If you’re following along already, you probably are aware of the amazing trips Nick and I have gone on already, but if you are new here, HELLO and let me tell you a little about it!
When my husband and I graduated college in 2016 we could have easily hopped into careers and focused on saving money and developing good work habits, but I strongly believe that humans were meant to lay around in tall grasses under massive trees eating a surplus of fruit. Somewhere along the line capitalism took over all of our lives and we have disconnected from the natural beauty around us. Why fall into the flow of what is now our common society when we can swim against the current? We decided the best thing to do after graduating was to travel a bit, and by a bit we traveled for three months. Then for our honeymoon we traveled again for three months. Both times we discovered the natural wonders of our country and all it had to offer.
During the first trip we drove over 15,000 miles around the west half of the U.S. and the second trip we drove over 8,000 miles along the west coast and into the Canadian rockies.
Some people have reached out about how we were able to save up for this trip while working in the restaurant business, (which has a bad wrap about being a low income job field, when in reality it is rather lucrative if you’re good at it and can refrain from spending your money on bullshit). Budgeting is easy once you get the hang of it and I’ll show you how you can afford a trip like this with some minor tweaking.
We focused our road trip around exploring, camping, and hiking the National Parks and Forests and if that is your goal in reading this blog then I have one golden rule: invest in a National Park Pass. I cannot emphasize how much of a difference this simple investment made. The Pass cost us $80 collectively as it covers everyone in your vehicle and in the beginning as you’re trying to save every penny you can, $80 may seem like a lot. Let me lay it out for you.
During the time we went (summer), with two adults in the car, going into each park (we visited 23 Parks) only once excluding campsite fees would have cost $625. In purchasing the $80 Park Pass we only spent 12% of that and it gave us freedom to go in and out of any park as many times we wanted and sometimes there were even lanes that allowed us to cruise past the long entry lines.
We probably spend about $9k for each roadtrip. This included the $80 Park Pass, the thousands of miles worth of gas money, food (which we ate out quite often when we were in cities, living it up the best we could), and the handful of hotel/airbnb stays. Graduating/getting married in May, we generally started saving around August giving us about 9 months to save. That would put us at about $1,000 a month, $500 each, $250 a paycheck that was given every two weeks.
Let’s not kid ourselves, most workers in the restaurant industry enjoy a cocktail post work. I mean, it is a stressful industry, but statistically the average bar tab is around $45 a person. If the average restaurant employee goes out to drink every Friday and Saturday night that is $90 a week. That is $360 a month spent simply on cocktails… That’s crazy! If you’re like me, you enjoy a delicious meal out. On average for a casual dining experience for just food, no drinks, the average diner spends around $20 a visit. Let’s say you go out to eat about twice a week at $40 a week, leaving you at $160 a month. With the beverages and dining out you’re sitting at an average of $520 a month, nixing those out you can put that money towards your dream trip. We end up spending our money on silly things, eating out, grabbing a beverage, doing some shopping, etc. without really considering how those expenses actually affect our wallets. It feels good, and soothes the soul to have an amazing meal at an aesthetically pleasing restaurant, but imagine how it would feel to put those things on hold and to started every day by enjoying a cup of coffee made over a campfire, in an old growth forest and fall asleep to the sounds to nature around you. Every day is an adventure and you don’t know what you’re going to see, hear, or experience. To me, those things are far more valuable than a weekly Sunday brunch or Friday night cocktail.
I am happy to help anyone and everyone reach their goal of their dream trip. Please reach out with any questions you have and I can put together a budget plan for you. I wish everyone had the drive to leave their hometown, see life changing sites, camp in the wild, and try new things.
