#travel bug

A few weeks ago, eHow approached me about writing a weekly budget travel blog for their Money section. This is my first official paid writing gig, and I’m excited to say it’s going well – today they even featured my first article, How Budget Travel Can Lead to More Authentic Experiences, on the front page! This week’s article is about how you can save money on pretty much any trip by following 4 basic principles. Let me know what you think!

The 4 Basic Principles for Saving Money on Any Trip

Unless you’re among the top 1 percent of the wealthiest people in America, you’re probably interested in saving money during your trips. After all, it’s widely believed that just getting to your destination is already incredibly expensive (although many of my readers know that doesn’t have to be the case) — so of course you want to be efficient with your money elsewhere. Here are the four basic principles I follow whenever I travel to get the best, most authentic experiences, for the least amount of cash.

Click here to read the full article on eHow Money! http://bit.ly/ehowmvg4

While most people make money so they can save to travel the world, Audrey Bergner travels the world to make money. She travels full time as a blogger, photographer, YouTuber, and freelance travel writer. How was she able to achieve the lifestyle that so many bitten with wanderlust dream of? 

“I enjoy talking to strangers and getting to know their stories, using smiles and gestures when words fail, sharing new foods with people I’ve just met, strolling local food markets, and getting lost down narrow streets,” she says on her website. She’s had quite the adventures: she’s camped out with Bedouins, been through a mind maze in Prague, climbed an active volcano in Bali, and ridden a train that derailed in the jungle of northern Thailand, to name a few experiences. 

So what’s her advice for someone who wants to explore the world but doesn’t know where to begin? Her first suggestion is that your first venture is somewhere where the language and culture is similar. For example, Americans should try Scotland, Australia, or New Zealand. “Of course, this is just a suggestion: you could hop on a plane to India or Brazil if you wanted and I’m sure you’d figure things out along the way,” she told me. “It’s just that being in a country where you understand the language is usually easier to handle when you’re first starting out.”

Bergner has more advice on planning trips ahead of time. She books her airline tickets well ahead of time and accommodations for the first few days of my trip, but from then on its all spontaneous. “The reason why I don’t plan everything out in advance is that travel is full of surprises,” she said. “Sometimes you fall in love with a destination and you want to extend your stay, and sometimes you hate the plac and you can’t wait to leave…So plan, but don’t overplan!”

And then comes the final worry, the one that blocks many from their travel dreams: finances. She had reassurance for those woes, too: “As cliche as it may sound, if you’re determined to make it happen, it will.” Read herehow another blogger saved for her trips (hint: you’re probably going to have to give up your morning Starbucks and spend some weekends in, but it’ll be more than worth it). 

Vietnam. Credit to linhscape (Instagram).

Northern Vietnam. Credit to linhscape (Instagram).