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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 6 Apr 2004
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Financing your travells
Hi, all!
Only came across Horizons Unlimited a few weeks ago and am amazed at the trips you folks go on, but what I can't help wondering is, how do you pay for it all? Do you work your passage by taking a job every so often on the journey, or are you all rich enough to afford it and just go? Tell me, do.
Best wishes
John


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  #2  
Old 6 Apr 2004
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Not too many of us are rich. I wish...

I think you'll find that most are just focussed - we decided we were going, and put all our energy into that, and nothing else. Selling everything you own helps a lot too!

It's truly amazing how much you can save if you aren't planning on being there for long, and will sell up before you leave... no need for the bigger tv, the shinier car, the new toy etc.

Once you're on the road, you can live surprisingly cheaply if you try. In many parts of the world US$30 a day is the magic number, not counting major expenses like border crossings, shipping, breakdowns etc.

Some people work at odd jobs while on the road, others do it in one big shot, and come home broke. There's a thousand ways of doing it, you just have to find the one that's right for you.

Charlie Miller for instance is an Aussie retiree - he's been on the road for years now, and lives off his pension, with the occasional odd job when it suits him.

You just have to WANT to do it...

Telling all your friends you're leaving in 6 months is a good way to make it happen - too embarrassing not to go!

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[This message has been edited by Grant Johnson (edited 05 April 2004).]
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  #3  
Old 6 Apr 2004
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Hi, Grant!
You've got it in a nutshell-"You just have to want to do it"
I like that.

As for telling all my mates-I'm keeping shtum, in case I have to come back, tail between my legs! Still, for most of us the first "Biggie" is quite a step.
Thanks, and best wishes
John
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  #4  
Old 6 Apr 2004
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John,

This subject has come up in the past, follow the link to the last time it did:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000336.html

It worked for me but there's always an element of risk involved. The least I ever made on a bike was £200.00 (in 40 minutes as I already had a buyer lined up), the most was £730.00 each on an FJ1200 & a GSX-R1100.

Steve
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Old 6 Apr 2004
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Hello John:

I don't think financing is the issue, in the sense of having sufficient funds to make the trip, I think the problem for most people is getting the large block of time needed to make some of the trips. In other words, if one works 48 or 50 weeks a year in a '9 to 5' job, getting the time off to make the trip will be very difficult, even though the trip might be affordable.

My work is such that I only actually work about 25 or 30 weeks a year (though I work like a dog during those weeks, and I am away from home, always on another continent, when I am working). So, there is no financial penalty (loss of income) to go touring during the weeks I am not working.

My experience has been that my gross costs (shipping the bike, equipment, airfares, allowance for maintenance and tire replacement, visas, etc.) and my daily living costs (inexpensive hotel or pension, food, attractions, fuel) add up to about USD $75 a day on the road, rather than the USD $30 that Grant mentions. The daily living costs are pretty easily controlled and not much of an issue. It's the one-off expenses that add up quickly.

Michael
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  #6  
Old 6 Apr 2004
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I couldnt sell up..but a little bit of socialism still lives in some workplaces in Australia. We get 3 months full pay or 6 months half pay leave after ten years service! Add in some untaken annual holidays and you have a budget for some months.
I left Australia with 200 US dollars and the knowledge I would be paid on the flight over, I returned with 6 Singapore dollars seven months later. I was paid fortnightly while i was away, minus the mortgage etc. Not alot but enough! I grew to love my tent.



[This message has been edited by simmo (edited 06 April 2004).]
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  #7  
Old 7 Apr 2004
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PanEuropean's 75 a day is from the perspective of someone who CURRENTLY has a job, therefore his choices will be different than someone on the road for years with no job and no income.

No disrespect Michael! I envy your schedule, but it does make a difference.

I can even cite a German couple who travelled the US on $10 a day. They NEVER paid for accommodation, and cooked every meal they didn't get free. AND had a great time!

OTOH, Jim Rodgers spent over US$250,000 on his rtw with his girlfriend.

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  #8  
Old 7 Apr 2004
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Quote:
Originally posted by simmo:
I couldnt sell up..but a little bit of socialism still lives in some workplaces in Australia. We get 3 months full pay or 6 months half pay leave after ten years service! Add in some untaken annual holidays and you have a budget for some months.
I left Australia with 200 US dollars and the knowledge I would be paid on the flight over, I returned with 6 Singapore dollars seven months later. I was paid fortnightly while i was away, minus the mortgage etc. Not alot but enough! I grew to love my tent.

[This message has been edited by simmo (edited 06 April 2004).]
More than a little jealous to say the least. I could afford to take a longer trip abroad but it's the time off that's a killer, as Micheal correctly points out.

Steve

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  #9  
Old 8 Apr 2004
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hello *bankers*,

most important is the will to do it.

than you have to calculate the money for your trip.

costs shipping, bike, spares, sponsors (?) - it all depends on you. how much time do you spend searching for the cheapest way shipping your bike, what bike do you choose, how good are you fixing it, how good are you finding real sponsors , and how much can you communicate with people

Grant. I met the two Germans - Falk and Reina - yes they were on a very low budget, and they enjoyed their trip so much.

Mika from Caracas, just back to the hotel after spending three hours changing money for a good rate on the black market



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