OUR BIG TRIP
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FINANCING THE TRIP
Setting a budget for food, accommodation, transport and excursions is one thing but actually raising the capital is whole different ball game. It may seem daunting at first, especially if you have set yourself a big budget, but you may be pleasantly surprised! There are a number of different ways that you could raise the money to finance your trip. All it takes is a little imagine, discipline and foresight. The golden rule that you should always remember is that, at any given time, the money that you put away, no matter how large or small the sum, will finance an aspect of your trip. Be it 3 nights accommodation in Dallas, an evening meal in Barcelona or a flight from Saigon to Ho Chi Ming City. That is how you have to look at it. Try not to forget it. If you can focus on the bigger picture and curb your expenditure in the short term, you will not regret it come the end of your trip. I am not advocating living like the amish or on a prison diet of bread and water but reducing spending on non essentials, in particular social activities, you would be surprised at how much you could save. A period of sensible spending could ensure that you get to fully experience all that you want to on your once in a lifetime adventure. Imagine how you would feel if you could not afford to swim with dolphins in the Florida Keys, or take a helicopter ride through the Grand Canyon? Imagine how you would feel when you realise that you would have had it not been for that one boozy night out 6 months ago when you spent 50 pounds and all you had to show for it was the mother of all hangovers and a couple of litres of vomit?
In the months leading up to your departure dine with friends by eating in. Purchase alcohol from off licences and supermarkets, not pubs. Watch films on video or DVD at home, not at the cinema. You may laugh now in the comfort of your homes or office desks but over time you will be amazed at how quickly your bank balance will grow. An ethos that you might live to regret if your alone 6000 miles from home, starving hungry, with no money left and 3 days to wait before you fly home. You may laugh but it happens. Do you really want it to happen to you? 
One of the most popular ways of raising funds for travelling is to sell your property. We put our house on the market 14 months prior to leaving London and this has given us ample time to sell. From the moment we sell the house, to the day we leave on our journey, we will be renting. Although in the short term this may seem like wasted expenditure, when you consider that a large slice of your monthly mortgage goes towards interest repayments, you will not actually lose out on that much. Furthermore it will enable us to be able to leave on our chosen departure date. If you decide against selling up and renting for a while be warned. The later you leave putting your house on the market the greater the danger of an incomplete sale forcing you to delay your trip or worse, abandoning it. This happened to a couple of our friends. Its not a nice feeling. Where circumstances permit, the money made from selling your property should be invested immediately without being touched. Try not to succumb to the temptation of spending it! After all you did not have the money before you sold your house. As obvious as it sounds take the time to shop around for the best rates of interest, you will make more money! Also do not forget tax free ISAs and premium bonds. You may even consider dabbling in the stock market if you are knowledge in this area. Spread your money around as effectively as you can. Its wise not to put all your eggs in one basket. If you do not own a property to sell then there are a number of other ways to generate revenue for the trip. One such way is to sell your possessions. You may not think so but if you calculate the cost of everything you have bought in the last 2 or 3 years, and are honest enough with yourself to realise that you can live without it now, you might find a small pot of gold waiting for you. Books, CDs, candles, lamps, pictures, posters, ornaments, folders, teddy bears, clothes, you name it I am sure that you have got it! This is money waiting to be made. Organise a garage sale or a car boot sale, or sell your stuff on eBay. You will not miss it, especially if it has been residing idly in cupboards or storage boxes for the last few months. 
Other larger possessions that you can sell include your car, bicycle, furniture, TV, stereo, video, washing machine, iron, vacuum cleaner; the options are endless. After all when your travelling you will not need them and when you return home there will be better and cheaper products on the market. Again eBay is a great help, as is Loot and Autotrader. Other options include advertising in various local newspapers, or prospecting your friends. From the moment that you conceive the idea to travel to the day of your departure it is a good idea to set up a monthly direct debit. This is the best way of saving money on a regular basis as it gets taken out of your pay before you get a chance to spend it! Furthermore you could periodically top this up by collecting any 2 pound coins that you receive in change from shopkeepers, saving it in a little money box. It is amazing how quickly they add up! You could also collect loose change (we keep ours in a big Teachers whisky bottle) although this does not add up as quickly! It is also worth routing around your cupboards for any foreign currency that you might have accrued from previous excursions. You will be surprised what you might find. There are a whole host of other methods of generating revenue including renting out a room, gambling (but only as much as you can afford to lose!), shopping around for cheaper car and home insurance, walking or cycling instead of driving or taking public transport. However no matter how many different methods you use to save money, you should always try and save that little bit extra out of your weekly expenditure. It is worth it. You will not regret it. Generating funds for a trip is probably the biggest concern for a traveller. However once you achieve this the realisation will hit you. Europe, Asia, America. The world is your oyster!
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