My life this week has been a rollercoaster of adrenaline highs and disappointing lows. On top of that, I feel like I’m bleeding money.
After last weekend’s visit to the Travel Expo finding some great deals, my travel agent Chevonne and I spent the next few days deciding on my best options. My plan was to leave in May and head to South America, but other than that I had no real idea of what I wanted to do. This is why Chevonne is an extremely valuable resource. Lining up tour dates, looking at additional taxes and entry costs, assessing flight and travel insurance prices are not something that I have expert knowledge on. As a solo traveler working with my travel agent allows me to have a second brain thinking about things. A second memory, a second opinion, an adviser on places that I know nothing about but she has previously traveled to. I trust Chevonne to point me in the right direction and as we have planned my travels together for so long, she knows what I like, my travel style and the budget I have to work with.
After a couple of days, many phone calls, some date negotiation and a few emails my plan started to take shape.
- Saturday 13 June – Fly from Adelaide, Australia to Santiago, Chile.
- Head to Colombia and learn Spanish for a week (route and transport to be determined).
- Make my way down to Quito, Ecuador and on 25 June join a Geckos Adventures Galapagos Islands boat tour.
- Return to Quito and stay for a week then join a Tucan Travel tour through Ecuador into Lima, Peru.
- From there go wherever the wind (more likely a local bus) takes me.
My itinerary needed to change from what I planned at last weekend’s expo for a couple of reasons. The tours I first saw only run a couple of times a year and didn’t match up with my approximate departure date. As I really want to go through the Galapagos Islands, the Geckos Adventures tour was used as a starting point and everything else was added from there.
However wanting to do the Galapagos tour meant that I needed to push back my departure from May into June. Whilst this is disappointing as I want to be on the road again as soon as possible, pushing the date back means I can work a little longer and save more money before I go.
So, happy with the plan, the dates and the price, I said, “Yes” to Chevonne and everything was booked. Great!
But, as my departure and tour dates are only 3 months away and I’m booking using Travel Expo discounts, everything had to be paid in full this week. Let the money bleeding begin.
My costs:
Geckos Adventures Galapagos on the Cheap tour (9 days)
Standard price: $1,930AUD
Discount: 20%
Final price: $1,544AUDTucan Travel Inca Footsteps (17 days)
Standard price: $2,199AUD
Discount: 20%
Final price: $1,759AUDCoverMore Travel Insurance (221 days with $100 excess)
Standard price: $1,193AUD
Discount: 10%
Final price: $1,087.56AUDQantas return flight Adelaide, Australia – Santiago, Chile
Final price:$1,732AUDTotal cost: $6,122.76AUD
$6,000 is an excellent price for everything I’ve booked. But needing to come up with the money immediately to secure this price has caused a lot of stress. I don’t have all the cash. I have assets, and a credit card.
Everything I pay for is channeled through my Qantas Frequent Flyer connected credit card. As it gives me points at a rate of 1:1 this is a no brainer. The 6,000 points that I have earned from this booking will definitely help me with a flight or two later in the year.
Using my credit card also allows me an extra few weeks to delay the total payment, interest free. When I have received a couple of weeks salary I will pay it off.
But be very aware that I HATE using my credit card. Ordinarily if I don’t have the cash for something, I won’t buy it. I do not want to become one of those people who never pays off their credit card bill, is continually charged interest and ends up in a never-ending debt cycle. If I didn’t have a budget strategy and know money is coming in to pay my credit card back, I wouldn’t use it.
On top of the travel booking I am also dealing with bills for my house that I rent out. My tenants for the last 12 months are leaving, I am working with my agent, at a cost, to secure new tenants as well as needing to pay insurance, council rate and strata bills that are due this week. My credit card is feeling the strain and so am I.
Like I said, I feel like I am bleeding money.
But there is light at the end of the bill paying tunnel. My traveling will be amazing. Confirming a departure date has helped me organise my work and life over the next couple of months. It has also helped my state of mind, because I’m now working towards something that I love and am excited about. I’m moving forward again.
My next task – selling my car. At the moment my car IS my South America trip. The money I make from the sale is what I will use to fund my travels until I can hopefully start earning an income from this blog.
Wish me luck!
Leave A Comment