To travel like a minimalist, eliminate checking bags whenever possible, write a packing list twice, slim down your wallet and electronics, go paperless, research and plan an itinerary, carefully select your clothing, cut down on toiletries, and skip souvenirs. When packing for any trip, divide your needs into smaller categories to make the packing process more manageable and keep track of what you actually need. Start with your travel capsule wardrobe, then pack your toiletries.
Invest in a good suitcase and choose neutral colors and styles for almost everything, including luggage, apparel, shoes, accessories, and more. The art of wise packing involves making a detailed list of essentials and ruthlessly cutting it in half, keeping only what you truly need. Think versatile, and choose a dress that’s nice enough to pass for a night out but also suitable to wear during the day.
Embrace the freedom of minimalist travel, where a single carry-on is your gateway to the world. This approach not only lightens your load but also deepens your travel experiences. Look for cheaper, yet comfortable accommodations, such as hostels or budget-friendly guesthouses.
To budget travel and survive off of minimalism, never pay for water again, carry around mints and granola bars, practice intermittent fasting, and use the right bag. Know the basics about what’s allowed in your hand luggage, only pack for one week, make a checklist, and choose your clothes wisely.
In summary, traveling like a minimalist involves focusing on simplicity, using the right bag, and choosing versatile clothing items and essential toiletries. By following these tips and strategies, anyone can travel like a minimalist and save money while traveling more efficiently.
📹 How I Afford to Travel So Much | Travel and Minimalism
I often get the question – Amanda, how do you afford to travel so much? In this video I explain about my trust fund and how my …
How can I travel if I’m broke?
This article provides 45 genius budget travel hacks for those who are broke and want to explore the world on a budget. It emphasizes the importance of staying in hostels, taking free classes, and filling up on free hostel food. It also suggests venturing off-the-beaten-path to save money, valuing experiences over material things, working in a hostel, and checking visa costs before travel. The article also highlights the seasonality of travel, as what is considered “off-peak” in one country might not be in another.
It also emphasizes the need to research different tourist seasons and plan accordingly to avoid price hikes and tourist swarms. By following these tips, travelers can make the most of their travel experiences and make the most of their time on the planet.
What is the 333 packing method?
The 333 method is a wardrobe packing guide that allows you to create a variety of looks from just nine pieces. It involves selecting three tops, three bottoms, and three pairs of shoes from your wardrobe, ensuring that textures and colors are mixed and coordinated. This method is ideal for weekend getaways, short girls trips, or when you only bring a backpack or carry-on.
Key tips for packing include selecting accessories like jewelry, bags, scarves, sunglasses, and hats, focusing on a color palette, choosing comfortable clothes that you will wear, having a variety of top lengths, sleeve lengths, hem lengths, and clothing types, and packing detergent to keep items fresh.
When traveling with a minimal wardrobe, it is essential to adjust the number of items you pack based on the length of your trip. For longer trips, you can increase the number of items by adding more tops, bottoms, and shoes.
The 333 method can be applied to any wardrobe, so don’t get too hung up on the rules and adjust as needed. By following the 333 method, you can create a variety of outfits that will complement your wardrobe and make your summer travels more enjoyable.
How can I travel with very little money?
Traveling on a budget can be a rewarding experience, but it requires careful planning and a willingness to explore. Here are nine tips to help you plan a holiday on a budget:
Create a plan: Traveling spontaneously is great, but a budget-friendly approach is essential. Having a clear idea of your time and route is crucial, as last-minute flights and accommodation can be more expensive.
Travel out of season: Avoid school holidays, as the travel industry often raises prices to take advantage of families. Research the best time to visit your destination and travel just before or after these dates, known as the’shoulder season’. This time offers a more affordable option, as hotels and airlines lower their prices to attract customers.
Pack properly: Pack light and bring essentials, such as snacks and water, to avoid unnecessary expenses.
Travel during the shoulder season: Travel during the shoulder season, where the sun may be less bright and the weather may be less hot. This allows you to enjoy a great trip without breaking the bank.
How to travel when you’re broke?
