To wonder how people afford to travel the world?

[chatterbug22]

I’m 20, partner is 23. No DC yet but a consideration within the next several years, as a personal choice I would rather be done in 20s if at all possible.

We both have good jobs and our first home together, we’ve chosen to rent under one of the government schemes with the idea of buying our house at the end of a time period. We get a hefty discount to enable us to save for a deposit on the house however we won’t necessarily buy it as it’s a 2 bed and in time we’ll need more space. Redeeming quality is that it’s way cheaper than extortionate private rent, does not tie us in and enables us to save for a house deposit - whichever house that we choose.

I only just turned 18 when COVID started kicking off hence haven’t had the chance to experience youth and travel, etc. It is something me and my partner both want to do but despite our good, full time jobs, I can’t foresee how we will manage to do this yet also save for a house? I am on a healthy salary for my age and so is my OH with overtime. We are in the north so not having London prices. I don’t know how others get on. I made the mistake of joining a Facebook group for people who travel and seriously can’t comprehend how people leave or quit their jobs for 3-6 months and just go round the world? Where does the money come from? How do you sustain yourself out there? I do appreciate the people in those kinds of groups probably represent an extremely small margin of society but all the same, it leaves me wondering if I’m boring or if they’re out of touch with reality

It’s so hard to know whether to put savings for a house first, or trust that income will go up once we have fully progressed in careers and not to worry about that right now.

I would love to just spontaneously book Bali but also, responsibilities!

Thoughts?

Fundamentally, the answer to your question OP will be the same as it always is for every question about how other people can afford a certain thing. A mixture of more access to money than you realise and different priorities to you.

Well, if you prioritised saving for travel over saving for a house, you could afford to travel too, surely?

I travelled round SE Asia for 2 months for about 3k all in.

A friend of mine spent money on flights, had a few hundred quid in her bank for the first couple of weeks, went to Australia and spent months working shit bar jobs and farm jobs to travel about, stayed there ages.

Another friend of mine got a VERY good job straight out of school (highly-paid apprenticeship scheme with big employer), worked til he was 25 having bought a house and car, sold both and travelled for 3 years off the proceeds, getting bar jobs when he was low on cash.

Another friend interrailed for a summer - few hundred euro for the pass, stayed in hostels at 10 euro a night.

Other friends save £100 a month into a travel fund and once there's enough for a weekend break, they go away, rinse and repeat.

I know some people who do volunteering on farms around the world - you work a few hours a day in exchange for staying there for free.

I know people who bought a cheap knackered camper van and did it up themselves then drove round Europe for 2 years doing freelance work as they went.

There are plenty of ways to do it, you just need to decide what your priorities are. If you want a mortgage above all else, save for that. If you want to travel first, do that instead. Unless you're loaded (or your parents are) OR you live in an area with very cheap houses, you'd be likely to struggle to do big extended travelling, house, wedding and babies all before you're 30, but it's doable - save up a few grand each, do a couple of months travelling, apply for new jobs while you're travelling with the goal of starting when you get back, save up for house deposit for a couple of years, buy cheap house, have very cheap wedding, start trying to get pregnant...

Some of you come across a bit snobby. Op wants to travel so by all means, share how you achieved that. No need to slate other people's life choices if they want to start a family or get a mortgage younger. Unless you're happy for people to comment how old and past it you are to have kids/get settled later.

However, op, you will need to travel before kids. Holidays are still possible obviously but travelling won't be. So if you really want to, you'll have to ignore any financial worries and go for it.

You can also take an unpaid career break from a corporate employer.
I just checked mine.. between 3-12 months.

I traveled to only cheap places at your age, by coach and interail. Got the first mortgage at 27, and had a good salary for my age. Upgraded my traveling and didn't consider children until mid 30s.

What are you calling a healthy salary for your age?

Some people will be on a high salary.at 23 I was earning 28k, but 25 was on £43k, by 27, 60k.

