djfourmoney wrote:Excuses and Lifestyle....
Too few people are willing to sacrifice.
If you live at home rent free, STAY PUT! Even if your parents milk you for a few dollars every so often it's cheaper than rent just about anywhere else.
To make more money I needed a car, it was cheaper to buy new because I had nearly no cash. I am going to re-fi my car and save a ton of money on the interest but if you can get on without a car and still get to work then that's a plus.
Outside of that.
I don't pay for my cellphone or data plan, I don't pay for high speed internet or cable TV. That is a savings of nearly $200 a month right there. I enjoy all three BTW...
Think outside of the box. If you can alternate arms unlike me you can donate Plasma indefinitely. I recently had to stop because scar tissue build up, but I may be able to return in a few more months.
I made over $5,000 in donations over a 2.5 year period.
That alone is enough to be able to travel anywhere.
Also one thing that doesn't seem to get discussed around here too much. Travel Miles/Award Cards.
Even if your credit isn't great you can get a AeroMexico/US Bank secured credit card -
https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/aer ... -card.html
If you happen to live where you can get a Target Red Debt Card, you might be able to use manufactured spending to earn enough points to travel -
http://www.doctorofcredit.com/credit-ca ... -spending/
These techniques work. Josh who runs the Brazilian Gringo blog who I met while he was visiting his parents and grand mother back in the US (lives in Brazil Full Time) was able to travel back home for his grand mother's 90th birthday for a little more than just the taxes and airline fees, about $200.
If you don't qualify for EBT, use the Aeromexico card for all your food purchases. You also might be able to buy gift cards and use them to pay other bills like rent or auto insurance.
All these things add up. With the Aero Mexico Card you get 5,000 bonus miles and a voucher for a $99 R/T ticket to anywhere in Mexico.
If your credit is fairly good (660-670) then look at some of the really good travel awards cards with bonus offers. Chase Freedom seems to be the most popular now. If your score is around 650-660 you can get some of the airline cards like United or American.
I made the decision to improve my credit because it was fairly inexpensive to do and the only way it seems I am going to be able to resume traveling is to offset the cost of air tickets with airline miles.
I also make more money since I have returned to working, I can save about $500-$600 a month though I am in a cycle I need to spend that money but that should be over by June.
There are more than one way to skin a cat, if you can't build your income to such levels to make your life worry-free. You might want to consider improving your credit and building a solid credit file. It hasn't cost me more than just getting a couple of secure cards for a total of $300 with a total of $510 credit limit. With the Capital One card, I am automatically enrolled in Credit Steps. I should get a CLI (Credit Line Increase) in June, how much is unknown. Right now $100 is completely unsecured, that part will increase in June.
My other card doesn't do that but it has a low APR (just don't carry a balance if that's a problem) but is easy to get (no credit check or income requirement) and no annual fee. It also has the EMV chip in it and you can use it overseas without any foreign transaction fees.
PM me and I will give you a link.
I am on course to go to Brazil finally, I just had to make decisions that cost money but they had to be made in order to make more money.