Fulfilling another travel dream…….
Travel dreams- and why my priorities include travel.
We all have travel dreams. Personally, I travel because I want to see what I have been reading about all these years. As an avid book reader from a young age, I lived in a world of adventure all over the world, from reading about Heidi in Switzerland when I was around 7 or 8 years old, to reading about Hong Kong in my teens when I read Tai Pan and Noble House to reading about South Africa when I read Cry the Beloved Country in my early twenties- to reading about China in The Good Earth shortly after that…..in short, I have been all over the world in my books, and so at a certain point in my life, I decided I needed to travel and see some of these places I had only read about.
Yes- I started off slowly by going to England and Scotland in my early twenties……an easy trip to manage, and travelled part of the time on my own. After that, it was travelling with my family across North America, along with a couple of trips to Mexico and back to England. However, Australia was always going to be my first big trip, and having read many books about Australia, plus having a husband that almost ended up immigrating to Alice Springs instead of Lipton Saskatchewan- that ended up being my first big trip – when I turned 50. Once I started by fulfilling that dream, I was hooked……
How do I plan for trips? Well I basically look at 3 things- where I want to go, what can I afford (and how will I put money aside), how much time do I have- and when can I go. Once I decide how much money I can spend, I immediately start a forced savings plan where money is taken automatically from my chequeing account and put into my savings account- if I don’t have it I can’t spend it. I don’t touch that money until I need to pay from my trip…..and that is an advantage when you take small group tours- or travel by planning your own vacation.
Most small group tours (which I love as I can travel solo and not worry- and small groups mean you really see the country- off the beaten path) require a down payment of $300 with the remainder due at a set time before your departure date. Also air fare will be due when you book the flight- which can be immediately after you pay your down payment- or could be later when you get a “deal” (which are few and far between these days- more about that later). So you can pay for your vacation in chunks beforehand, and by the time you leave, you will only have certain expenses (minimal likely) for while you are gone.
If travel is your priority, then budgeting for it becomes just as important, and whatever your budget is, just remember your goal is to live within your means, and to live your travel dreams……as a travel consultant, remember I can help you live those dreams….just email me.
