A lot of people say that they can’t afford travel. They have debts to pay. They can’t leave. It’s ok for people who have plenty of money. Or insert any other reason/excuse here. We all make excuses to not do things we want to do. But by having this mindset – that you can’t do something, means that’s exactly what will happen. You won’t do it. You won’t challenge your beliefs, change your mindset or believe you can attain the things you desire.
Malahide Castle Dublin
Travel is not for everyone, I understand that. But for those who really get jealous of the friends posting fab pics from all over the world and wishing they could do the same… it is possible! First you have to change your mindset.
1. Instead of letting all the negative thoughts creep in – “I don’t earn enough to travel” or “I’ll never be able to save enough” – start looking at what you can do. Start small. Look at your daily spending. Start tracking it on a spreadsheet. Do you need 2 coffees in the morning? Maybe you can cut out one. (Fun fact: One coffee a day Mon-Fri equals over $1000 per year) Do you need to buy lunch everyday? Pack your lunch instead. Do you really neeeeeed that pedi? Can you walk to work, be designated driver on a night out, cut down your phone plan? All of these things add up over time.
Extra things you can do include selling unused items on buy/sell sites, putting up a spare room on AirBnB, registering for a frequent flyer card to earn miles on petrol or grocery shopping or offering to mow someone’s lawn for cash. The options are endless!
Sydney Opera House
2. Have a goal and start working towards it. Once you have the correct mindset and a goal, you have something to work towards, instead of a “someday” goal that never seems to come around.
Paradise Bus Station, Mykonos
3. Think outside the square. Holidays aren’t just staying in expensive 5 star resorts on the beach. Look for jobs volunteering overseas where they provide your food and accommodation in exchange for volunteer work. Look for jobs overseas. Global Work & Travel Co are one of many companies that have loads of options for workers or volunteers. Canada offers some awesome short term jobs for Aussies either on the ski resorts or other holiday destinations, otherwise teach English in Asia, do Camp America in the States, work in a pub in the UK – you can still pay off debts while you’re seeing the world.
Calderra, Santorini
4. Think about the positives and offer yourself up to new possibilities. You can stay in the average job that barely pays the bills. But why not move somewhere new for 6 months and start over? My grandparents moved to Australia when they were 14 and 15 for the opportunity of a lifetime. They came with nothing but the clothes upon their back and the promise of a better life. Imagine what we can do with today’s resources. And we have the flexibility of being able to go and come back for as long as we like… sounds pretty good to me!
If you’re in a bad situation, what better time to try something new? Don’t worry, your friends and family will still be there when you get back. If you are working at a job you hate, you’re not enjoying life or have some little debts to pay off, there is really no better time to take a leap than now. Find something that moves you forward. Then take the next step. Then the next. Soon enough you’ll be where you want to be… but you have to take that first step.
There are a million excuses to why you can’t do something, now it’s time to find the reasons why you can. The world is yours for exploring, if you want it to be.
Change your mindset. Set your goals. Make the changes.
What do you have to lose? Or should I say, what do you have to gain?
Loved your blog Annelise. I am now 70 and my wife is now 69, both vegetarians for over 26 years. We have made 5 trips to Europe over the past 3 years, England first, then France, then Italy, then Poland, Czech Rep., Austria, Hungary, and lastly Germany, Austria, Latvia, Estonia and Russia. All tours done independently, mostly self contained apartments, public transport, and for 34 to 42 days duration. Guess what, no tour has gone over $9,000 including air fares from Melbourne. We are pensioners and we manage out of our pension not our savings.
We do as you recommend, eating out is an occasion, a privilege, though to be honest my mostly vegan cooking is better.
So can I ask, have you toured Turkey and Greece? It’s on the radar for April 2019. Had promised my wife we would do an organised tour but every tour is so so expensive for what you get, and really shitty itineraries (12 hour bus trips) etc.
You sound like you know your way around, so any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Robert! Aw, thank you for those kind words! That’s awesome that you still travel so frequently and manage to do it cost effectively too!
I’ve been to Greece twice – once on a tour and the second time just with friends – and twice to Turkey, although we stayed in the coastal areas near Calis, Fethiye and Oludeniz and didn’t get to go to Ankara or Istanbul.
Both are definitely do-able by yourselves! The first time I went to Greece, we arrived in Athens for a few days, before travelling with our tour group to Paros, Mykonos and Santorini and then back to Athens for a few extra days. It was great to get a bit of a snapshot of all the islands and have someone organise all the transport – but as it was a tour, they elected to the cheaper side of things, so our ferry rides were very long and the rooms, whilst conveniently located, were pretty basic. I think it cost us about $3000-4000 for 10 days all transport, accommodation and some meals included. The second time we went with friends, flew straight to Santorini, got a ferry to Ios, then a ferry back to Athens. So much cheaper! We stayed in a really central spot in Thira (on Santorini) hired quad bikes ($80 for a day) and got to see so much more of Santorini. Other than Oia (where the famous sunset is) and a few other touristy spots, we actually found Santorini much more affordable than we originally thought. It is still the most expensive out of the islands though. iOS was beautiful, we stayed on Mylopotas beach (not in the party centre, but in the quieter area) and it was cheap, gorgeous and only a short bus ride into town that cost about €3. Athens is simple and easy to get around, a taxi from the city centre to the Acropolis is next to nothing and is easily walkable if you don’t mind the heat. April should be a good time to go though because their main tourist season is a bit later and Athens sort of shuts down and the islands get really busy!
In Turkey, we stayed at all inclusive resorts both times, which was surprisingly reasonable. My partner is English, living with me in Aus, but his parents both still live in England and travel to Turkey yearly. They have stayed all over and a mix of self contained apartments, hotels and all inclusive resorts. The all inclusives include all food, alcohol and accommodation. We took day trips while we were there managing to make that our base and keep coming back to the same place. We took a Jeep safari up into the mountains (no animals, just waterfalls, forest, and the like), a boat trip around the islands that cost us $30AUD each for a whole day including lunch, a trip to Oludeniz to go paragliding ($80AUD) and the taxis around town are quite reasonable too. Calis and Fethiye are popular with British tourists, but the prices were nowhere near as high as Greece or some other parts of Europe. And there were good vegan options available in both Greece and Turkey.
Hope that helps a bit! If you have any other questions that I can help with, please let me know ☺️