Even so, most people make choices. Even when I was earning a lot in my 20s, DH and I had quite basic holidays as we prioritised saving for a property. We bought 5 years earlier than friends who earned the same.

It isnt the norm to expect to live the high life travelling the world and save to achieve financial security too. Only a tiny minority can afford both.

You can afford to put money aside to save for a deposit, so you can afford to save to go travelling. It doesn't have to cost that much, but it just depends on what your priorities are. I went travelling for a year in my mid 20s. It was a higher priority for me than saving for a house, or having a career job, so I saved for a year and just went. I stayed in a tent in Europe and in cheap places in Asia. I travelled overland, so no flights to pay for. I'm about to go again for a few years. This time I have a mortgage so I can rent my house out, but it's still about priorities. I just don't value having a career or a good pension above travelling while I'm still young ish.

@OfstedOffred

What are you calling a healthy salary for your age?

Some people will be on a high salary.at 23 I was earning 28k, but 25 was on £43k, by 27, 60k.

Even so, most people make choices. Even when I was earning a lot in my 20s, DH and I had quite basic holidays as we prioritised saving for a property. We bought 5 years earlier than friends who earned the same.

It isnt the norm to expect to live the high life travelling the world and save to achieve financial security too. Only a tiny minority can afford both.

I also wonder this! Many of my peers have a similar trajectory to yours. I was quite surprised to see people on here considering 30K (at the age of 30) a ‘high salary’.

You’re right though that people generally can’t afford both. The sort who travel normally have a safety net anyway (e.g parents home) meaning they usually land on their feet.

£30k will be a high salary for some people. Depending on where they live and what their outgoings are.. In the south wales valleys it would be a very decent salary.
These sort of questions are so difficult because it down to so many different factors

Travel was a priority for me when younger, so I saved money to go on trips.
Funnily enough I have very little desire to travel now, it all seems so exhausting!!
Glad I did it when I was young. Doesn't seem as much fun as you get older!!

This is my thinking.
Oddly, I was having a conversation with someone only a couple of days ago to say I wish I could teleport and be somewhere, without all the travel hassle. But when I was young, that was part of it.
I didn't mind sleeping on the train overnight to save a night's accommodation costs, or sleeping in shared dorms in hostels, or bunking down on people's floors. That all seems a bit less attractive now

There are ways... Work on a cruise ship? Teach English abroad? Volunteer on some environmental project?

I respect your financial acumen but strongly suggest you throw caution to the wind and go travelling! The thing they never tell you is that the richer you get, the harder it is to find the money to travel. All you need is enough for a flight and a couple of hundred pounds to get your by. The rest you can manage as you go.

The more financially secure and embedded in your life you become, the harder it will be for you to change gear. And I really do recommend travelling. Not only for the sheer joy of it, but also for the person you will become. Nothing is ever as scary again once you’ve fallen flat on your arse travelling a few times.

@Francescaisstressed

£30k will be a high salary for some people. Depending on where they live and what their outgoings are.. In the south wales valleys it would be a very decent salary. These sort of questions are so difficult because it down to so many different factors

That's fair enough. I suppose the question of salary is really irrelevant. The correct data point would be disposable income....

It’s either travel or settle down. At 20 you really aren’t running out of time. If travelling is one of your dreams do it before you have children and a mortgage. You’ll still be young at 25 - and most people haven’t even met their life partner by then.

Honestly OP, it’s lovely that you are savvy and responsible but this is your time for freedom! Of course if a house and baby is more important to you you might have to shelve your travel plans - but seeing the world together is a great way to make sure your partner is the one to make life plans with

They live with their parents, dont pay rent and use all their pay from more than one job to save up.

