Key Takeaways
- After my first independent trip overseas in 2005, I came home, quit my job, and prepared to travel the world. However, at home, I immediately felt alo
- Few people supported me, most were confused by the idea, and even more tried to talk me out of it.
- Back then, quitting your job to travel the world made people think you were slightly crazy. Over a year ago, I created a community section of this sit
After my first independent trip overseas in 2005, I came home, quit my job, and prepared to travel the world. However, at home, I immediately felt alone.
Few people supported me, most were confused by the idea, and even more tried to talk me out of it.
Back then, quitting your job to travel the world made people think you were slightly crazy. Over a year ago, we created a community section at routeforless.com for travelers to mingle, encourage, and advise each other so no one would have to feel that way.
Today, we want to share the story of one of our community members, Tomislav from Croatia. Tom has been traveling the world on an extreme budget ($10 USD a day) since 2008 through a variety of ingenious ways. While this level of austerity is not for everyone (including us), his spirit and philosophy are still inspiring—and worth sharing. Without further ado, here’s our interview:
Route for Less: Tell everyone about yourself.
Tomislav: My name is Tomislav Perko, I’m 30, and I come from Croatia. I started living my life only recently, by moving away from the usual “be born – go to school – get married – do the job that you don’t like – take credit out for 30 years – have a few kids – retire – and die” lifestyle. Recently, I published a book called 1,000 Days of Spring, which quickly turned into a bestseller in Croatia, and currently I’m back home, working on my second book.
You said you started traveling recently. What were you doing before? Why did you start traveling?
Before I started traveling, I was a stockbroker. Suit, tie, nice restaurants, a lot of money — that kind of lifestyle. But then the financial crisis came, and I lost everything. That’s when I discovered Couchsurfing — and by hearing first-hand stories from people that passed through my home and seeing a spark in their eyes, I thought to myself, maybe I should try it out myself.
Did you always plan to travel on $10 USD a day?
The only thing that is a constant when talking about my travel plans is that I didn’t really plan anything. When I started traveling, I had almost no money, and the amount I spent on the road determined how long I could stay on the road. $10 USD was more than enough to cover some basic needs, and the best thing was that I really enjoyed traveling this way. I loved the challenge of figuring out where to sleep, how to get somewhere, what to eat.
In a way, being almost broke was the best thing that happened to me. While traveling on a low budget you appreciate the little things, such as hot meals, soft beds, and transportation, after a few hours of waiting in the sun. You are grateful for little things you are not thinking about when you can afford three meals a day, when your shelter has already been prearranged and you know a way to get to your destination. You are grateful for all the miracles that, inevitably, occur daily.
Where did you get the $10 USD figure? Did you research it? Why $10 USD and not $20 USD?
Well, I didn’t plan it to be $10 USD or any other amount, but when I traveled for a couple of months, looked back on my budget and did the calculation — it turned out that it was about that amount per day.
Of course, some days I spent $50 USD, or bought a plane ticket for $100+ USD, but then I spent few weeks or months volunteering and not having to spend anything. So at the end, it all levels out to $10 USD a day.
How do you specifically stay on budget when you travel?
When it comes to transportation, I mainly hitchhiked everywhere I went. It was fast, safe, reliable, and free. But the best thing was that you get an amazing story of how you got between point A and B, you talk with locals, and learn from them. I also walked a lot, used some public transportation in cheap countries, relocated a few cars, etc.
As for accommodation, I Couchsurfed most of the time — I already had plenty of experience from hosting few hundred people in my own place before I started traveling, so that helped a lot. You spend your time with him/her, they take you out with their friends, on family gatherings, and to see some amazing local spots you would probably miss out on.
When I didn’t Couchsurf, I camped, slept in parks or beside the road, volunteered, tried house sitting and home exchanges — there are so many alternatives to ho(s)tels. They require much more planning and energy, but they save you money and give you so much in return.
I bought food in supermarkets and cooked by myself or with my hosts, never drank in bars but in parks, even tried dumpster diving couple of times. You have to know that food is everywhere, and a lot of it is being thrown away — some say that over 40% of food produced is being wasted.
