last time you used that bread maker?)
\n-Cell phone: Do you really need that huge monthly plan (and bill)? Or can you do what I did and only pay pre-paid (which only costs me $100\/year)?
\n-Use cable\/phone\/internet \u201cvacation hold\u201d\u00a0when you go away for an extended period
\n-Eliminate debt or credit card balances,\u00a0and use a credit card that gives you cash back
\n-If you\u2019re in a city, consider selling your car and using public transport or a bike to get around.<\/p>\n

Conventional thinking is skewed<\/h3>\n

People are accustomed to what they know. Depending on your frame of reference or where you live, spending $4 a day for a latte, $15 for lunch, $100-plus per month for 800 cable channels is normal; so is buying a brand new car, or putting down a hefty down payment on a home or condo.<\/p>\n

All these things would have cost more than I spent in a year traveling. But for some reason you don\u2019t think twice when your friend says they\u2019re buying a brand new car or home. To me, spending money on travel, and the experiences that come with it, is the most rewarding investment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been ingrained in our collective conscience that travel is superfluous. Nothing could be further from the truth. Travel is educating. Travel is enriching. Travel changed my life.<\/p>\n

\"Day<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

Since her travels ended a few years ago, Lisa\u2019s back living in the\u00a0city\u00a0she loves, Chicago. She\u2019s a freelance travel and food\u00a0writer and blogger,\u00a0as well as a media and video consultant. This year alone she lived in Berlin for a month, hiked in Bhutan, enjoyed the Alps in Switzerland, spoke at a conference in Toronto, drove through the Rockies in Colorado, soaked up the sun in the Dominican Republic, and watched the leaves change colors in her Midwest backyard, Door County, Wisconsin.\u00a0<\/i>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How one woman gave up everything for a three-year adventure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":48000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1514],"tags":[2220],"class_list":["post-28447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-travel-tips"],"acf":{"api_active":null,"api_title":null,"api_excerpt":null,"api_featured_image":null,"api_lob":null},"posts_api_cpm_point":"","yoast_head":"\nQuit your job, travel the world to SAVE money | Orbitz<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.orbitz.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/travel-the-world-to-save-money\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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