This article provides 45 genius budget travel hacks for those who are broke and want to explore the world on a budget. It emphasizes the importance of staying in hostels, taking free classes, and filling up on free hostel food. It also suggests venturing off-the-beaten-path to save money, valuing experiences over material things, working in a hostel, and checking visa costs before travel. The article also highlights the seasonality of travel, as what is considered “off-peak” in one country might not be in another.
It also emphasizes the need to research different tourist seasons and plan accordingly to avoid price hikes and tourist swarms. By following these tips, travelers can make the most of their travel experiences and make the most of their time on the planet.
What is the 20 20 rule in minimalism?
Over the past few years, the couple has been reducing their just-in-case possessions, ensuring they don’t pack anything just in case. They believe that any items we need can be replaced for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes from their current location. This theory has been proven to be true 100 times, with no replacements needed and no longer requiring more than $20 or going more than 20 minutes. This theory is likely applicable to all items and people, including the couple.
The couple hasn’t missed the hundreds of just-in-case items they’ve gotten rid of, and most didn’t need to be replaced. Getting rid of these items clears their minds, frees up space, and takes the weight off their shoulders.
What is the 30 day rule minimalism?
Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, creators of the podcast The Minimalists, have developed a 30-day minimalist game that encourages individuals to eliminate one item per day. The challenge becomes more challenging in the second week, as individuals are forced to eliminate more than a dozen items per day. Fields Millburn initially started by donating, giving away, or recycling items, but over the course of eight months, he has eliminated over 90% of his possessions.
The documentary highlights the stress caused by excessive possessions, as an American house accumulates an average of 300, 000 objects, with more money spent on shoes, jewelry, and clothes than on higher education. To test this theory, Nicodemus stored his possessions in boxes, observing that 80% of the items were never unpacked because they were not needed.
Psychologist José Elias validates the benefits of minimalist living, stating that it allows individuals to enjoy the few things they have because they are necessary, rather than worrying about having and storing them. The key is to enjoy as much time as possible for oneself, rather than worrying about having and storing them.
How to travel as a minimalist?
Minimalist packing tips include realistic planning, using what you already have, setting boundaries, experimenting with smaller bags, considering outfits, and having a laundry plan. Traveling light can be stressful, as it often involves stuffing every “just in case” possession into oversized, difficult-to-maneuver suitcases. Instead, consider packing smaller bags, considering outfits, and having a laundry plan. This approach can help reduce stress and ensure a more comfortable and organized travel experience. By following these tips, you can create a more stress-free and enjoyable travel experience.
How to travel with minimal cost?
Travel can be an affordable adventure, even for those on an average budget. By planning early, choosing budget-friendly destinations, setting a travel budget, finding cheap flights, using public transportation, considering alternative transportation options, staying in budget accommodations, and using sharing economy platforms, you can explore new places without straining your wallet. Eating local and cooking meals can also help save money on food and drinks.
Additionally, taking advantage of free and low-cost attractions, discounts, and deals can help save money on sightseeing and activities. By embracing smart planning and local experiences, you can explore new places without straining your wallet.
How much money do you realistically need to travel?
Traveling around the world for a year typically costs between $25, 000 to $35, 000 per person, based on travel budgets, resources, and personal experiences. However, solo travelers can travel for less than $25, 000 per year, or for luxury travelers, it can cost $50, 000 to $60, 000. For families, traveling before their children turn 12 can be more affordable, as most travel expenses, airline fees, and activities are cheaper for children under 12 years old. Solo travelers can travel for $25, 000 per year, while families can travel for as little as $66 per day.
📹 How we afford to travel with 4 kids (Family Minimalism 2019)
Its taken us a little while to get here, but we’ve started making vacations a priority and it has been really enjoyable and refreshing.
Nice article. My first thought was….oh someone pissed you off few minutes ago 🙂 Seriously, if you are living in the USA or any other western country – travelling for few months is very easy ( money-wise). under age 30? go to Australia for few months to make $20 per hour then travel again or teach English for few months and travel again.
