If there is one that holds most of us from traveling, you guess it right, it’s money. Although money is a big part of your traveling plans, you don’t have to be rich to travel. There are a plethora of ways where you can travel on a budget or even for free.
If you are only creative, there are a lot of ways for you to travel – not just in one destination but all over the world. Although this sounds impossible, it’s true. However, there are some expenses that you should never compromise on, like travel insurance, but other expenses are much more manageable. So, here’s how you can travel on a budget and or for free.
TRAVELING ON A BUDGET
Traveling on a budget means that you have to take advantage of all the helpful apps and websites you can find. This will help you save money and only shell out a little as it will surely lower your expenses.
GET AN OVERSEAS JOB
If you want to travel, but the job you have is not enough to fund your dream, you may consider getting a job overseas. If you’re not picky, there are a lot of opportunities out there that you can choose. From being an au pair to yacht worker, your option is unlimited. You can even hit two birds in one stone – you can travel and earn at the same time that your financial advisor will be proud about.
TEACH ENGLISH IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Teaching the English language is now a career. In fact, you can make a lot of money by teaching that you can use while you’re traveling abroad. The only investment you need is your ability to speak English fluently. For some, you have to have a TEFL degree. Some companies in Asia are also willing to pay for your flight if you choose to teach English in their country.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SHARING ECONOMY
As the sharing economy is now a thing today, you may take advantage of it to find cheaper accommodation, rideshare options, tour guides, and home-cooked meals with local chefs. There are sharing economy websites out there that will help you connect to the locals, who use their own assets and skills to be small tourism companies that offer more affordable prices.
Aside from these three, it will also help you not to max out your credit cards if you get rail passes, sleep in large dorms, use student and other discount cards, get your own tourist cards, and/or sell your services.
TRAVELING FOR FREE
You also have an option to travel for free. Here, you have to take advantage of free accommodation from friends or relatives, transportation, food, and even activities. However, unlike traveling on a budget, you will quite sacrifice your comfort and convenience here, as you need to be contented in what they will give.
TRAVEL HACKS AND FREE FLIGHTS
These days, there are arrays of ways that you can get free flights. You can sign up for multiple travel credit cards, collect miles, and then fly without shelling out even a single centavo. Some cards offer sign-up bonuses that can go up to 50,000 points. You can also sign up for both airline card and general rewards card and combine the points that you get from the two to have a free or cheap flight.
FREE STAY
There are also a lot of websites today that will connect you to locals who will let you stay with them for free. You can try CouchSurfing, where the idea is said to be based on the kindness of people. In its advertisement, it said that it is a gift economy as hosts are not allowed to ask for lodging payments.
HITCHHIKE
Hitchhiking has been popular for years if not decades. It is generally safe and quite common in many parts of the world. However, North America has a bad reputation for it. Hence, you should follow your intuition and common sense to keep you safe. It will also be nice to know if the place where you will stay has a home security system.
In addition, you can also try taking free walking tours so that you won’t spend any amount when you want to go out and wander the streets. House sitting is also the key. You can watch someone’s house for them – voila! It is an instant free accommodation. Lastly, to have everything for free, you can stay with a friend or a relative; you won’t only have free board and lodging but free meals and companion, too.