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How To Save More For Travel If You Don’t Live On A First-World Income

by Anil Polat | Jul 10, 2012 | Advice, Money, Travel | 24

how to save more for travel

It’s easy to get into the mindset that traveling or not is simply a matter of willpower until you consider that nearly 50% of people around the world make less than $950 annually. Living on an income greatly less than the North American or Western European median reduces your travel opportunities but doesn’t eliminate them. While a large majority of those people living below the global GDP average simply will never be able to travel, chances are if you’re reading this there are a few ways to earn more toward your jet-setting goals.

Mindset First – Probability Not Impossibility

Adidas isn’t completely right when it says impossible is nothing but according to quantum physics, nothing is impossible. Everything that can be conceived is a matter of probability in the universe. The chances of you falling through your chair because the atoms in your butt align perfectly with the space between the atoms in your chair is possible – but it might take sitting for 30 billion years to experience it. (And probably another 30 billion to convince your best friends it ever happened.)

So while I’m not rich (but certainly very fortunate) I am a hacker – a mindset whose first rule is that nothing is absolute. Think in probabilities. Now you’re ready to improve your odds.

Cut Budgets From The Easy End

Spending less is a lot easier than making more money, especially if you smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol. CNET has 3 good Android apps to show you how much you’re saving by doing so (iOS versions as well) and apps like previously mentioned getupp (iOS) or EasyMoney (Android) can help recruit your friends online for support.

Supplement Your Income In A Stronger Currency

Of course any income is good income but even better when its in a strong international currency, especially if you want to travel internationally. There are a number of simple ways you can add a few dollars here and there to your existing income but converting your time into money.

euro coins

Do Online Odd Jobs – Lifehacker has a good list of ways to make spare money doing online tasks but two I’d like to especially point out are Amazon’s Mechanical Turk Worker (MTurk) and User Testing.

Be A Mechanical Turk – MTurk lets you offer up your time to do any number of online tasks computers aren’t so good at.

Website Reviews – User Testing pays $10 for every website you critique for clients. Jobs are sent to you based on demographics.

You can also find several travel-related online jobs at the Travelllll Job board, Jobs Abroad Bulletin, or write city guides for UnAnchor. A few other good spots to actively search for freelance jobs are:

eLance – A good resource where you can market your skills and turn them into jobs actively.
Guru – A site similar to eLance (thanks for the tip Brad!)
LinkedIn – I’ve never had much fondness or use for LinkedIn but Ad-Lib Traveler suggests it’s a good place to look for non-technical work (e.g. marketing) especially.

Also, Craigslist, whose digital streets are a bit more difficult to navigate for online work could be where you find some suitable local work to help inject your income with a dose of more.

Improve Your Proficiency At Highly Sought Skills

Languages – both human and computer are valuable commodities that can help you both connect with the wider travel community and earn you some extra cash. Fortunately language learners and speakers make a perfect symbiont; while computer geeks love to give away free information. Teach yourself for free and you may be able to charge others sooner than you think. Here are some resources to beef up a variety of skill sets:

Learn New Languages Using These Free Online Services – Then use these language social networks (like prior mentioned LingoMatch) to practice with other speakers.
Programming – iTunesU has over 500,000 free university lectures – not just on programming – from schools like Stanford, Oxford, and more completely free.

Aside from those online courses you can also attend Lifehacker’s Night School which, like everything else mentioned, is free and online.

Monetize Miles And Forge Relationships

Although these are often restricted by country or region, sifting through Contest Blogger once a week might reveal a few entries worth looking at. (I too occasionally send people places.) You can also enter frequent flyer mileage giveaways and hop on prior mentioned MilePoint to trade help (e.g. translation) for miles.

Have A Blog? – I’ve written 4 ways to make money travel blogging in addition to general Travel Blog Advice.

Not all travel hacking is online, getting in touch with your local travel and tourism organizations may not directly impact your wallet but can put you in touch with people who can indirectly provide help down the line. Don’t underestimate the power of an expanded social network and begin reaching out locally.

