The Travelling Fund; £10,000 in 10 months!!!

clippy_girl

those packing cubes look like a great idea and will make it very easy to pull everything out and in again- maybe one for tops, bottoms and underwear! saves you shelling out for a new bag :j i might investigate for me even though i do have a side opening bag a will be easier to ram more in! although i have decided to be even more ruthless when i pack next time as hate having heavy bag and i will prob want to do lots of shopping in goa so need room (although may just get rid of my clothes before i go home like we did in thailand)

i just switched to halifax as they also do £100 reward but you get £5pm as well. all went nice and smooth except my £100 didnt go in. however when i rang them she gave me £7 for the cost of the call (say no to 0870 so free from mob :money:) £15 comp and the £100. then the next day i got the £100 again :beer: they still havent realised!

i am going to be booking my trip to india hopefully this week for november so very excited by that :j

stewby

Thanks for mentioning the penniless book (can't remember who mentioned it), I am away to download it on the kindle app thing. I think it sounds really good.

Have also downloaded another one called Marie Potter and the Campervan of Doom which also has good reviews.

OH and I dream of going on a tour of europe with our campervan someday so I am watching your planning and the way you are doing things with interest.

Good luck with your planning and your journey NSK.

NinjaSavingKat

I have realised just how important it is to collect as many pennies as possible in any way possible to pay for whatever I can - I have 12 items on eBay now, most started at 99p for 7 days just to see what I can get. Every little helps and so far three items have made me £97... fingers crossed as I am being ruthless in what I am selling. Shoes included!..;-)..It might just pay for my day-pack that I want!

AND worse still I located my 1983 citizenship certificate. SO annoyed with myself as it as in a folder I forgot I had, in a box that's barely opened in a cupboard I don't really use. I could have saved myself £30 and a long wait - so annoyed with myself. I am still waiting! Grr!

apple_muncher

Hi Kat, just a quick question: if you don't reach your £10,000 target, how will that impact on what you want to do / are able to do?

NinjaSavingKat

Hello AM... well the idea was to spend a month in each of the countries of South East Asia.. at $25-$30 a day that would be a rough $750 - $900 a month although GB would put this at £450-£550.

So counting November through to April - 6 months @ say £550 for the 6 months = £3300 altogether and a further £500 to cover travel from Bangkok to Singapore and onto Malaysia and maybe Indo with a further trip of Bangkok - Han Oi - Shanghai - Tokyo which will take a week I would add a further £400 so I guess that rounds it off at a very rough £4200 (without including costs of living in Japan for however long) - then a flight from Toyko to Australia - £250..?

So £4500 roughly with a further £5000 on me to land in Oz with - sound ok I guess although I have NOT considered which part of SEA to hit first and the travel via Han Oi ( Vietnam ) will coincide with my actual investigation / living in Vietnam so I am not heading to Sinapore then back to where I have already been...

Logistics are yet to be worked out - but I kinds set my own bar at £10,000. With the extra's being paid for via OT because that $25 a day is basics - food and shelter. It won't cover travel I don't think - and there are some excursions I can't miss - Ankor Wat, The River Kwai Hellfire Pass walk... although even then I don't have a list and technically want to avoid TOO many touristy things and learn to live as the locals do..

And accomodation might come cheap if I work / house-sit etc...

Does that make sense..?

NinjaSavingKat

We have a day-pack winner. Prior to archery last night 9 which was SO much fun) I went to Cotswold Outdoors and got a guy to fill two pack for me - the Osprey Stratos 26 and the Osprey Talon 22.

Now considering I already have the Talon 44 it would have been nice to be a little matchey but the Stratos looked SO much smaller for some reason, was incredibly comfortable and has an inbuilt rain cover. The Talon is built specifically for cycling so had added extras but it boiled down to comfort and the Stratos sits out considerable from your back due to a much more developed frame (built more for walking/hiking) and seems a lot more sturdy.

The problem with it is simply that it cannot be fold down in order to squish it into my main pack but I might never need to do that and for my first time on the road, limiting myself to a main pack of 44 litres I think is pretty resonable.

Shoes are next on the list, sturdy but lightweight, a runner and a walker in a non-girly hideous colour and very very light. Saloman have a good shoe although very expensive - I will be doing a lot of walking and I mean a LOT so need to invest in this one. I shall keep you all posted though...:T:T:T

NinjaSavingKat

Urggggh! I am fed up with my housing situation. For those that don't follow the challenge thread where I probably should not have spoken about my housing issues, I was let down on Tuesday by the landlord I was going to move in with on the 2nd Feb so I am back to square one looking for a house for 8 months.

