I want to start planning one of those crazy “gap year” big adventure, big travel trips... I want to just travel the US, to work in random places while I travel. Like to buy a low maintenance van, to buy a decent bicycle, to buy some little roll out bed thingy and travel. Maybe with a friend, maybe without. I want to stop just randomly along the way and work for a few days/weeks/months until I’m ready to leave again. I want to write about my thoughts, my feelings, all the things that happen to me. I want to send postcards and letters to family and friends about my strange journeys, and all of the interesting people that I meet. But how much money do I need?
If I want to travel all over the US, what will that cost in Gas, in food? What would it cost in repairs and clothes? I guess it depends on how much I drive, how long I stay places, how many good people I meet.
I guess $9000 for fuel, but that might me a really low estimate. I’m just estimating if I drove all the way around the US 3x. $3600 for food, maybe. I could eat out a lot and there’s not as much savings on bulk because I won’t have a fridge/freezer probably. Most of it will be convenience food.
Then there is car maintenance... $2200 for tires (11 good tires), $400 for oil changes, and $200 for good luck. so nearly $3000
They say the average person spends like 2K on clothes a year, but I can’t believe it, honestly. I make less than 12K a year and I don’t feel terribly naked. I’d say $700 is being over the top, including shoes, socks, pants, etc.
Then there is lodging... I feel like that’s the hardest to measure. extended stay hotels are like 250/wk, so apts are cheaper actually (O.o) and that works out to like $13,000. I think that’s a way high estimate, but what do I know?
A trip home would cost like... 1000 USD... so I either need to have an extra 1K in a different account, or I need to just turn around when I hit 1000 left. I think I’d rather have it seperate.
So my horrible, horrible math tells me that I need to save $18.4K... If I knew how to save that much money I’d just buy a house...
With my current “disposible” income that would take me 79months. Aka 7 years, aka I’d nearly be in my 30s. And that’s assuming that I never buy anything again ever. Not even the car that I would need for this trip. Or the Bicycle.
To leave in the next two years like I want, I would need to put away almost $900 a month. So I’d need an income of like $1500/month... Where the hell am I gonna get that kinda work??
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