Money Isn’t Everything, Not Even For People Who Have More Of It

Obviously most of the advice in this post relies on you having a laptop or at the minimum access to one. As Mina points out, there are other obstacles to travel (e.g. visas) for many around the world and certainly a base level of income is required for relatively expensive recreation activities; aka. travel. But if you happen to be a member of the lucky group who has a good possibility of making some of your travel dreams come true, adjusting the ends of your given budget will get you that much closer.

How To Survive A Weekend In Rome Without Blowing Your Budget

by Anil Polat | Jul 5, 2012 | Guest Post | 23

This is a guest post Barry and Julia, who sold up in the UK to travel around Turkey for 6 months. They’re still in Turkey, living in Fethiye on the southwest coast. Their blog, Turkey’s For Life is a travel and food blog about Fethiye and other parts of Turkey – especially Istanbul. All of the images in this post are courtesy Turkey’s For Life.

Rome Italy Tiber River

‘Rome’ and ‘budget’ are not two words that traditionally sit together comfortably when it comes to the subject of travel. We like to think we’ve mastered the art of budget travel over the years but when we found ourselves with an unexpected 2-night stopover in Rome on a recent trip to Italy, we wondered if we might have a challenge on our hands in keeping costs to a minimum. Well, a bit of pre-trip research mixed in with a bit of ‘hit and hope’ while we were there and we proved to ourselves that Rome is not a no-go area for those of us with limited Euros at our disposal.

Here’s how we got the most out of our visit to Rome without making too much of a dent in the contents of our bank account.

Book (Just) Out Of Town Accommodation

Booking a room out of town means you get a lot more for your money. At 38 years old, we feel we’ve got to the stage now where we prefer a little more luxury than a bunk and a shared bathroom. It took a bit of online research but for the cost of a hostel room in the city center, we found a double, en-suite room at the Al Casale de Santis (an extended family villa), set in its own grounds.

Another upside to staying outside Rome city center is you get to see life in a different neighborhood. We like to try to get a feel for the cities we visit and removing yourself from the main sightseeing areas is a perfect way to do this.

Use Rome’s Public Transportation System

As our hotel was 3 kilometers out of town, we needed to familiarize ourselves with Rome’s public transport system immediately on arrival. The good news is, Rome’s public transport system is simple – once you’ve worked it out.

We took a shuttle bus (Terravision) from the airport [4 euros at the booth; 9 online] and were dropped off at Rome Termini, the main public transport hub for the city. This building is colossal but once you’ve found the front, there are tourist booths with fantastically knowledgeable, multilingual advisers who seem to know every bus and metro route in the city. You can buy single (1 euro) or multi-trip bus tickets from these booths and the news kiosks dotted around Rome. And we did say we like to get a feel for the cities we visit – what better than a crowded bus for a spot of people watching?

See With Your Feet

We only had one full day to see as much as we could of Rome. If possible, we love to explore new cities on foot and in Rome’s case, all the main sites are relatively close to each other. Exploring on foot meant our sightseeing didn’t cost us a single Euro.

Finding your way around the center of Rome is easy enough. We soon worked out that wherever there was a huge crowd, there was a famous sight to be seen. But we also cheated a bit. Amongst the ancient sights, modern technology came to the rescue in the form of our (Samsung Galaxy II) tablet. The GPS came in very useful!

Rome Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps were top of our sightseeing list and by late afternoon, we’d had a beer break, a lunch break and seen all of those and more. We were even surprised to find we’d walked as far as the Vatican after friends suggested we’d need to take a bus. Rome is a really pleasant, easy city in which to wander.

Move 50 Meters To Save 50%

What’s the pleasure of travel if not to indulge oneself in the fine foods and beverages of the area? Well, that’s our philosophy at least and this was what we were happy to blow a chunk of our budget on. Our lunch of pizza topped with translucent slithers of prosciutto (we live in Turkey so we feast on pork whenever we leave the country) and an ice-cold beer each was the perfect sightseeing break. And afterwards, once we’d had our fill of the sights of Rome, a cone topped with Italy’s famous ice-cream, gelato, came to the rescue.

Trevi Fountain Rome Italy

If you are on a budget, you can keep eating and drinking costs right down by choosing somewhere away from the immediate vicinity of famous sights. For example, a beer in beautiful Piazza Navona cost an eye-watering 9 Euros. Just outside the piazza, only 50 meters or so away, small panini bars were selling the same beer for 4 Euros.

