Nichole CelauroIt’s easy to look at other people’s travels and feel a sense of envy, telling yourself you wish you could do the same. The excuses are always ready: work, bills, or other life “stuff.”
But the reality is, most people who travel also have those responsibilities. We’re still paying our bills and managing our finances, but we make travel a priority. While some reasons for not travelling are valid, many are just common excuses. Here, I’ll address four of the most frequent ones I hear.
Excuse: I don’t have the time—
What do you do when you schedule any event in your life? You make time. The best piece of advise I can give any would-be traveller: plan early. It will save you time, money, and get you seriously amped about your impending trip! In 2018, we’re second honeymooning to Japan, and have already started saving and planning. It’s a piggy bank and torn out sheet of notebook paper, but it’s a start.
Excuse: But travelling is so expensive—
Yes. It can be. But is doesn’t have to be! Look up for a second, you see what it says there? Plan early! This applies to your finances too. Plane tickets tend to be cheapest when the flights are first scheduled, which can be up to a year in advanced.
And there are tons more ways to be money savvy traveller. Pack light to avoid baggage fees. Learn how to haggle with the locals. Stay off the beaten path of over priced tourist attractions. Do your exchange rate research; learn where will you get the best conversion deals. Stay at hostels, or use Airbnb instead of hotels. The list goes on!
Excuse: I just don’t know where I would go—
I call shenanigans! Everyone has some place they’d like to go. Just because your place is, say, a four-hour drive from home as opposed to halfway around the world, doesn’t make it not count as travel.
Excuse: Work—
Ah. Work. That money-making thing everybody needs but no one wants. Some of us have jobs that offer paid sick or vacation days. Some of us don’t. Whatever job you have, I’m still going to repeat myself. Plan ahead. Tell the boss man the day you book your flight that ‘hey, I need a vacation this time next year.’ If you work in a place where that tactic isn’t feasible, then negotiate with your higher-ups over what time of year would be the best for you to get away.
Have you gotten the hint? We’re all onto you now, so no more excuses!
