Travels with my laptop

You’ve planned your route, bought your ticket and you’re all set to go but even the most carefree souls will have some preparation work to do before they can hop on that plane. It’s best to write a checklist of things that need sorting out at least three months before departure – six months would be better if you’re particularly organised. This way you can make sure everything is sorted before you go and you won’t be rushing around panicking in the last few weeks. The list below isn’t definitive but it will give you a starting point for your own list, whatever your circumstances.

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Photo by Immu

If you’re travelling on a budget it is inevitable that at some point in your travels you will have to share a bedroom with one to several strangers, in a variety of levels of comfort. This will be nothing new to the regular budget traveller, however if you’re preparing for your first round the world trip more used to package holidays in standard hotels and have little to no experience of sharing your sleeping quarters with strangers, it may come as somewhat of a shock.

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Photo by Frabuleuse

Great things happen when you just decide you’re going somewhere, buy a plane ticket and worry about it later. My favourite method for buying tickets is to sing to myself “La la, I can’t hear you”, as I type my credit card no. in, which works suprising well to silence my ’sensible’ side.

However when planning a round the world trip or a multi-stop ticket, a little planning is well advised to ensure you make the most of the time and money you have available to you (of course if someone offers you a free one-way ticket to china tomorow, you should take it, run and don’t look back!)

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People often ask me where I get the money to travel as much as I do. My job isn’t particularly well paid but I manage to have at least 3 trips a year, usually on long haul flights and quite often to expenisve places (think Iceland… hmm). The truth is that there is no big secret – I just choose to spend my money on travel. I don’t go out much, I hardly ever buy new clothes and I generally spend as little as possible as I’m usually saving up for my next trip. I also maximise the funds I have by booking the cheapest flights I can find and staying in cheap accommodation.

As I’m currently pulling out all the stops in my attempt to save up for an extended round-the-world trip, I thought I would write a little guide to saving money for travel (of course this advice could be used if you’re saving for anything). Most of these tips can also be used while you’re on the road and a bit of extra cash when you’re without a regular salary is never a bad thing.
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Yes, it’s another travel blog. Oh no, what will we do! Well I for one, can never read enough random articles on surviving as a backpacker, how to plan a round-the-world trip and top 10 unusual destinations. So, I thought I would add my own slant on things to the mix.

This blog will be focused on general travel and backpacking topics but also about making money while travelling, particularly from freelance web design, writing and other ways of making money from a laptop in the middle of nowhere!

I hope you enjoy reading. Please contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions: rach@travelswithmylaptop.com