Rome On A Tasteful Budget

Our accommodation costs (120 Euros) made up the bulk of our spends in Rome. Our guilty travel pleasure is food and drink and as we only had a short time in Rome, we forfeited more detailed sightseeing in favor of a more literal taste of Italy. If you’re in Rome on a budget and want to explore as many sights as possible, spend some time researching your options before you go. There are many types of ‘avoid-the-queue’ museum cards and passes that will get you free or reduced-fee entry to the places you really want to see and some give access to unlimited public transport to get you there.

Thank you very much Julia, Barry for this post on saving without starving in Rome. Barry and Julia are some of the best people I’ve met and you’ll enjoy their engaging posts, photos, and food on their blog, Turkey’s For Life. You can also find Julia and Barry on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ where they’re just as entertaining and appetite inducing.

The Technology That Keeps This Travel Blog Running, Online, And Traveling With Me

by Anil Polat | Jun 29, 2012 | Site News, Tech | 10

valencia f1 car

I’ve talked about the technology that keeps me personally going and the gadgets I carry – but traveler is only one part of travel blog. The other is the pixels you’re staring at right now and as foXnoMad has grown, so has its digital legs. This blog turned 6 years old this week and I wanted to share with you some of its major components and how they help to keep things running while I’m off traveling for things to blog about.

For Your Eyes

Probably the first component of foXnoMad you’re likely to notice outside of the website itself are the photos scattered throughout each page. Until sometime in early 2011, I was hosting those pictures on my server directly, though browsing through them was cumbersome to say the least.

I’ve since been using SmugMug, making it much easier for you to browse my travel photos and letting me upload absurdly large images. You can also buy physical copies of my pictures if any catch your fancy. Or read comments from aliens for free.

Behind The Scenes

When it comes to hands-on maintenance, I do all of the coding required to patch up any problems or make design tweaks here and there. I also do upkeep on my server, hosted by Media Temple. I enjoy optimizing and programming in general; working on projects like trying to make pages load faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. Though I’ll likely be giving up the bulk of those responsibilities when I begin hiring staff in a few weeks.

This entire blogging platform, where I type in my articles, place photos, and blog about backpacks you can ride is WordPress. (A software package so powerful, I still can’t believe it’s free.)

Those are the absolute basics. There is still quite a bit more of gear and guts running behind the scenes and services like Cloudflare; but I won’t bore you with details or giveaway all of my secrets.

Staying In Touch

Google may or may not be doing evil but they certainly are helping me keep in touch with many of you. My daily email updates (well, they’re actually sent 3 times a week) which send my stories directly to your inbox are handled by Google’s Feedburner service. Those emails go out when Americans are killing afternoon hours at work, before Europeans have had too much evening beer, and just late enough in east Asia so many won’t notice the ocasional typo.

My bi-monthly newsletter is powered by Aweber and I often drop in first word about giveaways there. If you haven’t signed up, it’s free and you can read the next edition in a few days.

I know they’re not really blogging services but I spend enough time on Facebook and Twitter that I can’t not mention them. Both are where you can get real-time updates from me, see what I’m eating, and finally find out what those airport workers waving orange sticks are saying.

How I Keep foXnoMad Free For You

euro cents Many of these services cost me money but your use of them is completely free – and how I want it to stay. I get my income from advertisers who want to promote their travel and technology products and services to you. (Along with the ebooks I’ve written.) Some products links, like those you’ll find in this post, earn me a small commission. My content however is never for sale; banners and ads above posts are labeled as such. And if I recommend any products to you, it’s because I’ve used them myself.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this past week of birthday posts with a look at the circuits that help blogger and travel blog moving on the road.

The Tech Gear And Gadgets I Travel With (And Would Recommend To You)

by Anil Polat | Jun 28, 2012 | Site News, Tech | 9

Einstein mouse pad

For the latest version of this list, check the continuously updated Tech Gear and Gadgets I Travel With.

I mentioned this past Tuesday on foXnoMad’s 6th birthday post that I’d be giving you a small look behind the scenes at how I travel and run my blogs. An essential component of that is all of the technology I carry; and one of the most frequent questions I get is what exactly all of that gear is. I travel with all of the electronics I own and these are all of the gadgets, connectors, and cables I have in my bag.

