March 13, 2008
How much money do you need to vagabond?
For anyone considering a year or more of travel, one of the key considerations is of course money and how to finance the trip.
Or if you're location independent and work from anywhere, you might be wondering how much money you need to earn and where the most cost effective places to earn a living are.
Whilst it might not be the most scientifically-calculated analysis ever completed, I sat down last weekend and went through all our expenses from a year of travelling. The results are here.
The answer I was trying to find was this: does a life of permanent travel cost more or less than living in one place? You might be surprised by the answer.
Comments (4)
So it looks to be about $30,000 US for your year. I've been looking through many travel blogs and find the amount to finance a year long trip, without working, is about $20,000. This is due to mainly staying in hostels, rarely renting/buying a car, and perhaps avoiding more expensive destinations. I've been saving towards my goal of $25,000 so I'd have some startup money for whenever I return.
Posted by Scott | March 13, 2008 1:50 PM
Posted on March 13, 2008 13:50
Brazil is a big country, but even here in the (relatively poor) Northeast life is more expensive than in Buenos Aires. I'm already looking into the possibility of switching to Panamá and your analysis only encourages me. I only move twice a year to save money on travel and moving expenses, so anyone considering this lifestyle needs to factor this frequency as well.
Posted by Ernesto | March 13, 2008 3:13 PM
Posted on March 13, 2008 15:13
i'm about 3 months into a 6 month trip (without working) and i think overall the cost will be about $11,000-$15,000. so $30,000 definitely sounds about right for a year. i'm spending the bulk of my time in southeast asia though, so this helps to keep the costs down.
now i just need to figure out how to become a location independent professional! =) working on that one now... but not TOO hard, as everything here is so beautiful. =) i'd love to go to beunos aires next!
Posted by malia | March 13, 2008 10:19 PM
Posted on March 13, 2008 22:19
see... the thing is... VAGABONDING is working while you travel... 30,0000 mine arse... you make that buck every week as you travel. putting a figure on it is not a good idea. I've traveled up till 2006.. not one single year did i drop 30Gs... take 3000 and that will last you awhile aslong as you work as you travel. RESEARCH bet you get the same feed back yeah
Posted by shannon doyle | April 20, 2008 8:05 PM
Posted on April 20, 2008 20:05