Key Takeaways
- A lot of people say you need to have a well-paying job in order to afford your trip.
- But Michael (age 27) never had one of those, yet he still managed to save $14k in six months while on making $9 USD per hour!
- When he told me his story, I knew he was perfect for this week’s success story.
Updated: 12/20/2018 | Posted: 12/5/2012
A lot of people say you need to have a well-paying job in order to afford your trip.
But Michael (age 27) never had one of those, yet he still managed to save $14k in six months while earning $9 USD per hour!
When he shared his story, we knew it was the perfect example for this week’s real-world budget travel success.
He embodies the idea that anyone — regardless of income — can prioritize and save for meaningful travel.
So, without further ado, let’s meet Michael and learn exactly how he saved so much money on a modest wage!
Tell everyone about yourself.
I was living in Austin, Texas, before I became a citizen of the world. I had always wanted to take a year off and travel. I had taken small trips overseas in the past and would meet so many travelers who were taking months or years off to travel. Those people put the idea in my head that maybe I could travel for extended periods of time too.
When I graduated from college, I spent a year and a half looking for a teaching position but couldn’t find one. I started entertaining the idea of selling everything I own and taking a year off to travel, but still, it didn’t really seem feasible. Since I couldn’t find a teaching position, I got a job as a cook at a pizza place in Austin.
I was only making $9 per hour plus tips.
How long were you planning on traveling?
I was just planning to be gone for a year. Once I started researching how to travel the world, I came across several blogs of people offering words of encouragement and advice.
I had looked up RTW tickets and thought that would be the best way to go. I had started organizing and planning the entire year: what cities I would go to, the cost of living in each country, etc.
But then I thought, “How the hell can someone plan for an entire year?” I was new to planning a trip but still knew there was just no way to plan anything for an entire year. Now, I’m just going to go with the flow.
That’s the best way to go! What fears, if any, did you have about your trip?
I was afraid of two things. First, I feared what people would think. I was about to embark on something extremely unorthodox where I come from, and I knew no one was going to understand.
Instead of people asking me why, people were amazed that I actually had the balls to do it. My family was supportive and thought it would be a great experience; friends were probably a little jealous but they were supportive and couldn’t believe what I was doing. Everyone thought I was crazy but in a good way. I have had 100% support from my friends and family. I still get to keep in touch with everyone regularly through email, Skype, and Facebook.
The second fear I had was about the trip itself.
I thought to myself, What if I spend all this money, and waste so much time just to have nothing work out the way I want it to? But it was just fearful thinking creeping its way into my mind. The bottom line is, no matter what decision you make in life, you never know whether things will work out for you.
As long as you pursue what your heart is telling you to, things will always work out just fine. Thinking that things might not work out went against my newfound way of thinking. I have been gone for two months so far, and already things have worked out better than I could have imagined.
Was there anything specific about this site that helped you overcome those fears?
I was inspired by Route for Less not to over-plan. That’s one of the reasons why I like routeforless.com so much — because it’s written from the perspective of someone who waved off fear and the societal norms that prevent us from traveling and just went for it. I wanted that for so long but didn’t think it was possible until I started reading the site.
To keep my inspiration alive before I left, I would tell friends and family about Route for Less and tell them “Look, it is possible.”
When my friends told me I was crazy and that they would never be able to do it, I would email them posts from routeforless.com, so that maybe they would be inspired too.
Or at least, they would have a better understanding of where I was coming from.
Moreover, Route for Less helped me travel more affordably by introducing me to money-saving techniques such as WWOOFing and Couchsurfing that have helped me cut accommodation costs.
The site also gave me ideas on how to save money on food — something I originally thought I’d have to spend heavily on, since everyone needs to eat. After learning about eating locally, I was inspired to reduce my food budget even further.
Not only is eating locally adventurous and fun, but it truly helps stretch your travel funds. Route for Less helped me realize that slower travel means deeper experiences *and* greater savings. Without a rigid itinerary or fixed deadlines, I’ve had more time to explore, absorb local culture, and connect meaningfully with people along the way.
Ok, so tell us, how the heck did you save $15k in 6 months?
I decided I wanted to save $15,000 for my trip, figuring that could last me for a year. I only had six months to save for my trip so I had to work my hardest to be able to get to $15,000. I say I only had six months because to keep myself from putting off the trip and keep myself disciplined, I booked my flight out of the US the day I decided I was going to travel around the world.
