Choices: Time vs. Money

Posted by on Mar 17, 2011 in Blog, Minimize Costs | 5 comments

Everything in life involves choices. We are fortunate to live in a society that allows some pretty fantastic choices, but there is still no getting around the fact that we must still make them. If your goal in life is to travel more, then you simply need to make the choice to travel more (I am making a big assumption that since you are reading this blog on the Internet, you have the basics of food, clothing and shelter pretty much covered). OK, so it sounds pretty flippant and a bit nervy to say it this way, but the reality is that if you want something, anything, badly enough, you can obtain or achieve it. Most people just don’t really want it badly enough.

The truth is that it is possible to travel very inexpensively, have an incredible time, and maybe even change your life, while still maintaining a job and having a family. Over the next few weeks, months, and, hopefully, years, we will explore how to do just that.

With almost anything that is worth pursuing, it comes down to a choice between two things:  time or money. If you want to learn a new skill, you can invest a good deal of money and have someone teach it to you step-by-step. This can result in quick absorption of the skill, bypassing a lot of common mistakes you might make along the way. If you do not have money, you can take a good deal of time and learn the skill on your own, making mistakes, but saving a lot of money and probably learn the skill much more effectively. Obviously, there are many other variables at play, but I am hoping you can see my point.

Travel is the same. If you throw a lot of money at a travel agent and some tour guides, they will plan everything for you, take you where they think you want to go. However, if you do not have a lot of money, you can still travel. And I would argue that by not having a lot of money and still traveling, you will have a much better experience. You will be forced to mingle with the locals, eat the native cuisine and stay in hotels/hostels that will, well, to be kind, make you want to go out and see the country if for no other reason than to get out of the room.

Early in our travels together, Sara and I went to Italy. We did not have much money, but Sara found ways for us to save money and still enjoy the trip (two of us for 11 days = $1200, including everything but the airplane ride). She got us two nights at a nice Sheraton in Rome for a ridiculously low price (we will share how in a future post). We went down to enjoy the hotel pool and swam for about an hour before we realized that WE WERE IN ROME. What the heck were we doing in a hotel swimming pool? That is the folly of staying in a hotel that is too comfortable and one of the many benefits of traveling cheap.

If you invest a little time, with the right know-how, you really can afford to travel as much as you want. You just really have to want it. So, turn off that TV* and do a little legwork (we will show you how) and get out to see the world!

*Now that ‘Lost’ is over, you really have no excuse.

  • Brietta

    VERY much looking forward to this. When will we see part 2?

  • http://twitter.com/ronronmirabueno Roland Mirabueno

    My friend from Indonesia just hosted a couple from Spain who couchsurfed with him. I guess it’s a matter of seeing the accommodation that people has to offer.  

    • http://flyingcoach.org Flip Adams

      We haven’t done any couchsurfing, but we met a couple on the Trans-Sib that met each other when he couchsurfed at her brother’s house. They are together now and were traveling together across Asia and Europe. Pretty cool.

  • http://profiles.google.com/latamaritabonita Tamara Peterson

    I couldn’t agree with you more! I just came back from Turkey, we went the quick route and booked a tour; found out when we got to Capadoccia that we spent waaaay too much $ (although the tour was interesting) and that we could have just as easily booked everything when there!
    I encourage you to check out Couchsurfing.org; I’ve been hosting people now for around 5 years; its a rewarding experience, and it gives you the travel stories when you’re not able to travel, and you get to exchange cultural experiences. Then, when its time for you to travel, you get to see a place from the local’s point of view, most times seeing spots that otherwise, you wouldn’t know were there – they aren’t in the guidebook!

  • Flip

    Hi Tamara:

    We’ve been hesitant to try couchsurfing in the past due to always traveling as a couple and safety/privacy concerns. However, it does seem to be a great way to save. Maybe we’ll experiment a bit in the future. Is it common to couchsurf with couples, or are single travelers the norm?