It's frustrating becuase my LLL ( Lovely Land Lady ) gave me SUCH a long time to find somewhere that I can't really ( and don't want to ) ask her for an extension of time.

Yet low and behold I found somewhere but it's a distance from public transport..

How long do you think it would take to walk 1.5 miles in the morning..? I am thinking about 30 minutes? It's the only viable option to the rail station as it's 4 miles to the tube station. I can push-bike it but I am then looking at leaving my precious bike bought through the ride-to-work scheme outside a grubby station for 8 hours or longer a day...??

Grrr! It might be the best option anyway.. I will have to cancel my gym membership anyway as it would be too awkward to even consider so that 3 mile walk everyday might be lovely in the spring / summer...

The deciding factor - a senior member of my office sits beside me at work, is from Norn Iron and is a confidante. He "preached the word" and basically said - you can't have it all. The house is most important, the security for the bike, the acceptance of the moggy and the fact the LL will be at his girlfriends house on the other side of London most days is important..... cancelling the gym will save money and the walk in the morning is good head space....

That sold it... I am off to see this house on Sunday at 1100. So fingers crossed I am good to go! Phew...

That actually means my new rucksack / walking shoe purchase will be worth doing so now once I have got into the premises - make my walking in the morning simple! Boom!

lashie

Very very long time lurker sticking my two pennies worth in!

If you do walk 1.5 miles each way per day to the station then you won't need a gym membership as walking is great exercise. A friend of mine dropped a jean size in a month when her car was off the road and she had to walk her little ones to and from school each day (a few miles in total).

Two birds with one stone - saved the cash and still getting the exercise.

Finally just remember it's only for 9 months.

Hope it works out x

liltdiddylilt

Oi Oi Kat!!

I've seen your post on my thread; I'm working my way around to it! Just thought I would drop in and say I walk 2 miles each morning (VERY briskly) and evening, and it takes me 27-28 minutes. I track myself with endomondo on my phone, so it tells me my calories burned too and the average per mile walked etc (14 minutes).

I'm 5'5 and think you're taller than me. I bet you could stride it out and cut some time off my personal best - there are a few up and down hills on my way to and from work so have to factor hills in too!

Everything else is ticking along nicely; just go with the house. You've spent the last 15 months living off yellow sticker bananas and tins of tomatoes; I'm sure you don't much care what your living accommodation looks like as long as it is secure and warm and the right price!

Also, I signed up for the Halifax AND First Direct accounts within a month of each other last year. Bagged myself £125 for FD, £100 for Halifax and the £5 per month by scooching my money between them. I'm also going to sign up for the Nationwide FlexDirect shortly and get myself 5% interest on my balance up to £2500 as I can only add in £300 per month to my regular saver with FD.

With First Direct, I signed up and wholesale moved my direct debits, apart from TWO from my old Lloyds account (fixed amounts, TV License & Council tax). They send you out a list and you tick and return it or call them to say which ones you don't want to move.

Once that was all completed, I signed up for the Halifax and gave them the details of my Lloyds account and the 2 DD's left in there. Met both their criteria. Move my money between them each month in the space of 5 minutes each month, know exactly how much I have to leave in the Halifax to cover my bills.. hey presto £5 per month. I'm sure you all with your spreadsheets etc could do the same!

NinjaSavingKat

Hello Lashie - always nice to meet a new lurker!! Yes that is exactly what my boss said to me. And yes again he said it's only for 9 months. AND I have only just figured out that since this house is further out it is going to cost me an extra £33 a month on my travel card which is currently £199 a month - my gym fee is £34.50. So I have sat this morning and put all my figures into my spreadsheet! Great minds think alike!

Although I think the distance is more like 2.3 miles and might take me between 30-40 minutes if I don't want to sit on the train like a sweaty betty but will soon find out this Sunday!

So the house that I was also looking at that is around the corner from where I am now does not want pets. So this house in the middle of no where is my only hope right now but everything seems great I just need to iron out the distance properly! I think there might be shortcuts that Google maps doesn't show me so that is my project today - find holes in fences that Kats can fit through - :rotfl:

The bike saga continues though..... I went to pick it up last night at 1700 with my friend who has her 2-year old with her. She drops me off, I think everything is fine, it isn't ( it needs another sprocket and I only brought one that I had at home with me so it was best to order one from their own suppliers really quickly and have it delivered today and fitted - and the bike was already on the bench and taken apart because the mechanic wanted to save me time last night ) ..

