What’s that one thing that curbs people from travelling? The near-universal answer…

Money!

I mean, why would anyone want to spend their life sitting in a cubicle or attending boring corporate meetings when they can rather travel and explore the beauty of this world? It is because of money. People think they cannot travel if they don’t have regular money inflow.

Though it’s a different story that most people don’t accept and end up saying, or perhaps believing, that it is the family responsibilities that are stopping them. And what family responsibilities? “Of earning money” or “of taking care of their family, by earning money”. So believe it or not, it all comes down to money. Because most of us are not aware of the fact that it does not take an overwhelming amount of money to travel.

Though of course, travelling is not something that can be done for free, and every aspect of travelling — from booking a hotel to eating the morning breakfast — requires money. But those having some experience in travelling must know how people across the world have been doing it on a little to no budget at all.

Travelling is not travelling. I’ve done so many budget trips in my life that money never felt like something that can stop me from travelling. What’s better is, in the age of social media and the internet, one can even get paid to travel.

But before we get there, let’s discuss the matter at hand — how to actually deal with the dilemma of having insufficient money and still travelling.

How To Mentally Deal With Money And Travel

Understand Where You Want To Can Travel

Before I left for my first trip, after quitting my job to travel, I had some savings. But the amount of money was definitely not enough to sustain my long-term travel fantasy and my travel goals. Moreover, I think it was the fact that I quit my job, and I knew there was no way to go back, I put extra effort into planning things ahead, and travel as much as possible on a limited budget.

Since my budget was definitely not enough to travel to Europe or any other place far off from my home country, India, I started by travelling India, Nepal and Bhutan. And this was for two reasons. One, I was looking for more cultural and local experiences and these were three perfect countries to start with, and two, I didn’t want to spend money on flying – something that always consumes a lot of money and eats up most of the travel budget.

I gave proper consideration to where I wanted to go, keeping my budget in mind, and because I wanted to keep travelling for all my life, it became even crucial that I save every little buck possible.

It’s almost like going ahead in your career. You don’t start as the director of a company right after graduation, right? You moreover don’t apply for such a position. You start by being an intern and then slowly make your way to a supervisor, a manager, and in the end, the director of the company. And that’s how you should go about with your mission Travel-The-World. Unless you have enough money to travel.

If you have a limited budget, start with comparatively cheaper places. Travel in your own country, or plan for budget-friendly countries. For example for something living in India, Southeast Asian countries like Thailand or Cambodia are great international destinations to start with.

Further Reading: How Much Money You Need To Travel In Thailand

Also remember, cheaper doesn’t always mean bad. I didn’t visit Europe until I got my first MEDIA TRIP to Germany with Germany Tourism (which happened after nearly two years since I started travel blogging in 2016) because Europe was expensive. I remember spending around 50 thousand Rupees (around £500) a month when I was studying in the UK. This was when I had a permanent place to dwell when I mostly ate home-cooked meals, and I was always mindful of spending less. But when you travel, you can’t imagine at places you end up spending.

[Update October 2017: I’ve been to 8 countries in Europe now thanks to Travel Blogging and Sponsorships][Update January 2020: I’ve now been to over 25 countries across the world. Read The Year 2019 In Flashback]

Set Your Priorities Right

I worked full-time for just a couple of years after completing my studies. Yet I managed to save enough money to travel for a long period of time.

How? Because I made travelling my priority. Though initially, I didn’t know that I will become a blogger, I always knew that I wasn’t going to be a corporate slave for long, and soon I will start a business or something. Later, I got hooked on travelling and decided to make blogging my full-time business.

If you have a passion for travelling (or for something else) but don’t make travelling a priority, you will always spend money on other things. And if you do that, you’ll never have enough money to travel.

I hardly spend money on other things. If I tell you about a few expensive things that I’ve bought, in the last year, they are my camera equipment (including a drone and a lens) and a motorbike, in addition to other things like a travel backpack and a pair of hiking boots. Do you see the pattern here? This was everything I needed for travelling.

Similarly, understand what’s your priority. Is it travelling? If it is travelling, then there should be nothing stopping you from saving money to travel.

Related Read: How I Make Money From Travel Blogging