Great strategy! Living in developing countries & couch surfing in developed countries lowers your cost of living. So does eating vegan. You just have to factor in the cost of visa runs & entertainment costs. Maybe you want to do a article on how to amuse yourself on a low budget? For me, asking someone what they do for fun is more interesting than asking someone what they do for a living.
I like your financial style. I used to travel more before I had a kid and student loans. Now that the loans are paid off and my kid is older, Im getting back into traveling and bringing him along. So far it’s just been road trips across north america but our next step is to check out south of mexico and we’ll be flying. We watch your articles for some inspiration while researching places to check out. Keep up the awesome posts!
Love the content in this article! Would love to see a “series” where Tom teaches us how to find deals on campers, what to look for, and what to look out for. We are currently exploring that – we live in Canada so the southern US finds on campers would also be important re rust etc. Would love to see this type of series sooner rather than later. Selfish of me or what??!!
Hi Dawn and Tom! This article made me so happy because I frequently feel like the strange weirdo mom because I don’t enroll my kids in all these gymnastics and karate and those sporty extra curricular activities, they didn’t even go to daycare or preschool. We also never get professional family pictures taken and we too drive older nice trim package vehicles and have zero car loans! My husband is a mechanic and has a rust free truck from Arizona. We were just this past week starting to shop around for an upgrade for me. Flying to Texas is a really great idea! Did Tom go shopping via private party or was he looking at dealerships when he flew down? Or did he book appointments to view vehicles at both? I had my husband watch a replay of this article with me to show him that we aren’t alone with this stuff! It’s easy to feel like an outcast when almost everyone around you drives new vehicles, has their kids in 3 activities, and then to top it off you see their beautiful professional family pictures that they have taken at least a couple times each year. We are committed to paying off our house in 5 years and that has really motivated us to keep doing what we’re doing. When we go on vacation it’s usually a 3 hour road trip because our kids are small (age 2 and 3) but we look forward to being able to fly somewhere eventually and rent a house just like you guys did here. I love the idea of getting a camper, that has always been on my wish list, also traveling with family is genius. Thank you guys so much for putting these articles out.
Enjoy your vacation in Arizona! Maybe Tom could do a article on what he looks for in buying a used car out of state. I will be needing a new used car soon and would love some tips. You guys should definitely get an RV! We go camping and it saves us a ton of money. We wouldn’t be able to afford all are vacations without our travel trailer. There are some great youtube websites who full time travel with kids in RV’s. The Family fulfillment project (they aren’t traveling right now so you have to look back for their travel articles), Less junk more journey and Loftis party of 6. They all have kids your kids age.
I’m so glad there is another mom out there who doesn’t feel the need to have their kids in loads of extra activities! Other moms always look at me like I’m crazy because my kids don’t do a ton outside of school related activities. They are plenty active, but, I didn’t want to fill every evening and weekend with stuff! I think if you want your kids to do that, that’s fine. My kids are 12 and 9 and so far, they have enjoyed having that downtime in the evenings and on the weekends. Refreshing perspective.
We always rent a house when we travel to Disney, mind you I would love to stay on site but for us to be able to go annually, I am so grateful and a house is so much more affordable. I love perusal you and Tom together, your articles are so motivational and make me really want to live a more intentional, simple life and now I will head off to declutter my basement more (even after I just donated 11 bags 😬😜 of stuff!) Thanks for all the great content Dawn!! Also, one question: Do you watch YouTube yourself? and if yes, what websites do you watch 🙂
It’s still snowing and more is coming here in MN!!! This is a true winter this year in the lower part of the state. Enjoy the respite. Your kids won’t miss school. It’s always cancelled! 😉 We live completely debt free, including the house, on one income with 4 children ages 14 to 18 and part of how we also save is driving vehicles with 198K and 242K miles. Love it!
We also do the “new” used vehicles and I am the one who shops for the good deals. Our last vehicle almost had 400,000 miles on it before it was wrecked. It makes me happy to save money and to be on the path of decluttering and having less. Thank you for sharing your articles! May God continue to Bless you and your family!