.......but this meant I need a lift home as the work shop is in the most awkward of places. I call my friend who hadn't got far and she comes back, mechanic keeps me talking for too long and we have to go home to hers as baby needs feeding (and rightly so).. It's nearing 1900 by this stage and I realise a friend who is an AA driver is passing through so he picks me up as my friend was reluctant to go out (and rightly so) and I felt guilty and wanted to leave...

He tells me about his crazy girlfriend who is using their newborn as a weapon and I begin to feel like a sounding board for everyone elses stresses ( glad I have you lot though ) and I return home drained from being up at 0500, tired and dirty and stressed.....

HOWEVER... I have managed to change my shifts today so did not have to get up at 0500 this morning and had a lie in until 0800. in most circumstances or if this had been last year I would have freaked out at everything that is currently going on.

I cannot stress enough how being debt free has enabled me to feel much more in control of my life. I feel financial order begets metal order and I am rolling with the punches.

I must also add that I believe God is in control of my life and the un-ending feeling of knowing that whatever life throws at me a Greater force is in control allows me to relax somewhat. I have never been homeless - something ALWAYS shows up that is perfect right at the end of my searching. Ever since I started looking when I was 17 years old and moving out for the first time.

SO yes one landlord pulls out and within 24 hours another had made me an offer I can't refuse.

It reminds me of a story we used to get a lot when we were kids.... I don't often mention God in my posts but it is an important avenue in my life and I personally can't ignore it.... so read on - there is a reason...

" A man is out walking when he is so enamoured by the beautiful scenary in front of him he slips and falls down a ravene. He manages to break his imprending fall with a small branch protruding from the cliff face. He realises it won't hold his weight forever so he prays "God if you are real please save me".... the next thing he hears are more people above him who through him a rope and tell him to grab hold and they would pull him to safety. The man deems it too risky and shouts back "it's ok i am waiting for God to help me"... the walkers leave and the man prays again.

Out of no-where a helicopter approaches, drops a winchman and tells him to grab a hold and they will pull him up tp safety, the man replies "it's okay I am waiting for God to help me".. the helicopter leaves.

Time is passing and the man is getting tired, he continues to pray. A climber appears beside him and tells him they can clip him onto their harness and lower him down. Again he replies "it's okay I am waiting for God to save me". The climber leaves with his friends.

Eventually the man is too tired to hang on any more and plummets to earth and his doom. At the pearly gates he meets God and asks "Why didn't you save me?".. God replied . "I sent you a rope to grab onto, a helicopter to climb into and a harness to strap onto - what more did you want?"

The moral of the story?.... realise what you have got and not what you have not got....

• My bike alarm going off was annoying, expensive and inconveniant. But while it was at the garage the mechanic realise the chain was in such bad condition that it was near snapping point which would - had it happened whilst I was riding it - proved fatal.My bike is 200kg, 650cc and if I had been moving whilst this happened it would not have been pretty. Even if it wasn't death that was facing me - I am not the kind of person who could deal with two broken legs and being housebound for months.
• Having the new landlord pull out was equally annoying, stressful and frightening. Had I stayed with him what would stop him kicking me out after a month, having family over and staying in this tiny flat while I was there making life difficult or saying no to me moving in a day before the actually move. - and what if he is the kind of man God realises that I should not be in a house alone with?

So I NSK, hereby accept the last weeks stresses and realise that some things happen for a very good reason. So the new house situation provies me with these epic bullet points of happiness.....

• I am not using the gym I am paying for so why not invest it in a nice home.
• The new potential landlord is eager to have me move in and keeps in contact despite only having "met" him on the phone on Tuesday.
• He has offered to drive me around the area on Sunday to get me used to where the trains are.
• He is a biker which means some sort of mechanic experiance.
• He has a garage for my bike.
• The room is a double.
• Dorothy the Mog is Welcome.
• He stays with his girlfriend across town a lot.
• It's £350 a month all in.
• I will lose weight walking to the station, something I am getting increasingly depressed about.
• I can wear in my new shoes and rucksack that I don't want looking brand spacking new when I go travelling.
• I will have a little longer on the train in the morning to read.
• I save £121.50 a month even with the extra money needed for the travel ticket extension.

However I am now looking at possibly taking overtime at another new venue closer into London where I work during the week which means more petrol. The saving at this new house will give me the petrol tank fill-up money as a buffer each month until I get it back through expences. Which means I can still save £1000 a month as planned.



It's a tiring journey but I won't be working as crazy as I did las tyear - thankfully my debt busting journey availed of the closer overtime venue meaning I could pack more in. So three Sundays a month is my aim. A lot but this might give me an extra £350 a month or thereabouts.


Anyway - that is enough waffling for me. Off to sit through a boring meeting...


Pushing forever Onwards...