“I wish I could travel more but I can’t afford it.” “I wish I could travel more but I don’t have the time.” “I’m not sure how to start planning my trip.” “I don’t know if I can save enough money for a trip.” “I don’t know where to begin.”
I’ve been there. Like you, I used to think travel was something I could never afford to do. I didn’t grow up with much moneyand my family or friends didn’t travel much – and when we did it was to hotels and resorts. As I grew older, I worked all the time, my parents didn’t pay my way, and I was unsure of where to find the tools I needed to make travel a reality. I saw the commercials, watched the ads, and read the travel magazines and thought, “I’ll never be able to afford to travel.”
I’ve spent the last 15 years traveling the world and I am here to tell you that it is 100% possible – no matter where you are from or what your income level.
I put all of my knowledge into one easy-to-reference book! This New York Times best-seller takes the information on my website and goes into much more detail, and also features tips, tricks, and country breakdowns never talked about here on the blog! It condenses over 15 years of travel into one easy reference.
My travel advice has been featured in:
What You’ll Learn with This Book
The art of saving for your trip – even if you only make a little money per year. I’ll show you how to be a savings machine.
How to make your money work for you and never pay overseas bank fees again.
How to get free — yes, FREE — airline tickets and save thousands!
The ins and outs of round-the-world tickets (and whether or not you need one).
What to look for in a backpack so you get one that lasts forever (and is always comfy).
How to use travel credit cards to gain hundreds of thousands of free frequent-flier miles and hotel points.
Where to send your mail and what to do with your stuff before you set off on your adventure.
Where to find travel discount cards that can save you 40% or more on your trip.
The secrets to eating cheaply in any city in the world.
What travel insurance is, why you need it, and how to pick the right coverage provider.
Why tourism cards are the best-kept travel secret and how to use them to save hundreds in any city.
How I manage to cut my transportation costs by 50% and how you can too.
All the ways you can get free accommodation – from someone’s couch to luxurious mansions.
Stories, tips, and interviews with other travelers to learn from their successes – and failures – so you avoid rookie mistakes.
A comprehensive list of all the best companies to use around the world.
PLUS – Get detailed costs for accommodation, food, drinks, transportation, and activities (and specific ways to cut those costs) for each region of the world, so you’ll know exactly how much everything costs, what you need to budget, and ways to save.
Whether a two-week, two-month, or two-year trip, we all want to stretch our money further. We want to find ways to travel longer and more often. My book will show you how to go anywhere you want without breaking the bank. I will reveal the tips that have kept me traveling to where I want, when I want. No matter how long you want to travel for, now you can.
Order this NYT Best-Selling Book Now!
Available in paperback, Kindle, and Audio from these booksellers:
Here’s what other travelers thought of this book:
“This is a great practical book that will make you rethink what’s possible when traveling on a budget. The philosophy, country details, and online resources provide an outstanding guide to help make your dream a reality. This book was key in the decision to quit my job and travel the world once I realized how affordable it could be! Best budget travel book out there!” – Justin
“I’m a pretty frugal traveler and subscribe to Nomadic Matt’s blog. So I was curious what he had to say in his new book and whether it’d be better than what’s already on his blog. The verdict? It’s BETTER. While many of these tips might also be on his blog (though I know not all of them are), his new book organizes them in a very logical and helpful format.” – Peg
“This book gave me loads of INVALUABLE info for my upcoming trip to Europe! Little things that I never would have thought about otherwise. Matt gives the reader tidbits about every possible thing one could think of, and then you can expand your research from there, on the subjects you deem important for your personal journey. If you are a first-time backpacker, you must read this book. I paid something like 13 bucks for it. I’m a very budget conscious traveler, so it is worth its weight in gold!” – Heather
“Got more out of it than I ever expected! Great stuff! Worth your money, big time!” – Hannah
“I learned so much from this book. It was very helpful in planning my trip to Europe this summer and gave me some good tips on how to survive while in Europe. I would recommend this book to any traveler.” – Aimee
Order this NYT Best-Selling Book Now!
Available in paperback, Kindle, and Audio from these booksellers:
Luckily, it is possible, and many people have traveled the world on minimal budgets. There's no reason why you can't do the same. The goal here is not to burn through much of your savings which can sit tight in a cash ISA. Undoubtedly, you will have to dip into your savings pot at some point.
So, How Much Does it Cost? In general, you should expect it to cost between $25,000 to $35,000 per person to travel around the world for a year. This rough estimate comes from reading travel budgets of other bloggers, various travel planning resources, and our own experience. This is just the midrange.
The short answer is “there is no limit to how much cash you can bring to the airport for a domestic or intentional flight. However, you must declare on the FinCEN105 form that you are bringing more than $10,000 on an international flight (which includes all money being carried by anyone in your family or group).
Just take that $20,000 and divide it by 12 months to set your monthly savings goal. You'll need to save a bit more than $1,600 each month to make that happen. Or, if you're looking to travel for 6 months, you'll need about $10,000, which means you'll need to save just over $800 a month for a year to achieve your goal.
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO CARRY AS MUCH CASH AS YOU WANT OUT OF AND INTO THE UNITED STATES. To summarize up front: no, you are not restricted to traveling with sums of $10,000 or less. In fact, you could travel with a checked bag stuffed to the brim with cash — as long as you declare the amount beforehand.
Some of the most lucrative fields in freelancing are web design and development, internet research, data entry, graphic design, content writing, and translation and editing. If you want to travel the world full-time as a digital nomad, consider doing a work exchange with Worldpackers.
Perhaps the easiest way to figure out your budget is to work backward and figure out how much will it cost per day. Several popular travel blogs, such as A Little Adrift, Never Ending Footsteps, and Earth Trekkers, all agree that a baseline of $20,000 per person for one year is doable.
While it's technically legal to travel domestically with this kind of money, it can arouse suspicion from law enforcement. And to reiterate, if law enforcement suspects your money is tied to illegal activity, they can seize it.
The average cost of travel insurance is about 3% to 5% of a trip's total value, according to quotes gathered by our research team across different travel insurance providers for various traveler profiles.
Since this question comes up so often, I like to constantly remind people of this fact: You do not need to be rich to travel. What is this? Let's repeat that: You do not need to be rich to travel. There are plenty of ways to travel on a budget (and for free) — you just need to be willing to get creative.
It's about how you can still spend less than many people would in a year at home, even on a mid-range budget. What can you expect to spend if you have more of a backpacker budget, and will be staying in dorm rooms in hostels, travelling overland, and staying in cheap regions of the world? $10,000 is doable for a year.
It is still recommended that you bring at least one (and maybe a second backup) credit card. In most locations, big shops and restaurants will accept major credit cards (MasterCard and Visa are more widely accepted than American Express), and you can also withdraw cash with a credit card at most ATMs.
Address: Suite 228 919 Deana Ford, Lake Meridithberg, NE 60017-4257
Phone: +2613987384138
Job: Chief Retail Officer
Hobby: Tai chi, Dowsing, Poi, Letterboxing, Watching movies, Video gaming, Singing
Introduction: My name is Zonia Mosciski DO, I am a enchanting, joyous, lovely, successful, hilarious, tender, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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