Why I Love Travelling With No Money

I’ll never forget begging my mum every day for a Club Penguin membership. She finally budged on my 9th birthday (aka, the happiest day of my life). All the puffles a girl could want, a pimped-out igloo, funky penguin clothes… The dream! This is all for context... stay with me here.

But after a week or two, I stopped playing. Why? The challenge was gone. I didn’t have to play the games to make dosh, or get special items. Growing up, I had all a lot of nice things handed on a silver platter, and it became boring. It's like typing in the cheat code motherlode when you're playing Sims and all of a sudden, you're automatically rich. You're welcome.

I think about this all the time. Sure, being able to wipe your backside with $100 notes whilst travelling would be red hot. Boujee hotels, fancy meals, flights at reasonable times… how luxurious. I like to think I’ll be rich and famous eventually, and I can reap all those benefits later. But for now, I’m in love with travelling on a severe shoestring budget. I mean it. Why? Well.... because you're forced to think outside of the box. Here are some of the best travelling memories I've made, while on a budget:

Travelling to different countries

My mate and I couldn’t afford to go to Greece for as long as we wanted. Hot girl Euro summer prices are steep, so we hit up cheaper places like Albania and Montenegro instead. Spoiler alert, we had the time. If we were drowning in dosh, we may never have gotten to these beautiful countries. 

Camping and exploring in some wild places

When we were travelling around Ireland, we hired a cheap car and realised that the seats reclined pretty far. Wild camping is legal there, so that car became our accommodation for the week to save $$$. We woke up with breathtaking views that money could never buy (for real, just look up Dingle Peninsula… insaaane).

Worked overseas on a yacht

We wanted to stay in Croatia for a hot minute without having to sell a kidney. What’d we do? A workaway! For two weeks, we helped on a yacht, getting free accom and food as well as hilarious and insane memories.

Made my money go a long way

Yeah, it’s true. I can only afford to eat out once a fortnight. But making a wrap on-the-go or a Nutella sandwich in front of the world's biggest landmarks is way more iconic. I’ve made that many mates in hostel kitchens as I whip together some nachos or a curry. Now, I don't mean travelling with $0 - definitely have some money in case of emergencies and those unexpected travel fees, but choose experience over luxury anyday - get comfortable being uncomfortable!

Appreciating the small things

When you’re thinking outside the box, opportunities you’d normally miss will pop out at you. Opportunities that make travel so much more thrilling, unique and of course, accessible to you. Sure, a hotel in Ireland would have been a lot more comfortable and a $15 chairlift up to a toboggan would have been way less sweaty, but man, do we have better photos, memories and stories to tell.

Just like my Club Penguin membership, I don’t think travel would be as funny, rogue, adventurous or spontaneous if I was loaded with cash. If you think travelling with minimal spending can't be done, I'm here to prove you wrong – you can absolutely do it!