Friends ask me all the time how I am able to travel so much, and honestly for a long time I would always ask them back why they never travelled.
The usual responses I would get always included they were poor, busy with work, or even that they were scared. I was confused because I was also poor and busy, but I was never scared!
I realized as a young traveler you have to prioritize your income, time, and goals if you want to be a successful traveler. In this post I will explain the ways I have used to travel around the world during college, with basically no money.
1. Make Travel Goals
This is the easiest of the steps on your way to traveling the world as a young person, but it might be the most important!
You NEED a goal to work towards to align your priorities and current responsibilities to actually achieve that goal. I often make ‘dream boards’ or travel wish lists of my next travel ideas, goals, and plans. The physical layout of my dreams and travel goals allows me to collect potential itinerary fillers as I continue to work up the financial means to actually go on the trip.
Take a peak at my Pinterest boards where I have compiled boards for everywhere I have traveled with resources, photography, and tips that can inspire your travel goals.
2. Get a Job
This is another self explanatory step on your travel journey, but get a job. Now most people think you need to be making big bucks before you can take a trip around the world, but I am proof that you can do that on a part time job.
During college I spent time working at a gym, restaurant, and odd jobs to fund my travels. I was a collegiate athlete with a part time job, internship, and party lifestyle. The jobs I worked at offered flexible schedules and quick income for me to apply toward traveling. These job types are awesome for young travelers because many also offer seasonal employment for you to make money coming back from abroad or if you need a quick bank boost before you leave. The BEST job for a young traveler needs to have three things:
- High pay
- Flexible hours
- Lots of availability
Working jobs throughout college will force you to prioritize your responsibilities and it takes an extra step to control your spending habits to contribute to your travel bank. The job needs flexible hours because you are going to be traveling a lot and coming back and forth, so you want to be able to come back, make money, and repeat. You also need lots of availability to maximize the amount of quick money you can make especially if you are an impulsive traveler like me, and want to travel on a whim.
Jobs I recommend for young traveleres include:
- Cash jobs
- Any job that pays you in cash is a great job because NO TAXES, and that money can go right to your travel bank.
- ✔️ High paying
3. Buying Flights
Now with a job and travel goals, it is probably about time to start buying flights.
Check out my guide on how to >> Stop Paying for Expensive Flights
Since I worked small, intermittent part time jobs on top of an already busy college schedule, I began buying trips in segments over time. I found that slowly investing in your trip helps ease your stress saving up for the trip, and prevent you from dropping a terrfying couple thousand dollars at a time.
By buying one-way flights incrementally before my trip I was able to continue making money and planning my trip without dropping a terrifying 3k at one time.
Sometimes one-way tickets are cheaper by methodically planning your trip around Green Days, when airlines discount their normal flight prices ahead of a trip date.
4. Make Like-Minded Travel Friends
Making friends is hard for normal people, but if you are a traveler or want to be a traveler, making friends is EASY! Part of traveling is meeting people and making friends and if you want to meet people hang out in areas where there are lots of travelers.
You can join my Facebook group for other 20 year old travelers >> here where I post helpful tips and tricks into a community of other young travelers.
Choose your travel partners wisely because you do not want to be stranded on the other side of the world with someone you do not get along with. Travelling can also change people because they are their truest selves when they are in uncomfortable and high stress situations. I think the signs of a the best travel partners are ones that have illustrious travel goals, and especially if they have gone on similar trips previously.
This one is definitely trial and error, but once you find solid partners that you like to travel with it is very easy to continue making new friends and international connections across the world.
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