As I had begun the task of sorting through what to do with all of my belongings and working out what I was keeping, selling and throwing away, the next step was to save money. After all money is the big killer on my travel goals and without it I’m not going to be able to afford the plane ticket let alone survive in Europe.
My first money saving tip was to move house. The unit I was renting had slowly been eating into my savings making matters worse each day. Oh and lets not forget the next door neighbor who felt compelled to tell me he’d tried to kill himself several times this year. With that decision easily made I began looking for alternative dwellings.
I expected moving house to be difficult as when I found the current place 9 months ago I only took it under sufferance. Time and time again I was being beaten to the nice rental units and I didn’t want to miss out on this one, even with its less than stellar features. I never expected to be unable to find a unit at all. It was like the earth was swallowing up all the nice cheap accommodation, leaving me with units more expensive than I was already renting.
The couple of places I did find that were still available and fit into my budget would have probably been nicer to stay in had they been knocked down and I camped on the ground they once occupied. It was becoming clear that finding my own place was just not going to happen and I would need to look into shared housing.
Now call it luck or just good timing but the moment i started looking for a shared place to stay I found one. Mind you i didn’t have to look far to find it either, my sister and her bf just happened to have a spare room in their house. Yes I hear you all groan and I did too but my determination to travel won out over cramping their style and bunking down in their spare room. It was also going to lessen the burden on their wallets with me paying a 3rd of the bills so became a win win for us both.
Finally having a place to move too forced me to get even more ruthless with the amount of belongings I was going to keep. After all you can only fit so much stuff into a single room. It also helped to get me more excited about going away. Things were starting to happen, still small things but I could actually see myself standing at the airport waiting to leave. Not stuck in the car park going round and around in circles.
I’d love to live alone, but living with others really, really is such a good way to save money and split expenses. I’d probably move in with my parents if I could! Hah.
Living alone was my preference as I enjoy being able to do as I please but your right saving money is best done when in shared housing.
I will be moving back home 1-2 months out from leaving for Europe to keep my mother happy and hopefully save even more. Being home now has been great if only there was a need for an IT guy in this town.
congratulations i think this would be a big help in saving some money!
It’s been a huge help. I over halved my weekly rent and reduced by bills by two thirds. Living costs were by far the biggest cost to my wallet.