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| Costa Rica |
Step One: Create a Goal to Work Toward
Obviously, traveling the world requires money, and money
requires saving, but saving is far more effective when you have a goal. Where do you want to go? How much will it cost? While you do not need a day by day itinerary,
it is a good idea to have an outline of the trip you want to take and a
reasonable estimation of how much it will cost.
This means looking into flights, hotels, attractions, etc. Once you have a number and a set goal you are
working toward, saving begins to seem more meaningful/significant/easy/momentous/important. You will be able to see your progress, the
trip will seem more attainable, and every penny saved will feel like a little
victory.
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| Paris |
Step Two: Set a Date (and someday doesn’t count)
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, “I
would like to go there someday,” I would be able to fund a lifetime of
travels. Someday implies an arbitrary
date in the future, and sadly, for many, someday just never comes. But why can’t someday be today, or tomorrow,
or next spring? Setting a date is such a
simple thing, but if you never get yourself to do it, you will miss out on a
lifetime of memories, experiences, and adventures. My suggestion is to tie your date setting to
your savings. Do some budgeting, find
out when you will reach your savings goal, determine your when you can take time off, and voilà, there is your date.
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| Munster, France |
Step Three: Take the Lead
We have all been there.
You get on the topic of a dream destination with a friend, begin talking
about your common desire to see it, and a plan takes shape. Both your hearts fill with excitement as you
discuss all the places you just HAVE to see, discover you both have time off in
January, and both continuously utter the phrase, “I’m serious! We are doing
this!” But then you both go home, the
magic wears off, and while you may comment about the trip again half-heartedly,
it never actually happens. Do not fall
into this trap! Take the lead, make the
decision, and just do it! Start planning and saving. Take action. Form a plan with a budget and a
date, and present it to your potential travel partner. When you do this, one of two things will
happen. They will either be enthusiastic
and excited, and start adding their ideas to the plan, or they will brush you
off, letting you know once and for all that they are not serious about this
adventure. In this case, proceed to step
four.
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| Scotland |
Step Four: Don’t Be Afraid to Go at it Alone
One of the hardest things about traveling is finding someone
to go with. Someone who’s travel
desires, budget, schedule, and attitude match your own. But here is the thing: you don’t need
them. Solo travel allows you to do
whatever you want. There is no one else
to please. Now, if the very idea of setting off into the great unknown by
yourself is overwhelming and terrifying, you have other options. There are a multitude of group tours doing
every type of travel in every corner of the world that you can join as a solo traveler. Going with a group eliminates the stress of
planning, the fear of going alone, and the issue of having no one to travel
with. These tours may also give you the
confidence to go alone next time, introduce you to friends you can travel with
in the future, or inspires someone back home to finally plan a trip with you.
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Step Five: Research
My favorite step: research.
You have money saved, a date set, now all that’s left is to plan. First
things first, book your plane tickets. This
gives you a beginning and an end to your trip, and ensures that you get the
best rate by booking early. Next, fill
in the in between time. Where do you
want to stay? What to do you want to do, see, eat, experience? Use all the resources you can. Scour the internet, read guidebooks, and look
at photos. Get inspired and excited.
Read about the culture, history, and language.
Learn everything you can before you go, and enjoy the building anticipation
as your trip approaches.
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