Did You Know?
Low monthly payments
add up...
Just take a moment and
add up your...
--car payment
--house payment
--cell phone payment
--cable/internet payment
--insurance payments
--other payments
All of a sudden, you are
having one HUGE
payment! Know your small
payments work to one big
payment. Don't be fooled
by "small" monthly
payment schemes.
add up...
Just take a moment and
add up your...
--car payment
--house payment
--cell phone payment
--cable/internet payment
--insurance payments
--other payments
All of a sudden, you are
having one HUGE
payment! Know your small
payments work to one big
payment. Don't be fooled
by "small" monthly
payment schemes.
How to See 7 Countries for $55.00
In August of 2007, I began a dream of mine. I said good-bye to my job, my family, and my friends, and I
watched my Mom and Dad walk away as I was standing in line at the Chicago O’Hare Airport. I was about
a half hour (yes, I cut it close!) away from getting on an airplane to visit Europe. My first stop was Dublin,
Ireland...after that, I had no idea...
My plan was to be gone for a few months to a year. And with a trip like this, I was what you call “very
excited!” I would tell everyone and anyone about what I was doing, and I heard a variety of responses...
“That’s awesome!”
“I’m jealous!”
“Can I go with?”
“How do you afford that?”
“You are crazy.”
I tried to find some other takers to go with me...but I ended up going by myself! I would receive e-mails
from people telling me how brave I am, telling me that I am fulfilling their dream, telling me that someday
they want to go on a trip like this...
Well, I want to help you “go on a trip like this.” You do not need to couch-surf like I have been doing, you
do not need to visit seven countries in three months like I am doing, and you do not need to eat what I eat,
see what I see, or do what I do. As you will discover in all the other posts I write about money, you are free
to choose what you want to do. What works for me is not always going to work for you. And it’s not always
best for you! But so as to give you a little more hope about this dream that is off in the future, here are a
few tidbits from my trip...
First, I have a budget. Surprising to most that know me, I watch where my money goes. I seem to have a
carefree attitude about life, and in certain areas, I do! I love to hit the open road on a roadtrip, I love to sit
and just people, and I love to sit at the ocean and just watch the waves, not worried about time. But let me
be the first to say...I watch my money very closely.
How close? I have kept a record of every expense since I have been on my trip. I am now approaching
the two-month mark, and I am averaging a daily cost of $18.24. That includes everything from deodorant
to my food, travel expenses to fun activities, mailings to medications.
And I have a spreadsheet that I fill out every day or every couple of days to monitor my spending. I want
you to notice what I said: I monitor what I spend. I don’t rule myself with an iron fist, but I don’t let anything
go, either. I have had several enjoyable trips, parties, foods, etc. But I don’t lavish myself with a five-star
hotel just for the sake of doing so. It is a healthy balance of living freely even while watching what I spend.
So as of Day 58, I have spent a total of $1057.70...that is with the conversions of the Euro and Pound. And
on top of that, I had pre-trip expenses that included a whole host of shots, a plane ticket from Chicago to
Dublin, and an international driving license. Those all totaled $455.00, bringing my Total Trip Expense as
of Day 58 to $1512.70.
Now let me show you a couple neat things here. When I was living back in Illinois, I had a whole host of
expenses each month. These ranged from my truck expense to my motorcycle expense, to gas, to food,
to eating out, to having fun, to flying, etc. I was living life.
Here is a basic rundown of what I was paying as of July 2007, the month before I left for my Europe trip:
Truck Expense $150.00/month
Motorcycle Expense $150.00/month
Gas Expense $200.00/month
Flying Expense $100.00/month
Cable/Internet Expense $40.00/month
Cell Phone Expense $65.00/month
Food Expense (Groceries) $80.00/month
Eating Out $30.00/month
The grand total of these items comes to $815.00/month. And, of course, this does not include other
items (that all add up!) like gas for the mower, buying tools, haircuts, buying gas for the boat, giving
money to church, speeding tickets, etc. The list sometimes seems endless with where the money can
go!
But here I am, approaching Day 60 (two months), and I realized that I am actually spending less as I travel
than I did when I was back in the United States. I do not have a truck expense, a motorcycle expense, a
cell phone expense, a cable expense, or an internet expense.
And so I will have spent nearly $1550.00 as of Day 60...and I will have seen Ireland, Scotland, England,
and Portugal. And I have memories for a lifetime that I can continually look back upon. I have learned so
much about myself, about the world, and I have absolutely no regrets! And it only gets better when I
realize that I am actually spending less money than back home! I will have spent $1550.00 here
compared to spending $1630.00 back home. And I have seen four countries rather than just one city.
So how do I travel? I budget. I know what I will spend. Of course, I am not always certain about certain
prices. Even now I am looking for a plane ticket to get back to Chicago from Paris, and the prices are in
the $440.00 range. I am going to keep searching until I find one in the $300.00 range. It may not seem
like much, but I’ll take $140.00 in my pocket anytime! Actually, that $140.00 will get me flights to Spain,
Italy, and France, three more countries I want to see!
And to be fair, I am only on Day 58. I still have another month to go, and a big expense like my plane ticket
back home will easily raise my final price. But I am looking to spend $2500.00 from start to finish. With a
90-day trip at $19.00/day, that puts me at $1710.00. I have already spent $455.00 in pre-trip expenses, so
that brings my total to $2165.00. So if I can find a plane ticket back home for $335.00, I will have met my
goal of $2500.00.
