debt free travelling??

Confused_traveller

Thanx to lynzpower who suggested i post this query on this board....

i want to do volunteer work abroad as well but have decided to be selfish and travel for 9 months with a friend first.

we have flights booked to LA for 2 wks and then we're headin onto Australia.

I have managed to live debt free for a few years now (i find for me abstinence from any kind of credit cards helps me) but because of this i have no savings as i spend most of my earnings each month

i was in debt a few years ago and i know that i will have to get a loan &/or credit card for going but am worried that i will pick the wrong one and get myself into a situation i can't get myself out of!

does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you in advance!!

CLAPTON

you say you are debt free but have been unable to save for your trip.

have you considered how you will cope when you return.. if your circumstances will be broadly similar to now i.e. similar income and similar outgoing, how are you planning to repay the debts?
remember, you will not only be repaying the money you borrowed but all that interest as well.
I would think very carefully about taking on debts without a clear plan for repaying them and also about the costs of 'reentry' into life back here afterwards.

lynzpower

hi there CT

glad you found us

the most important thing is to work out how much you need for your trip. How long are you away for?

Then you ned to work out a) how you are going to fund being away and b) having a cash pot for your return as clearly you wont be able to find a job straigt away.

I would recommend that you have a look at Southern scousers post "first time posters" its a sticky and pop your SOA up for us to look at, we can then recommend how you could find the money to do your travelling without getting into debt.

Getting a loan isnt advisable as clearly you will have to make payments while you are away and also when you get back and you dont know how employable you will be (or not :eek:) A credit card also isnt a great idea either. So I suggest you save up for your trip.

Lets see what your spending and how we can help
lynz

wherediditallgo

Not being funny, but unless you've travelled with this friend before, I'd give this very serious thought. Spending a couple of weeks with someone is totally different from being with them for months on end. When I was younger, I used to travel for several months at a time, & the more I did it the more I realised that I didn't want to be tied to the same people the whole time. If you're going to be together for that long, I suggest that you have separate itineraries & agree to meet up in certain places at certain dates, rather than plot the whole 9 months together. You're likely to get on each other's nerves after a while, & being forced to be together will strain the friendship further.

The other thing is finances. Whenever I got back, I'd spend the first week or so wondering where I was & then moaning about it :rolleyes:, then half-heartedly looked for temp work (couldn't get up early enough, then couldn't stay awake long enough). The first time I went away, I was still living at home, but after watching me mope around without any money, my mother insisted that any future trip was saved up for in advance, so that I could (a) get myself back home in an emergency, & (b) get my head together again after the trip without feeling I HAD to get work asap. I enjoyed my trips all the more for knowing I had a financial safety net back at home to bale me out if I needed it.

I don't think such a long trip financed on credit is a good idea at all. Apart from anything else, you've got nothing to help you in an emergency, & unplanned-for expenses can easily crop up. Car repair, extra stays in motels, clothes, sightseeing, going out with new friends you've made - the money will really add up. Take into account that in some countries, you'll spend a lot more money than you would in the UK purely because of the weather - when I lived in Sydney, things were cheaper than in the UK, but I spent so much more money because the weather was better so we were always out doing things. When I lived in a non-touristy part of Greece, things were very laid back & we didn't do much more than drink & relax, but we spent amounts on alcohol that we'd never have dreamed of spending here. Also, you need to know the laws regarding work in the countries you visit - you might not be able to get casual work if you're going to be somewhere for a few weeks, so you'll need money to live on while you're there.

To go on such a trip, I'd say that you need to have put aside one month's money for every month you're going to be away to take with you. In addition, you should have left in the UK at least half a month's salary for every month you're going to be away. So for your 9 months away, you need to have 9 months salary to travel with, & at least 4½ months money saved to leave in the UK for your return. If you're going to be renting somewhere to live rather than living at home, you'll also need money for a month's rent & a month's deposit on top of that. No matter what work you do, when you return from such a long trip it's very hard to get back into work mode again. If you've been travelling on credit, that bill is going to want paying.

chevalier

Whilst I agree with Clapton, if you really are going to go through with this then the Nationwide card does not charge you for using your card abroad. It does of course still charge you interest for the debt. Maybe the thing to do is go for shorter trips and then work in between.

Or depending on your age you can work you way around the world with some planning first. For example both Australia and New Zealand offer young persons work visas. But I think you have to be under 25. Of course now so many more countries are in the EU you should in theory be able to work in all of those so you can pick grapes etc in those countries.

There are several websites on the net that give information about working while you travel (though as this sort of traveling is long behind me I don't know any current ones!).

So perhaps you can use the 2 weeks until you go sorting out this sort of work?
Best of luck
chev

Confused_traveller

Thanks for all your help - i am in the position that i have been able to take a career break so i am guaranteed a job when i get back

i also have the added benefit of still living with my parents

whilst i agree that i should have planned this a lot better this was a last minute opportunity as i am getting to the age now where if i left it i would not be able to get a working visa in Australia - something which i am planning to do.

i also have quite a few family and friends over there so i hope to cut down on costs slightly that way.

lady_fuschia

Hiya, nice to see you (as you know I have ideas about travelling in the future, not as immediate as yours, but it'll be interesting to see what advice you get!)
Like lynz says, I think your next step in looking for advice is to post us an SOA. Also how soon are you planning to go - the more you can save up befor e you go the less you will have to think about borrowing, so the better your situation. Is there time to take on a second job or sell a few things to raise a bit of cash (a friend of mine who went travelling sold her car two months before she left which helped a lot) Do you own your own home and could you consider renting it out whilst you're away? Or if you're renting could you move somewhere cheaper, or even back to your parents a few months before leaving to save money? It's easier to deal with inconvenience/ discomfort if you know it's only short term. Also, would it be possible to get paid work for some of the trip? Or be able to work in exchange for accomodation - this will cut costs a little- personally I would be inclined to do whatever you can to not have to borrow more than absolutely essential. It seems like a great idea now, but you onlyhave to talk to a few of the people on this board to realise watching the interest stack up long after the suntan has faded isn't much fun.

EDIT: Sorry I missed the last post about living with your parents!

lynzpower

Have you been selling stuff off before you go? that will get you some income, which will go a long way in SE Asia for example? Even if you sell a cd for 2 quid its better than not having the money at all.

Id check out amazon/ ebay/ green metropolis and cram in a car boot sale with your mate to get much needed pennies together asap.