How much money did you have left when your RTW trip was over?

As we noted in this month’s post about the RTW ticket deals for November, one aspect of planning for a RTW trip that people often forget about is planning for the re-entry – in other words, preparing yourself for a return to life at home after your trip is done. This month’s RTW Ticket Watch newsletter is full of tips and advice on coming back home after traveling long-term – and this question from the BootsnAll message boards hits upon one element of the return trip: money.

BootsnAll member chuckliddell asks, “How much money did you have left when your RTW trip was over?” Since most people who take long-term trips save money for quite awhile in order to do so, he’s wondering whether any of that saved cash is set aside to be a cushion upon returning home.

Suppose you estimate that a year long trip in S. America will cost $15,000. How much money would you need to have in the bank before you were comfortable taking off?

Are you currently saving money for a RTW trip? Is any part of that budgeted specifically for your return? On the other side of the coin, have you already taken a long trip for which you did not set aside money for your re-entry? How did it impact your return back home?

Please click through and leave your thoughts in the thread on the BootsnAll boards, to help answer chuckliddell’s question and provide some helpful planning tips for other RTW travelers!

Posted by | Comments (2)  | November 20, 2010
Category: Notes from the collective travel mind


2 Responses to “How much money did you have left when your RTW trip was over?”

  1. Ahimsa Says:

    I’m definitely of the opinion that any money I save will be spent on my trip. I’d rather come back and be broke then not do everything I want or have to cut my travels short.

  2. Martijn Reintjes Says:

    we’re flying back to Holland next week and I’m sorry to say that I’m totally broke after almost a year of traveling. But I’ll be fine and 2010 was the most epic year for me to date. 🙂