The comments made me realize that despite all the detailedwebsites and books on how to make travel affordable and accessible, too many people still believe the notion that travel is expensive, unsafe, and impossible unless you are rich.
Too many say, “I can’t. It’s impossible,” and, like we saw with Bob, become cynical about travel.
Yet the notion that travel is expensive couldn’t be further from the truth. There have never been more ways to do it for less. I know this from countless stories and thank you letters and emails from readers. It’s time to put these common beliefs about traveling to rest and show why they’re wrong:
Myth #1: Travel is expensive and, unless you have a trust fund, you can’t do it.
Everything costs some money. No travel is free, but the idea that most people hold of travel is the result of advertisements, commercials, and travel magazines that highlight fancy tours, luxurious accommodations, and use subtle marketing language that says “a fun vacation is an expensive vacation.” After decades of being bombarded by these messages, our collective consciousness equates travel with luxury.
When I first started traveling in 2004, I believed this too. I remember looking up tours to Australia and thinking “No wonder I don’t know people who travel. It’s over $3,000 for a two week trip!” When I started planning my round the world trip in 2005, saving for it seemed like a daunting task. It took my entire savings plus another eighteen months of constant overtime to save for my trip!
And you don’t need a trust fund or a high paying job either!
Michael worked a job paying $9/hour and saved $14,000 for his trip. It can be done, even on minimum wage. It may take longer to save for your trip, and you may need to make sacrifices, but if you want to travel – whether for two weeks or two years — you can find a way to make it happen.
And you don’t need to save for the whole trip before you leave. You can work when you’re overseas (see tip #8).
Thanks to a plethora of websites, apps, and tools, it’s never been easier to make your inexpensive trip happen. My entire website is dedicated to crushing the belief that travel is only for the rich. Here are some starting points that can help you lower your costs and travel on a budget:
61 Travel Tips to Make You the World’s Savviest Traveler
How to Use the Sharing Economy to Travel on a Budget
The Ultimate Guide to Free Travel
How to Find Cheap Flights
How to Find Cheap Accommodation
How to Change the “I’m Too Poor to Travel” Mindset and Say Yes to Travel
Myth #1: Travel is expensive and, unless you have a trust fund, you can’t do it.
Everything costs some money. No travel is free, but the idea that most people hold of travel is the result of advertisements, commercials, and travel magazines that highlight fancy tours, luxurious accommodations, and use subtle marketing language that says “a fun vacation is an expensive vacation.” After decades of being bombarded by these messages, our collective consciousness equates travel with luxury.
