My 9600 Dollar Budget for Airplanes

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My 9600 Dollar Budget for Airplanes
800 dollars per month, that is what I want to spend on Airplane Tickets, however, there is a difference between what I want and what I do.

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Bangkok Thailand - Southeast Asia
Khao San Road
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Andy of HoboTraveler.com --- Submit Hotel URL
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I do not plan well, but I do budget, I try to keep my mind focused on the number. For the last couple of years I have said to myself, I will spend about 300 dollars per month on plane tickets, which is 3600 U.S. per year.

The price of long plane trips has increased a lot, and now I am pressed to reevaluate this number as it is becoming very difficult to stay focused on this number. The variable travel agents do not seem to have any grip on is time; this number is relevant to time.

Example: 300 per month Airplane Budget
1500 Round trip Ticket from Bangkok to Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire meant, I must spend five months in West Africa.

1500 divide by 300 is 5, to average using about 300 dollars per month on plane tickets.
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Now to be fair to the travel agents, they close to never sell a plane ticket to a person that can stay long as they like in a place. I find travel agents have this two weeks time period hard-coded in their brain. My friend and travel agent Jeroen outlined a trip to Yemen, by land, etc, one month and fly out of Ethiopia to USA. I keep trying to say this is too fast and very expensive, but reasonable if I did this trip in five months and not the one-month he proposed.

However, if I adjust my budget for increased jet fuel cost, and raised it to 800 dollar per month, then I only need to stay 2 months.
Now, if you are a critical thinking reader, you remember I qualified this as saying,
- There is a difference between what I want and what I do. -

I had a person write me yesterday and ask how I pay for my trip; they wanted insight into how to fund a long-term continuous trip. In the end the insight was, it about 20 time easier to save and not spend money while traveling than to try to earn it.
Sustaining Yourself On The Road Insight

Note, a person should be able to live on less than 15 dollars per day, or the feasibility of continuous travel is almost fantasy.

How much do I spend on Airplane Tickets per month?

My 9600 Dollar Budget for Airplanes

Air Tickets | Airplane Transportation | Transportation |

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Reader Submitted Comments | Deleted Comments (0)

Dishwasher Dreams said on Sunday January 13th, 2008 12:28:00 AM

"the feasibility of continuous travel is almost fantasy".unless your name is Andy The Hobo. ;)>o

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Sunday January 13th, 2008 04:44:00 AM

I 100 percent believe many people can continously slowly travel the planet. The faster you travel, the less likely they can afford it.But extremely slow wandering of the planet is feasible. The problem is human nature is frail, full of temptations, guilts, fears and other problems.Magellan, Darwin, Marco Polo were good examples of continuous type travelers. Even I think James Michener, the writer.There are many that do so, that do not have blogs and nobody knows exist. The normal continuous traveler lives on less than 15 US per day, and does not go over budget. Somehow they have learned to say no, while everyone around them is driven by temptations.I can walk around a shopping mall for hours and not buy one thing. I can be in complete misery at at a hotel, have 1000 USA in my pocket, and not move to the more than budget hotel.I pay the price asked of travel.Why, because I want to travel more than I want a nice room. I am addicted to this lifestyle, the price is cheap.

Wade said on Sunday January 13th, 2008 05:51:00 PM

I agree, it is possible to continuously travel on little money. Fantasy has nothing to do with it. It is far cheaper and easier to travel than it is to live a sendentary life in the USA, Europe, Japan, or, when it comes down to it, most other countries. Travel is cheap. I was just thinking that about how I am not able to live in the USA because I cannot afford it. Even if I got a full time job, I would still be a pauper. Who wants to live like that? I don't. It does not take much money to taste the riches of this planet . . . only the iron will to say "no" and the realization that the best recreational activities in the world are free.The feasibility of continuous travel is not a fantasy. It is not even that difficult. I find it far more difficult to stay in one place working 40 hours a week with bills, car payments, rent, utilities payments. Travel is only a minor expense compared to all of this. I am serious. If you want to travel, do it. "In the end the insight was, it about 20 time easier to save and not spend money while traveling than to try to earn it."I will remember this quote, it is a good one.WadeSong of the Open Road Travel Blog

Andy HoboTraveler.com said on Sunday January 13th, 2008 06:10:00 PM

Wade, I have to say,"You get it"You understand the economics of travel