{"id":3280,"date":"2012-01-23T07:16:10","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T12:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/?p=3280"},"modified":"2024-06-19T07:37:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:37:17","slug":"my-cost-of-full-time-travel-in-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/my-cost-of-full-time-travel-in-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"My Cost of Full-Time Travel in 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every year I summarize my cost of full-time travel. It’s a great exercise in travel budgeting and expense tracking<\/a>. And believe it or not, with the creative travel strategies I use to get free accommodation, travel slowly, and fly for pennies on the dollar, my cost of full-time travel is less than staying in one place<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to see my full-time travel breakdown for 2010<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(This post was originally published in 2012; content and links have since been updated)<\/em>

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Click here to see all of my Annual Income and Expense Summaries<\/span><\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I Did in 2011<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My full-time travels in 2011 had a lot of variety. The first five months was spent recovering from 2010<\/a>(!) in New Zealand, then I had five months of hectic travels through North America, Europe, and Asia (including the Ultimate Train Challenge<\/a> which spanned 10 countries on 29 trains in 30 days<\/a>), and I finished off the year catching my breath once again on the Caribbean island of Grenada.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all I traversed 13 countries and 73,000kms in 2011.<\/strong> (Click here for a more detailed summary and video of my 2011 full-time travel adventures<\/a>).

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Price Tag for 2011<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I was surprised to discover that my total expenses in 2011 were almost exactly what my cost of full-time travel was for 2010 (within $400)! This was far from intentional, and even a little surprising given some big-ticket purchases I had to make in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drum Roll, Please…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My total cost of full-time travel in 2011 was $17,615. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were to follow in my footsteps, you might have spent more, or you might have spent less. Travel is so very different for everybody (hence the popularity of my week-in-the-life series<\/a>), and we tend to spend money on the things that are important to us and make adjustments in other areas that aren’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could have spent less. <\/em>But the end-goal for me is not to spend as little as possible; rather to simply spend within my means. (Which I do).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because I specialize in finding free accommodation and flying for (almost) free<\/a>, I am able to keep my overall expenses low enough that I don’t need to earn a lot of money in order to financially sustain my full-time travels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something must be working, because it has been five years and counting<\/a>….

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breakdown<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following is a breakdown of my 2011 expenses, month by month. I’ve converted expenses from native currencies to US Dollars for ease of comprehension and comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

January<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$524 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started off the new year in New Zealand. January saw me traveling around the North Island, from Rotorua to Keri Keri. But I was exhausted <\/a>from an incredibly busy 2010<\/a>, and a desire to slow down the pace of my travel<\/a> brought me back to my favourite haunt of Mana Retreat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(I don’t have a specific breakdown of expenses for January, as I didn’t start recording my expenses in full detail until February. The month’s expenditures was largely a function of bus travel, food and drink, and gifts for hosts that I stayed with). <\/em>

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$725 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"New<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I volunteered in trade for accommodation and food at Mana Retreat<\/a> for the month of February. Most of my expenses were discretionary and entertainment-related, with the exception of some banking fees, and $100 to extend my New Zealand visa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February Breakdown<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Food & Drink $177<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transportation $99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phone $33<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Effects $74<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entertainment $133<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visa $109<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bank Fees $100

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$467 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nora<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

March was a relatively quiet month, spent largely at Mana Retreat, enjoying the views, the hikes, and the people. I also took a course in Reiki that makes up almost half the month’s expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March Breakdown<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Transportation $54<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Effects $55<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food & Drink $128<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bank Fees $35<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extras (Reiki course) $195

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$604 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nora<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In April I continued to recover from travel fatigue<\/a> at Mana Retreat, as well as making a few weekend trips to Auckland to \u201csplash out\u201d from my rural routine as well as to strut my vocal cords at a few performances<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$130 of the transportation cost was my plane ticket from New Zealand to Canada (where I would be heading for the summer \u2013 North American summer, that is).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I paid $130 to fly half-way around the world \u2013 and in business class no less. (Click here to see how I did it<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April Breakdown<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Transportation $238<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Effects $40<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entertainment $98<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food $223<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bank Fees $5

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$1294 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nora<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

By my fifth month of living relatively rurally one place in New Zealand, I realized it was soon time to get moving again. My itchy feet resulted in me \u201csplashing out\u201d whenever I went into town! (I always spend more money in urban vs rural settings). My food & drink allocation is testament to said splashing out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also took a gospel singing workshop (that accounts for $130 of my entertainment expenses) at Mana Retreat that I count as one of the year’s highlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May Breakdown<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Transportation $100<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food & Drink $453<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business Equipment $142<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entertainment $410<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Effects $173<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phone $16

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Canada, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$1,641 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nora<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I’m on the move! With the onset of summer in Canada, I made the shift from southern hemisphere to northern (on my permanent mission to avoid winter). Most of June was spent in Toronto<\/a> visiting family and friends. At the end of the month I took a quick trip to Florida<\/a> (accounting for most of the transportation expenses) to visit a friend as part of the No Baggage Challenge<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll see my food & drink allocation shot up, partly because I was no longer getting free meals (as I did at Mana Retreat), and also because I’ve consistently found that visits \u201chome\u201d end up involving lots of social calls, which in turn means lots of restaurants and cafes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June Breakdown<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Transportation $432<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food & Drink $747<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passport Renewal $117<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business $12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entertainment $176<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Effects $157

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Canada<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$2,301 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Enjoying<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I took a quick train trip to Quebec City<\/a> on another No Baggage Challenge experiment, then spent most of the rest of the month in northern Ontario’s cottage country with family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high cost of transportation is made up of train tickets<\/a> to\/from Quebec (over $200), renting a car for the cottage ($300), and visa applications for China, Mongolia, Russia, and Vietnam in anticipation of the upcoming Ultimate Train Challenge<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also got a nasty case of bronchitis (who gets bronchitis at the height of summer, you ask? Me. I do.<\/em>) which cost me a few hundred dollars in doctor’s visits and pricey antibiotics. See also: How to Stay Healthy While Traveling<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July Breakdown<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Transportation $1266<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food & Drink $502<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entertainment $244<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical $289

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

August<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Canada, Sweden, Portugal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

$4,863 USD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Nora<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

August was my most expensive month by far, for a few reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n