Around the World on $1.50

As promised, or teased, or whatever you call it, we have now been brought to the place of central attention.  Right now, at my University, there are students moving about all around the country.  Some of them are just heading home.  Others are on mission trips or simply a vacation.  Yes, travel is in the air… or by rail… or on the highway.

Travel is one of the most popular past time for college students – most likely because the opportunity is built in.  Fall Break, Winter Break, Spring Break… they are made for some fun and entertainment is places never before visited.

But for people trying to save money, this can be extremely scary or disappointing.  I speak from experience.  Last Spring Break, I went to Washington, D.C. for 4 days.  Doesn’t seem like a long trip, but it was expensive.  I had to work extra hours the rest of the year (even during finals) to catch back up.  The trip was fun… paying for it was definitely not.

This is something people, especially college students, really need to think about.  Not only is travel over an $800 Billion industry, it can be considered a line item when paying for school.  If you live far away, or even just commute, how much do you spend on travel without even thinking about it?  That’s not even counting break trips to Cancun or wherever.

Think of it this way – even CollegeBoard gave travel a line item in its various articles about paying for college.  For the average student at a 4-year college or university, in 2008-2009, he/she spent over $1000 on travel alone.

That can be a really scary number, especially when just looking at it in one lump sum.  Breaking it down, it’s $111 per month, since school is only in session for 9 months.  What if you live further away and have to take a plane every time?  What if some emergency comes up and you have to haul ass just to get back?

Just something to think about…  However, I don’t really want to think about terrible tragedies.  I would much rather focus on the fun aspect of traveling, which is what I alluded to in yesterday’s post.

There are a couple ways you can go about saving money on traveling and vacations.

• 1.    Save FOR vacation – Setting aside all your change (if you even use cash anymore) could be a start.  There are tons of different ways to save to go on a vacation – start at this site for some ideas.

• 2.    Save ON vacation – whether you’re headed to a beach, mountain, forest, or subdivision, there are lots of ways to save once you get there.  Here are 28 different ways to do it… or you can check out this slide show!

• 3.    Keep reading all this week.