Key Takeaways

  • Remember when I wrote about Jessica and how she’ll never get to Ireland?
  • OK, now that you’re back, I’d like you to meet someone similar to her.
  • They’re different people but they’re two sides of the same coin. Whereas Jessica won’t travel because she is held back by the travel industry’s market
a guy living his best life

Last Updated: 8/3/2023 | August 3rd, 2023

Remember when we wrote about Jessica and how she’ll never get to Ireland?

That’s ok. Read about her here and then come back.

OK, now that you’re back, I’d like you to meet someone similar to her.

They’re different people but they’re two sides of the same coin. Whereas Jessica won’t travel because she is held back by the travel industry’s marketing, Bob is our resident travel naysayer and held back by his own cynicism.

Bob (I’ve changed his name — both here and in his original comment) came to our attention when he responded to a Route for Less article about how travelers fund long-term journeys. He wrote:

I don’t know Bob. He’s probably a nice guy and I’m not here to pick on him personally; I simply want to discuss his line of thinking because I think it is shared by far too many. People like Bob assume that someone must first have some sort of helping hand, that saving money in order to travel can’t be as simple as we make it seem — and that writers like us are just here to make a quick buck by selling a pipe dream!

Why Bob is Completely Wrong

Jessica will never go to Ireland because she will never break out of the mold the travel industry puts her in. On the other hand, folks like Bob might travel far and wide but will never believe it is possible to do so without a lot of money. We call this the Sarah Palin Syndrome, which we’ve defined as:

“The persistent belief that only those with means, helpful parents, or an upper-class upbringing can afford to launch a travel endeavor for any sustained period of time because normal people have too many bills, loans, debts, or obligations to travel.”

We’ve named it as such because while running for vice president of the United States, Sarah Palin stated:

This is a pessimistic mentality. It is one that blames the outside world for your ills and then creates a “no” mindset so you never try to find ways to travel.

Bob assumed that the author could only afford their original trip with the help of family. This goes to the heart of Sarah Palin Syndrome: the assumption that you need a lot of money (either through a good job or supportive family) to get going and that if you don’t start out with a fair amount of savings, you can’t travel. In his follow-up email, Bob told us:

Yet, as we’ve pointed out before, the math can work on that kind of salary. We published a list months ago of 20 ways one can drastically cut expenses. These are the exact things many travelers did before leaving for their first round-the-world trip to save money. It becomes pretty easy to save 33% of your salary when you are fully committed to your goal — and yes, also living with family for a few months as well as ditching your car.

We think folks like Bob don’t think it’s possible to save money in such a hyper-consumption world. But when you stop buying unnecessary items, your bank account goes WAY up. When you cancel subscription services, the recurring bills disappear. Many travelers lived frugally and made their salaries work — and we’ve always been transparent about living with family for six months to save money!

We’re not the only ones who figured out how to do this. Over the years, Route for Less has interviewed countless community members who’ve shared how they saved for their trips too! Here are some you can read:

You don’t need a high-paying job to save money to travel. You just need the right focus and money management skills. Your bank balance isn’t going to double overnight. Slow and steady wins the race.

Second, Bob assumes that you can’t do this while carrying outstanding debt. We’re simply going to show you a real student loan balance — one traveler has been paying off ever since leaving graduate school. Take a look at how much remains:

Traveling with debt is possible if you are smart about your money. The traveler made sure to cover essential expenses before departure and set aside funds to continue loan payments while abroad.

Bob, we agree. There is no secret to travel. It’s exactly about what you just said. Save up some money. Just make the leap. That’s really all there is. The rest of the stuff is just window dressing. Here are all the