Basically, long trips can make your wallet hurt and sometimes cause more headaches than short trips. How to have a stable financial source for traveling? How to calculate to avoid financial deficit during long trips? Travel Blogger Trang Cho will answer these two questions for you in the article below.
Nguyen Thuy Trang spent nearly 1 billion VND for 1,000 days traveling to many places.
STABLE FINANCIAL PREPARATION
Nguyen Thuy Trang (28 years old, Hai Phong) shared that during her 4 years at university, she worked many different freelance jobs and saved most of the money she earned. She said: "I didn't spend much on myself so I saved a decent amount of money." After graduating, she spent a lot of time and money on her trips. Up to now, she has spent nearly 1 billion VND for 1,000 days traveling to many places.
In 2022, it seems like there is not a day that Thuy Trang is not on the road traveling. Trang shares: "Traveling on the roads seems to be my life." Trang often has long trips lasting about a month.
She said that after graduating and working for 6 months, she quit her job and started a journey to explore the world for many days. From there, she realized: "To be able to go on such long trips continuously, you need to have a suitable job. And becoming a 'Digital nomad' (a traveler working on a digital platform) is part of that lifestyle." Currently, she is doing many different online jobs at the same time, anytime, anywhere without having to go to the office.
She travels a lot but still balances her work effectively.
Thuy Trang shared that she had to plan her work very scientifically. She created a specific work schedule, took advantage of the evening to finish work, and stuck to deadlines to always complete it on time. During the day, she explored destinations, learned about culture, enjoyed cuisine... That was how the 28-year-old girl could earn money while going out and have fun while working. Managing work effectively is the first step to good financial management.
The second step is to know how to divide money into small pockets. As for Thuy Trang herself, she divides her money into two pockets: savings money and travel money. She said that the first pocket is for activities that must be paid for, and she absolutely does not "touch" this money. The second pocket is reserved for travel. Trang will often specifically analyze her current needs and consider how she is suitable for the trip. From there, she designs a reasonable travel program for herself and begins to plan the finances for that trip.
PLAN YOUR FINANCIAL AS DETAILED AS POSSIBLE
For each trip, she plans her finances by calculating the costs for the following 5 funds: accommodation, food, transportation, entrance tickets and incidental expenses. She reminds readers of two things: plan your trip as early as possible and research as many service providers as possible to have the best choice.
Thuy Trang does not pay much attention to accommodation services during her trips, whether short or long. She has a habit of always looking for the cheapest rooms on Booking or Agoda, most of which are dorm rooms. Trang spends time reading reviews of the rooms she intends to rent and increases the payment if necessary to choose a satisfactory place to stay.
She always knows how to connect with the travel community and minimize travel costs.
She said that normally the cost of a dorm room will not exceed 200,000 VND, except for some countries with quite expensive rents such as China, Taiwan and Singapore, which fluctuate between 300,000 - 400,000 VND. In addition, you will not spend a penny on accommodation funds if you use Couchsurfing. This is a platform that helps you connect and ask to stay at the homes of local people. You can save a lot of money, learn, share and learn more about the people, customs and culture of the place you go.
"Transportation is one of the funds that needs to be carefully calculated and prepared as soon as possible." Thuy Trang said: "I usually book air tickets about 3-6 months in advance to get the best price. In addition, I often watch for sales of low-cost airlines to hunt for 0 VND air tickets." This is the way she uses to reduce a significant amount of fees. Trang also spends a lot of time comparing prices of carriers very early to get preferential prices. She shared that she often uses Klook to buy tickets of train and bus companies at a cheaper cost than booking directly outside.
Entrance fees at destinations are difficult to change, so she often considers before each trip which destination she should choose. As for food, Thuy Trang often visits local restaurants or food courts (large food complexes) to have many choices of dishes at reasonable costs. She added that you can find out about places to eat in advance by going to Google maps, choosing the destination you will go to and searching for restaurants around that area. This way, you can learn and read reviews of nearby restaurants, as well as know what the average price is.
She often considers before each trip which destination she should choose.
Thuy Trang shared that she always prepares very early before each trip, calculating according to each fund so there are almost no unexpected expenses during her trip. However, there must always be a reserve fund for the trip to ensure. For example, if the cost for a 5-day, 4-night trip to Thailand is about 7-12 million VND, she will set aside a reserve fund of about 3-5 million VND to deal with any problems that may arise.
The travel enthusiast also shared an unforgettable story about money during her trip to India last year. She said that her account was 'hacked' by "magicians" in New Dehli after the trip because she used an international payment card to make transactions on websites in India. She also reminded Travellive readers to be careful when using international payment cards (visa/mastercard) to avoid losing money. You should estimate and exchange a sufficient amount of cash before the trip.
In addition, if you encounter any difficulties during your trip, especially long trips, you can completely access travel groups or Vietnamese communities at the destination to call for support. Emergency contact information such as: embassies, security in the area, hotlines,... should also be saved before the trip in case of problems.
Sharing with reporters, Trang said that she is currently on a travel journey in Pakistan. The girl who loves to travel and has a "dense" travel schedule emphasizes the need to research carefully and prepare early for long trips to be both financially proactive and able to control and not have a deficit after the trip.