And besides, if I were to have stayed in Springfield, Illinois, I would have spent at least $2445.00 anyway
on those above expenses anyway ($815.00/month x 3 months). But I left everything I knew and I
experienced the world. And if all goes as planned, I will have spent $2500.00...just $55.00 more than
what it would have [at least!] cost me to stay at home.
And, frankly, I’d spend $55.00 to see seven countries any day of the week.
watched my Mom and Dad walk away as I was standing in line at the Chicago O’Hare Airport. I was about
a half hour (yes, I cut it close!) away from getting on an airplane to visit Europe. My first stop was Dublin,
Ireland...after that, I had no idea...
My plan was to be gone for a few months to a year. And with a trip like this, I was what you call “very
excited!” I would tell everyone and anyone about what I was doing, and I heard a variety of responses...
“That’s awesome!”
“I’m jealous!”
“Can I go with?”
“How do you afford that?”
“You are crazy.”
I tried to find some other takers to go with me...but I ended up going by myself! I would receive e-mails
from people telling me how brave I am, telling me that I am fulfilling their dream, telling me that someday
they want to go on a trip like this...
Well, I want to help you “go on a trip like this.” You do not need to couch-surf like I have been doing, you
do not need to visit seven countries in three months like I am doing, and you do not need to eat what I eat,
see what I see, or do what I do. As you will discover in all the other posts I write about money, you are free
to choose what you want to do. What works for me is not always going to work for you. And it’s not always
best for you! But so as to give you a little more hope about this dream that is off in the future, here are a
few tidbits from my trip...
First, I have a budget. Surprising to most that know me, I watch where my money goes. I seem to have a
carefree attitude about life, and in certain areas, I do! I love to hit the open road on a roadtrip, I love to sit
and just people, and I love to sit at the ocean and just watch the waves, not worried about time. But let me
be the first to say...I watch my money very closely.
How close? I have kept a record of every expense since I have been on my trip. I am now approaching
the two-month mark, and I am averaging a daily cost of $18.24. That includes everything from deodorant
to my food, travel expenses to fun activities, mailings to medications.
And I have a spreadsheet that I fill out every day or every couple of days to monitor my spending. I want
you to notice what I said: I monitor what I spend. I don’t rule myself with an iron fist, but I don’t let anything
go, either. I have had several enjoyable trips, parties, foods, etc. But I don’t lavish myself with a five-star
hotel just for the sake of doing so. It is a healthy balance of living freely even while watching what I spend.
So as of Day 58, I have spent a total of $1057.70...that is with the conversions of the Euro and Pound. And
on top of that, I had pre-trip expenses that included a whole host of shots, a plane ticket from Chicago to
Dublin, and an international driving license. Those all totaled $455.00, bringing my Total Trip Expense as
of Day 58 to $1512.70.
Now let me show you a couple neat things here. When I was living back in Illinois, I had a whole host of
expenses each month. These ranged from my truck expense to my motorcycle expense, to gas, to food,
to eating out, to having fun, to flying, etc. I was living life.
Here is a basic rundown of what I was paying as of July 2007, the month before I left for my Europe trip:
Truck Expense $150.00/month
Motorcycle Expense $150.00/month
Gas Expense $200.00/month
Flying Expense $100.00/month
Cable/Internet Expense $40.00/month
Cell Phone Expense $65.00/month
Food Expense (Groceries) $80.00/month
Eating Out $30.00/month
The grand total of these items comes to $815.00/month. And, of course, this does not include other
items (that all add up!) like gas for the mower, buying tools, haircuts, buying gas for the boat, giving
money to church, speeding tickets, etc. The list sometimes seems endless with where the money can
go!
But here I am, approaching Day 60 (two months), and I realized that I am actually spending less as I travel
than I did when I was back in the United States. I do not have a truck expense, a motorcycle expense, a
cell phone expense, a cable expense, or an internet expense.
And so I will have spent nearly $1550.00 as of Day 60...and I will have seen Ireland, Scotland, England,
and Portugal. And I have memories for a lifetime that I can continually look back upon. I have learned so
much about myself, about the world, and I have absolutely no regrets! And it only gets better when I
realize that I am actually spending less money than back home! I will have spent $1550.00 here
compared to spending $1630.00 back home. And I have seen four countries rather than just one city.
So how do I travel? I budget. I know what I will spend. Of course, I am not always certain about certain
prices. Even now I am looking for a plane ticket to get back to Chicago from Paris, and the prices are in
the $440.00 range. I am going to keep searching until I find one in the $300.00 range. It may not seem
like much, but I’ll take $140.00 in my pocket anytime! Actually, that $140.00 will get me flights to Spain,
Italy, and France, three more countries I want to see!
And to be fair, I am only on Day 58. I still have another month to go, and a big expense like my plane ticket
back home will easily raise my final price. But I am looking to spend $2500.00 from start to finish. With a
90-day trip at $19.00/day, that puts me at $1710.00. I have already spent $455.00 in pre-trip expenses, so
that brings my total to $2165.00. So if I can find a plane ticket back home for $335.00, I will have met my
goal of $2500.00.
And besides, if I were to have stayed in Springfield, Illinois, I would have spent at least $2445.00 anyway
on those above expenses anyway ($815.00/month x 3 months). But I left everything I knew and I
experienced the world. And if all goes as planned, I will have spent $2500.00...just $55.00 more than
what it would have [at least!] cost me to stay at home.
And, frankly, I’d spend $55.00 to see seven countries any day of the week.
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