College students have a great reputation for being thrifty and broke.
Even if youve got a job, as a full-time student your time is limited.
Did she save for her travel fund byselling poopormystery shopping?
Lauren worked part-time retail jobs while she completed her degree.
Though she wasnt making tons of money, she managed to save more than $20,000 in five years.
Heres how she cut costs as a student and saved for her dream trip around the world.
Vacations never felt nearly as long enough, and definitely not as frequent as Id like them to be.
Probably not as good as youd like.
It always seems like an uphill battle to build (and keep) a decent amount in savings.
But what if your car breaks down, or you have a sudden medical bill?
Ask one of these companies to help… She wouldnt yet have a job, so she wouldnt need to start paying off the loans.
Every month, she aimed to stash away $500 in her travel fund.
On average, she was able to save about $400 each month.
Stick to the Bare Necessities
Saving $400-500 a month was no small feat.
Lauren restricted her spending only to what was necessary.
Every extra penny went straight into her travel fund.
Instead ofnights out with friends, she organized movie nights at home.
She always packed lunches; eating at home saved her $2,500 each year.
Cutting out her daily $5 cup of coffee saved her $2,000 a year.
Lauren even got extreme about reducing her bills.
But it was all in the name of her travel fund.
At times, it definitely felt like I was living a horrible quality of life, Lauren admitted.
But from the moment I got on the road, I realized it was absolutely worth it!
For example, she knew traveling throughout Thailand would cost around $15 a day.
She even sold random junk she found in her room.
Everything else, she donated.
She estimates that by selling all her possessions, she made about $5,000.
She also needed to buytravel insuranceand get all her vaccinations.
Saving on rentmade a huge difference to my travel fund, she said.
Enjoy Your Trip!
Laurens $24,000 kept her going for two years.
Along the way, she learned how to make an income while traveling through her blogNever Ending Footsteps.
Shes been traveling full-time for the past four years and has visited 45 countries.
Your Turn: Have you ever saved a lot of money toward a big goal?
What was your best strategy?
Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here.
The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu.
Thanks for your support!
Betsy Mikel is a Chicago-based freelance copywriter.
She loves biking all over every city she visits to find its best taqueria.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