I make my living online and am a nerd so you probably don’t need to travel with all of these items. Depending on how long your trips are, where you’re going, and why, these recommendations will vary for each of your personal needs. I also don’t carry the brand-newest of each model (though am fortunate to be sent some for testing); these are my battle tested and geek-approved companions.

The Fundamentals

Laptop: Macbook Pro 15-Inch (Mid 2009) – Until very recently I traveled with two laptops (the other being a Dell Mini 10v), using the latter as a backup. In the coming weeks I’ll be replacing that backup laptop with a refurbished iPad 2, in case my Macbook (250GB) hard drive dies or suffers some other kind of accident. (Here’s how to be warned of impending hard drive failures in advance.)

I purchased my Macbook Pro (2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) refurbished directly from Apple.com (as I have all of my Apple products) and in 2011 I upgraded its memory from 4GB to 8GB.

I’ll be selling my Dell Mini 10v netbook very soon, if you’re interested email me.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 – I purchased this camera on the recommendation of several bloggers and photographers, notably John O’Nolan. Ever since, my travel pictures and what I can do with them have improved markedly. I don’t travel with a DSLR, this is my only camera and works well as a decent substitute for my needs. It’s small and light (10.4 x 5.8 x 3.3 centimeters; 219 grams), has a wide 24-384mm Leica lens, plus battery life that covers 500 photos per charge.

Inside I’ve got a 32GB SanDisk SDHC memory card and use my old 8GB card as a backup if needed.

eReader: Nook Tablet – Sure there is something nice about flipping tangible pages in a book but something very not nice about lugging kilos of them on your back. The Nook Tablet (not to be confused with the similar but inferior Nook Color) is a wonderful device. It’s also got an expandable microSD card slot so you can load larger video files, works well internationally, and in my opinion is much better designed than the Kindle Fire.

Mobile Phone: iPhone 3G – No, I didn’t forget to add an “S” at the end. Before getting this hand-me-down from my sister, I used an iPod touch (1st Generation) instead of a mobile. The primary reason being that outside of 5 days in June 2012, I haven’t opened a phone number. I use the iPhone with wireless connections where I find them to check email, take photos, and post them to Facebook. The 3G has suited me well but I’ll upgrade to the iPhone 5 whenever it’s released to take advantage of the better camera, video, and for app-compatibility.

Connectors And Cables

ethernet cable smile All of the cords that provide electricity to my devices. As easy as it is to omit them here, they take up considerable space (and tangle naturally due to the conditions in most backpacks.)

Power Cables: Apple 85W MagSafe Power Adapter with extension cord (Macbook Pro); Nook Tablet AC Adapter and USB Cable; Panasonic Lumix DE-A65 Battery Charger

Other Cables For Syncing And Surfing

Although my USB wireless antenna isn’t a cable, it does extend my laptop’s wireless range about 3-5 times; letting me surf the Internet from more places. I’m currently using the Alfa AWUS036EH (300mW); and since then several newer models have been released.

Ethernet Cable – The most handy cord I carry with me. If staying online is a priority for you, one of these will come to your rescue more than you might imagine. (And can also turn one paid wireless connection into two to share with a travel buddy.)

USB Standard A To Standard B Cable – This one has been hanging around in my backpack and hardly getting any use, actually I’m glad I dug it up to remind me to offload it soon.

And Of Course… Outlet Adapters

Swiss World Travel Adapter – An all-in-one that covers my poor memory for most of the world’s outlets.
World Travel Adapter Plug Set – Being less bulky these adapters work well for outlets that can’t support much weight from a heavy charger. U.S. plugs with a third ground pin also work better with this adapter set as they don’t get in the way.

How I Keep Everything Clean Like New

iKlear Cleaning Kit – This liquid is what Apple stores around the world use to keep our eager but greasy fingers from making display models an icky version of shiny. I ~~with disturbing obsession~~ religiously clean my laptop, phone, and other screens once a week and one 60mL (2 ounce) bottle has lasted me nearly 2 years. It also comes with two microfiber cloths.