My sister did a lot of extra shifts at work (nurse) and then went travelling for a year. She was sharing a flat with a friend at the time, but the flat belonged to a family member of her friend, so the rent was probably cheaper than the market rate. Rents were much cheaper back then in any case. She moved out of the rented place just before she went travelling, so she didn't have to pay rent while she was away. She moved home after her travels and saved for a bit until she was in a position to buy her own house. They spent most of the year in Asia because the cost of living was much cheaper there. They spent a month or so In New Zealand and they lived in (and travelled around in) a camper van. No luxury hotels. How you travel and which countries you visit can also make a difference to the cost of your travels.

Some of my younger colleagues went travelling also. I'm not sure if they took out loans or had help from family members. One was advised not to go travelling as it would mean a delay in getting on the property ladder. But it all worked out in her favour. While she was away, there was a recession/property crash here (in Ireland) so house prices came down. And she met her DH while she was travelling, so got to buy a house based on two salaries instead of one.

Take a sabbatical. Get a loan. Have a wonderful time. Come back and carry on as you are. Will take a while longer to save for a house but your only in your 20s, time is on your side

@Divebar2021

A 20 year old saying “responsibilities” is like WTF for me. You’ve got your entire life for mortgages, pensions and babies. Don’t be in a big hurry to rush into that because it all changes once you have kids etc. I’d set aside x number of years to explore some of the more out of the way places before TTC. You can still obviously travel once children arrive it’s just a bit more of a logistical operation and expensive ( particularly when you’re tied to school holidays ). Our friends who have travelled to very far flung places both with and without their DD prioritise travelling above things like clothes etc. They travel in places which are cheap once you are there like India rather than holidays like skiing. They’ve converted a van into a camper and will drive to most European destinations / Scotland rather than flying. They spend a lot of time researching good deals.

This! I'm 37 and I wish I'd done more living. Got 2 under 5 now and a big mortgage. Boring!! Love my kids but I do miss some freedom.

There's nothing wrong with being 'responsible'. I bought my first London property outright at that age (among other things like graduating. starting out as a trainee in the City, getting married). The only one I regret is marrying a person whom I knew was not right for me but I was really broody and I wanted DC in my 20s so I guess I consciously made a bad decision for selfish reasons.

Some 20y olds will FEEL older than others. Travelling (doesn't matter with whom
) & taking on financial commitments is always a win-win, settling down not so much as you will not be the same person ten years later if you commit at too young an age.

Wrt travelling, we live in a pretty well connected place in the world with generous annual leave. It can be done part time. It may even be more enjoyable spread out in that way than efficiently ticking off your bucket list in one go. Travelling is most beneficial when you are taking time out to reflect upon your experiences in between. The average gap year student wont be pausing for breath (unless they are doing something more long range like working in different countries to pay their way). Those multi-stop open jaw deals sound a bit soulless to me.

Finally, it is perfectly possible to travel with kids. I have done loads of that. It is different but highly motivating and fun in a different way.

DD graduated uni, then flew to Australia with just one night’s accommodation booked in a hostel, and no job. She quickly found a succession of work placements - everything from chambermaid to call centres- and spent an entire year travelling round Australia and South East Asia. She had a ball, then came home, landed a good graduate job and bought her flat (in central Edinburgh) in her twenties. She still has the travel bug, and goes on several holidays a year.

Work remotely live in a van.

Working holiday visas. Work a bit, travel a bit. Went travelling then saved up for a house when we got back. Bought the two bedroom house btw then moved into a bigger house when we had built up more equity.

Went travelling for a year between A'level's and Uni. Saved all money I had for a car at 17, then all money after that for travelling.
Dh and I are near paying off our mortgage.
But I've Always travelled. Even with young kids. Now they are teens, we are in Majorca now, go for long weekends with the girls to Berlin or Dubrovnik etc. It's how you view it. I prioritise it.

Well usually people either travel then save for a house or save for a house then save for travel and go later on. Few people do both at once.

You're only 2 so you've got time to do both in the next decade. Most who choose to travel later also have kids in their later 20s and 30s.