Saving Money for a RTW Trip

A RTW trip is a dream to many but the most common lament is "I couldn't possibly afford it". Yet at the end of the tax year how often to look at your net salary and wonder where all that cash went?

You can a achieve a RTW trip or any other major financial aim but the most important thing is to decide you want it. The secrete is simple - things don't happen by accident - if you want to save $20,000 or $40,000 for a trip of the lifetime the first thing you have to do is decide to save it!

A dream is the place to start "I want to walk beside the river in Paris and cruise the canals of Venice and dance Tango in Buenos Aires" is a dream.

A goal is a little bit more specific: I want to spend 4 weeks in Western Europe and 1 week in Argentina.

A SMART Goal: I want to travel independently in Europe for 4 weeks next summer with a stopover in Argentina either on the way over or back. June if I can get the time off work. I want to have approximately Euro200 / day for travel expenses plus another US$2000 for airfares, insurance.

SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound. The jargon is from business the concept is applicable to anything.

It doesn't have to be exact at this stage but it helps to know whether $10,000 will cover you or whether you want $40,000 for your trip of a lifetime.

Here are some categories to get you started:

• Long-haul airfares

• Shorter airfares within the country

• Insurance

• Gear: pack, clothes

• Vaccinations

• Rough daily budget by country or continent

• 10-15% contingency

3.Is the Goal and Budget realistic?

Now you know what you want how much you need (your budget) and when you need it by - the start date of your trip. Is it realistic - work out how much you have to save per pay to achieve your goal. Maybe you need to move the trip back a year, shorten it or reduce your daily budget.

4.Make it happen

There are 2 main ways to save money:

• spend less,

• earn more.

• or do both!

That's it really. If you really want that trip you will be able to prioritise your saving over your spending.

Lis Sowerbutts has been traveling since age 7, and has so far,visited over 55 countries. She firmly believes that traveling is too good to be left to the young and you are never too late to start traveling A New Zealander, Lis currently lives in Perth, Australia.