Where do you people get money from?

Hi!

We have recently sold our house but we are not travelling on that money (well not yet anyway!) I think it depends how much you want to travel and what your priorities are. For example we were a couple living in a 3 bedroom house with 2 TV's 3 stereos and all the other "stuff" you accumulate and just suddenly thought why???

If you sit down and actually look at it we were spending so much money which we could have been saving:
Even earning mimimum wage if you work full time i would think you could save up for a big trip in 1-2 years, you just got to REALLY want to. We cut out most of what we were spending money on ie in a month

cable TV = 25
magazines 2 a week at 2 pound each = 16
contract mobiles 2@ 25 = 50
not using phone in peak times saved = 20
cheaper supermarket brands = 30
less nights out and invited people round = 100
no new clothes buying = 25
packed lunches for work = 100
etc etc
Thats nearly 400 quid, it wouldn't take long!

We set ourselves a limit on what we could spend in a week and got it out the bank every monday and that was it!

Go for it, its worth the cutting back and we didn't even feel like we were depriving ourselves!

Good luck claire & tel

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If you have Items about the house that you don't use much (or won't use when travelling) i recommend selling them if you are desperate.

I have a massive DVD and CD collection that i have been buying since I was 16. Some of them I have watched about 100 times and really have no appeal to me anymore. I have started selling these on e-bay and in the last two months i have made about £200 off them (i have been a little lazy). I also sold my DS and my Wii which has helped alot. Will also sell my mobile phone, my Xbox and probably my TV closer to when I leave.

Hope that is help. Reply to this

Traveling has always been my life's passion and I have been fortunate to live and work in many different countries where I have experienced the different cultures like a native would.... Yet, I have always wanted to spend an extended period of time doing just travel; nothing else... Stay in a place just long enough to be able to experience it to the fullest and then move on. My obstacle has never been how to be able to afford it, but rather how NOT to impact the income that I will need when I am not able to work at all (e.g. when I am too old to work).

I am not a citizen of a welfare state (at least not until the next presidential election!), so continuously saving and investing now that I can do it is the only way that I know to assure that I won't need to work through my 80's and 90's (if I live that long). How does everyone else handle this matter? I feel very sad when I see very old people working as grocery baggers when they can hardly walk.. I guess they never worried about retirement when they were young. Reply to this

Does your budget include a "retirement" category? or nobody should worry about this until you are in your late 30s? 40s? 50s? 60s? In the United States, gaps during your earning years (e.g. when you are traveling around), diminish what you might get as a pension when/if you get to retirement age and if our Social Security system does not collapse before then. The same applies to other forms of private pensions...

In my case, travel has always been very high in the list of things that I value most, but sustenance (and even more travel) in my old age is also high in the list by necessity... Perhaps this is not a big issue in other countries where extensive social programs are in place and obscene taxes cover the cost of them. I am just curious if this topic is even in the radar screen for any avid traveler other than me... maybe I just worry too much about a future that may never be! Reply to this

Does your budget include a "retirement" category?

That depends on how much you want to have when you retire.
I will have as much as I have now but with more free time. I have a mortgage for a modest appartment which will be payed for by the time I am retired and all European Union citizens get an old age pension. This old age pension is enough for those who own a place to live and are willing to live simply. I can essentially live the way I currently do all my life if I remain able bodied.

The thing about travelling is it is a life style. It is a passion for many of us and we build our lives around it. The problem with waitiing until you are old to travel is that you will miss out on seeing the changing world throughout your lifetime. For me that is the whole point of travelling periodically all my life. Reply to this

So what happens to people who dont have private pensions and investments, when they get old in the US?
If they dont get enough to live in even the most modest conditions, I mean. Reply to this

That happens here too. People with low incomes and/or complicated lives are not prepared for when they retire.
Sometimes something happens like they get divorced and have expensive responsibilities like two families to support.....
Or single parents who cant work full time for several years of their lives and when they do get to work they have child care expenses and their time cannot be devoted to their careers as much as many companies demand these days.
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Gosh!!
You folk's sure have it tough in your countries in regards to income in your old age??I live in New Zealand(thank goodness ) where we recieve a guarantied pension at age 65yrs. We have benefits for sickness , windows,solo parents. disability,etc,etc, so I count myself most fortunate to live in this country. My husband and I began travelling at age 50yrs now 67yrs and still travelling.(no not rich!! )My husband is still working( by choice)He is just a middle income worker but by saving hard we can still manage to travel. My advice is get out and explore, there is a whole new world out there.

"LIVE FOR TODAY FOR WHO KNOWS TOMORROW YOU MAY BE DEAD" Reply to this

I'd venture a guess that you'll find people in all categories in most countries. But since I'm not intimately familiar with everyone else's situations, correct me if I'm wrong in my comments below.

Anywhere you look there are rich, poor, frugal, spenders, savers, etc. Not all Europeans & Kiwis can pop off for a year or two and travel simply due to the government social programs. And not all Americans are slaves to their retirement accounts. I'm kinda old-school when it comes to my fiscal stuff...I save, I don't buy more than I can afford, etc. I'm also fortunate enough to have a job (well...I'll have a job again soon) that doesn't force me to live off rice and beans every day in order to save. I have my indulgences, but in general friends have described me as being cheap. All that resulted in me having had saved enough to take a year to explore in 2007-08. Sure I missed out on a year of contributing to my retirement savings...but a year traveling now vs a few more $$ in the account when I'm 65 is a no-brainer decision.

In the States there is a social security system to help provide for the retired - but it's a crappy system and I don't think anyone in my generation (I'm 31) trusts that it will be useful (if around at all) when we're older. There is also Medicare and Medicaid for health stuff...but frankly I haven't any idea about those benefits.

Omega - There are certainly the gaps in the US system and God-willing it will be improved, but I think you may have an overly-rosy view of other places compared to home - except for perhaps NZ which is paradise (I'm not taking the piss...it is). I think everywhere has it's share of disadvantaged and left-behind people...which sucks...but it's reality...I think.

I guess what I'm getting at is that no matter where you are, most people can have opportunities to live responsibly, save, travel, and still not be in the soup line when retired. But you will likely make some compromises along the way.

I met several folks who left home without much at all, but worked in certain places as they went...when they had some cash saved up they were off again. This, of course, doesn't address the retirement savings question...but it's their choice and it's possible. Though I'd guess it makes more sense for the younger crowd out there. If you're 45 without any money...you might want to consider saving rather than traveling...your choice though.

And...start the retirement account as soon as possible. Depending on the type of investment, it's the money from the early years of saving that have the longest to grow & therefore can have the largest impact on what you have at the end.

Choices in life. Fun, no? Reply to this

Omega,
Not quite sure what you mean but one must be born in NZ or be a" naturalised citizen"and reside in NZ to recieve a pension.Whilst on the pension,you can only be out of the country for 3 months at a time.You must notify the authorities of your intention to depart, and again when you return .
Sure a person needs to be financely secure in their old age.At 50 (when we began our travels)our children were grown ,and were no longer dependant on us. Our home was morgage free and we had no debts, thus leaving us free to travel.
We are budget travellers eg, travel in low season/ airfare specials/budget hotels/and lately vacation in Asia where the dollar goes a long way.We would like to travel much further a field but sadly the dollar doesnt stretch that far. Reply to this