From the Intro: On Being a Cheapskate

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People sometimes mention to me that I must be rich since I travel so much. Now, I don’t consider myself poor, but my savings and income are low enough that you would probably be surprised that I can travel as much as I do.

I am, by nature, a person who watches where her money is spent. Some friends and family members have gone so far as to label me “cheap” and “penny-pinching.” However, if I had not watched those pennies/rupees/soles/soms over the past few years, I would no longer be able to hop around the world the way I do.

Over the years, I have discovered that I can live much more cheaply traveling than living in the United States.

There are lots of strategies I use to save money when traveling. As it turns out, these strategies sometimes result in richer travel experiences than you would expect. For example, since I am an independent traveler, I interact with locals much more often than I would on a guided tour. I prepare a lot of my own meals, which means that I shop in local markets and become acquainted with new ingredients and cooking techniques. I hike through the countryside, and I walk through city streets away from the tourist areas.

Shopping in the local markets means that I engage with the
vendors and learn about new ingredients. 


Once I am on a journey, I am gone for a long time (months or even years). This means that my expensive airfare is prorated over that long term. For example, on my 2022-23 trip to Europe and Central Asia, I spent about $550 to fly to Greece and about the same to fly back to the US from Scotland. Divide that by the 13 months I was overseas, and the airfare comes out to less than $100/month.



Over the years, I discovered that I could live much more cheaply traveling than living in the United States. Now my goal is to travel on less than or equal to my monthly Social Security benefit. On that 2022-23 trip, I actually saved a bit each month!


You can learn much more about my techniques for traveling as a “cheapskate” in my blog post, “18 Ways I Save Money While Traveling.”

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