Is it wise to borrow £10,000 to travel the world?

[Deleted User]

Your 30 year old self will shout at you for spending their house deposit money

It's not a debt that'll haunt you all your life.. but it'll hang over your 20s like a dark cloud

pollypenny

See thread on DT about babyboomers hogging all the wealth.

This spendthrift , even with going into debt, has caused the many of the problems that lead younger people to claim they can never get on the housing ladder.

Kaellya

The interest on that loan will mount up really quickly. Who's lending this loan? Save up and do it. And you can probably do it cheaper. There's no guarantee any graduate will walk back into a good job nowadays, sadly. I suppose it also depends on who you're doing it with - are they working or saving for it?

Maybe if you want to travel, do something like WWOOF or teaching English as a foreign language or go to Australia on their 6 month visa scheme. That way you can earn your way around and still see a new city.

catnicex

Borrow only what you need for the first couple of months and start looking for places where you can easily get a part time or temporary job (es: in summer or winter resorts, etc)... then start saving for your next move and when you are ready you go and start again.
You can travel around the world like that for a couple of year and at least you will have gained some work expeirence as well as a lot of cultural knowledge.good luck

kkgree1

Completely agree that you can travel very cheaply and work along the way. My brother worked and travelled for about 4 years doing summer/winter seasons in different resorts. He'd normally spend the winter in the Alps (though one year he went to Canada) and then the summer in the Med. He'd do bar work so he'd have the days to himself to lounge around the pool/snowboard according to the season. From what I remember, he worked for Mark Warner so may be worth investigating this.

On a separate note, there is no way I would borrow money to travel. I've seen too many friends get into a mess with credit cards and loans. I believe easy credit is part of the reason the country is now in such a poor state finance wise.

slig

Going travelling is absolutely the best thing I've ever done, but saving up beforehand is all part of the experience. Plus you don't really need 10 grand anyway - you can work overseas, which is also a massive part of the experience anyway.

I'd advise the 23 year old to work full time, move back with their parents if it's an option, and save every penny until they've got a few grand to get them through the first few months of travelling. It would only take a few months to save up. They can find a job while they're out there to fund further travel.


Ultimately though, I think travelling is worth getting into a small amount of debt for - but the scenario described doesn't warrant it.

Maggie_N_2

Why would s/he need £10,000? My son travelled the world a few years ago on less than this, including spending time living rent-free as a volunteer on projects on developing countries. However, he was over 30 and had saved what he needed.

sabretoothtigger

save it up and it costs less in total plus you can plan.

HeadAboveWater

£10k??? :eek: You should only need a fraction of that to go travel the world. And I'd agree with Simon_c. Work in as many different countries as you can and you'd earn a heck of a lot more than just money.

Ideally save up before you go so you can come back home with a wealth of experience and knowledge, no debt, and ready for your next adventure

Lost2

who on earth gives out loans to someone that has no job no
prospects and no property
you'd be better off going to university if your going to get into that much dept.