What I Carry All Of These Things In

They’re carried on my back but all of my gadgets are in my SwissGear Computer Backpack. I’ve had this same bag for 6 or 7 years (I can’t recall exactly) and despite being crammed under front seats on hundreds of flights, it’s in great shape. Whenever I retire this bag I’ll replace it with the latest version. (But keep it between us. Backpacks have sensitive feelings.)

My Macbook Pro travels in a black Incase Neoprene Sleeve to prevent scratches and dings from drops. Also, it’s a slimming color.

Lastly, I almost omitted my quiet, simple, and reliable Genius USB optical mouse which I picked up in Argentina in 2010. It was an impromptu purchase to replace its wireless predecessor, stolen out of my bag by an airline employee. This mouse puts up with my oddly evolved two-handed trackpad-plus-mouse scrolling and more importantly, puts up with being carelessly thrown into my bag as an afterthought. It’s a rough world for a mouse but at least its always got a good friend around – mousepad Albert Einstein.

foXnoMad Turns 6 And Still Feeling Like A Two Year Old Pup

by Anil Polat | Jun 26, 2012 | Site News | 24

red fox

This year it almost slipped past me, that last Sunday, June 24th was the 6th birthday of foXnoMad. Back in 2006 I published my first post here, though I don’t recall what it was about and cringe to look it up. Things were different back then and I still can’t believe how far it’s all come. What keeps the blog going is finding routine but what keeps it growing are the changes in between. And year 6 is looking to be a dynamic one for me and my steadfast digital companion.

A Look Back On Travels In Year 5

Over the past 12 months I’ve spent time visiting Romania and enjoying that country’s damn fast Internet. Prior, I made it to Porto, Portugal, the city you voted as the best to visit in 2011. I drank my way up to Moldovan standards and found out Azerbaijan has so much gas, the country practically farts. I too met Sulu, George Takei at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention. (I’m still smiling.)

And just last week I was in northern Michigan, a guest of GMC, to be shocked again by one of the most impressive sights I’ve seen on my travels. Slowly but steadily I moved about 10 countries closer to my goal of visiting them all.

My writing and articles have also visited PC World, Lifehacker, Reuters Business Traveller, and many other publications over the last year.

This blog too has grown thanks to your support, so much so that…

foXnoMad Will Be Hiring Soon

Over the past few years on my blog-birthday posts I’ve given small behind the scenes facts like how many emails I get a day. That figure is now over 300 on average, per 24 hours, and I need some help managing the business side of things around here. I’m not going to be hiring writers to take over blog posts or be out of touch personally; but do need an assistant or 3 so I can focus on other projects and yes, travel more. I will be posting details in the next two weeks for those of you interested.

The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers Version 2.0 $10 Off Today Only

For today only you can get The Ultimate Tech Guide For Travelers Version 2.0 for $17 by purchasing directly from this link and using the code: ‘birthday2012’ at checkout. Those of you who’ve already purchased Version 2.0, I don’t want you to feel left out, I’m extending my personal tech support just for you another 6 months. You’ve now got 1 full year of full tech support from me for your travels!

What others have been saying about Version 2.0:

Too Many Adapters – “If you’re about to hit the road and want loads of great tech advice – and free support – from an expert, this is the best guide we’ve seen so far.”

Amazon Review – “Just the tips about keeping my data safe were well worth the price. But add all the other information and it’s easily worth three times the price.“

No Slowing Down

It’s now been 72 months of blogging on foXnoMad and I’m looking forward to more writing, traveling, and some new ways to share my story with you in the coming months. Many of you have asked me how long I’ll keep traveling – as for foXnoMad, I’ll keep writing until I’ve got nothing more to say or feel I can’t say it with the same quality. Or until Starfleet is launched and a science officer position opens up.

Later this birthday week I’ll have a few posts about managing foXnoMad on the road and the gizmos I use as I refocus and delegate before a busy few upcoming travel months. Finally, I want to give you my sincere thanks for all of your support, comments, encouragement, and help thus far. foXnoMad and my travels are made possible by you and I don’t ever forget that. Wherever I may be, my inbox is always open to you.

Happy travels and a birthday shot of your favorite drink on me 😉
-Anil

[top fox photo by: Fuzzy Freddy]

About Anil Polat

Hi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More