{"id":12,"date":"2018-11-10T19:38:17","date_gmt":"2018-11-10T19:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomadicmatt.com\/?p=147277"},"modified":"2018-11-10T19:38:17","modified_gmt":"2018-11-10T19:38:17","slug":"rtw-update-how-heather-is-traveling-on-a-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourfunjourney.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/10\/rtw-update-how-heather-is-traveling-on-a-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"RTW Update: How Heather is Traveling on a Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Heather
\nPosted: <\/strong>11\/12\/18 | November 12th, 2018<\/p>\n

Last December, Heather won our round the world trip contest<\/a> and was gifted a trip around the world worth $50 a day! In January, she started backpacking her way through South America on a budget<\/a>. Today, she’s written a blog post about how she’s been able to stay on budget for the last 36 weeks and the lessons she’s learned as a new traveler! <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After over ten months on the road, it’s time to update the community again on my trip! Since the last update, I spent two weeks in Brazil<\/a>, a month exploring Morocco<\/a>, and two months in Europe<\/a> watching the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m in Tanzania exploring Africa<\/a>!<\/p>\n

After so long on the road, I think it\u2019s time to answer the question that really drove the contest in the first place:<\/p>\n

“Is budget travel possible on Matt\u2019s $50 a day recommendations?”<\/p>\n

One of the reasons Matt sponsored this trip was because he wanted to show everyone that travel is possible on his suggested budget of $50 a day<\/a>. He wanted a living case study for the ideas in his book!<\/p>\n

After tracking all my expenses<\/a> \u2014 including my flights, travel insurance, and incidentals \u2014 I\u2019ve spent $14,450 or $56 a day so far. I\u2019ve not only found sticking to Matt\u2019s budget feasible but not at all demanding (especially with a little creativity).<\/p>\n

After Africa, I’ll be flying to Southeast Asia<\/a>, where I’ll end my trip. I suspect that will lower my overall costs even more!<\/p>\n

How I stayed on budget<\/h3>\n

\"Heather
\nAt the beginning of my trip, I went to the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands, which are not backpacker-budget friendly, so I had some work cut out for me to get back on budget.<\/p>\n

I saved on housing costs by Couchsurfing and staying with friends. In Chile<\/a>, I stayed with friends I met in Colombia<\/a>. In Paris<\/a>, I stayed with a friend I met in Brazil<\/a>. I\u2019ve been overwhelmed by the number of kind people who offer me help, especially with accommodation<\/a>, as I travel, expecting nothing in return. The travel community is extremely warm and open. It makes friends of strangers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been balancing out other expenses by also keeping my transportation costs low. I opted to take the longer, cheaper way to get from A to B. In Brazil and Europe<\/a>, I used BlaBlaCar<\/a> to save money. In Morocco<\/a> and South America, buses were my go-to option \u2014 they were cheap and easy. I booked a limited number of flights and tracked prices so I could book them at just the right time if possible.<\/p>\n

Food has been the only place I haven\u2019t cut back. I\u2019m a foodie and, as Matt always says, what\u2019s the point in traveling if you don\u2019t eat the local food! In South America, this was usually easy. There were tons of lunch specials around and cheap local food so I was able to eat on a budget. In Europe, it was much harder<\/a>. Food was by far my biggest expense but I have no regrets. A girl\u2019s got to eat!<\/p>\n

Here are my costs broken down by region:<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n
Duration<\/div>\n
Total Spent<\/div>\n
Average per Day<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
South America<\/strong><\/div>\n
115 days<\/div>\n
$5,215<\/div>\n
$45; $32*<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Ecuador<\/div>\n
14 days<\/div>\n
$600<\/div>\n
$42<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Gal\u00e1pagos<\/div>\n
8 days<\/div>\n
$1,700<\/div>\n
$212<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Peru<\/div>\n
63 days<\/div>\n
$1,800<\/div>\n
$28<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Chile<\/div>\n
7 days<\/div>\n
$210<\/div>\n
$30<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Argentina<\/div>\n
4 days<\/div>\n
$146<\/div>\n
$36<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Igua\u00e7u Falls<\/div>\n
3 days<\/div>\n
$225<\/div>\n
$85<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Brazil<\/div>\n
16 days<\/div>\n
$534<\/div>\n
$33<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Africa<\/strong><\/div>\n
63 days<\/div>\n
$3,904<\/div>\n
$62<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Morocco<\/div>\n
22 days<\/div>\n
$748<\/div>\n
$34<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Tanzania<\/div>\n
31 days<\/div>\n
$3,156<\/div>\n
$76<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Europe<\/strong><\/div>\n
78 days<\/div>\n
$4,757<\/div>\n
$60<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Portugal & Spain<\/div>\n
5 days<\/div>\n
$368<\/div>\n
$74<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
France<\/div>\n
22 days<\/div>\n
$1,650<\/div>\n
$61<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Germany<\/div>\n
7 days<\/div>\n
$500<\/div>\n
$42<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Italy<\/div>\n
14 days<\/div>\n
$839<\/div>\n
$59<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
France (part 2)<\/div>\n
30 days<\/div>\n
$1,700<\/div>\n
$56<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

*Total for South America if you exclude the Gal\u00e1pagos<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Here\u2019s the breakdown of my spending by category:<\/p>\n