Love your tips! We’ve enjoyed family vacations in our RV since kids were in elementary school. We’ve been to many states and Canada soooo much cheaper than air flights and hotels. I love traveling in our “second” home and making most of our meals. But when you need to get on a plane, I’d appreciate tips on how/where to shop. There are so many options (and prices!) for airplane tickets!
If you go to amusement park read the fine print on what you can bring in. We went to Disney couple of years ago brought in empty water bottle and simple brown bag lunches. We gave the kids $20 and told them they could spend the money any way they want -they were happy with it. Until they didn’t like the pbj lunch and they had to decided between nedd and want.
Just wanted to comment that your children seem so nice and well-behaved. My husband is a car guy too. One of my friends and her husband flew to another state to buy an RV, and they drove it back home. They saved a fortune on their RV by hunting a good deal and going for it. Have a wonderful vacation !!
We are a family that does road trips. We exceed the number of people that can stay in a standard room, so I always book far out so I can get a suite- a lot cheaper than getting two rooms, and we can all be together. A hotel that serves free breakfast is also a must. That saves us a lot of money. I hear you that flying can be just as cost effective, but I plan fun stops, and my kids love getting to swim in a hotel pool at the end of a driving day. We also rent a house once we get to our destination because it costs just a little more than a hotel, and you can cook, do laundry, and have more space/better sleep. In the end, it saves money and sanity. 😊
Haha! We spent 12 years doing only Backcountry camping trips whenever we would travel. Then kids came along, and while we powered through and still did those strips, it was definitely a lot of hard work. We moved from Michigan to Arizona( Flagstaff), 4 years ago and we love the change. Now we camp at state parks with our Casita camper and a roof-top tent, and it’s like we have a castle! It even has a bathroom! BTW Tom, my husband found ours on Ebay for 4k below its value since it had been through a hurricane! The camper was completely renovated by the owner, and he and his wife even drove it to AZ from TX! This year, we plan to travel by plane back to Michigan for a summertime trip. My question to you, is what type of luggage did you guys pack, did you pay extra to check luggage, and how long was your stay in Arizona?. I am trying to figure out if we need to get new luggage for our boys or pack a big family bag and check it. I noticed your kiddos had their school backpacks on the plane I wondered how that worked for you. Thank you!
I love how you all mentioned Dave Ramsey. We also save money by having older cars. Vacations are definitely something we want to do with the kids as they get older. A fun tip we always use when we travel is to roll the clothing up so we have more room, and we don’t buy nick-nacks we buy experiences and try to shop the grocery store and make our own food. 💙🌵
You guys are so funny and adorable. Thanks for sharing! I am addicted to your website. I’ve come so far in our apartment since perusal your website. Even today, I usually spend a Saturday cleaning. Today I woke up, spent 20mins tidying, and was like “wow”. I wasn’t spending the whole day cleaning. Cutting down on inventory is huge! And I used the pack up method and the little by little methods you suggested. I cannot thank you enough!! It’s changing our lives!
I didn’t grow up going on many vacations either but I always dreamed of going on lots. In the last five years, my husband and I and the kids have been able to take more vacations. It’s been awesome to see that all the hard work we’ve done with our finances (we paid off our house in June!) have made all these things more possible. I’m so thankful for that!
So glad you got away from the crazy winter weather in MN. My brother and parents live in MN. My parents are retired and come down to AZ in the winters. We’ve been in AZ for a few years (relocated from the midwest) and absolutely love it here. Sorry it’s not very warm…this is unusually cold weather for AZ. It’s typically in the 80’s. Enjoy your stay!!!
Have a great vacation! I would love to hear tips on flying with kids. We haven’t flown with our kids since there were only 2 of them, 10 years ago. Now we have 5 kids including an infant and toddler. Do you fly with your car seats? How to you manage all the stuff? We always drive…even 1000+ miles, so we’re masters at packing the van but flying is a whole different ballgame. Thanks!!
I love air b&b! My whole trip to Norway in September-the flight and lodging for two weeks- is less than just my round trip flight five years ago. I am going off season, staying in Airbnb‘s, sharing the cost with three other family members, and cooking most of our own meals.It still will be a Tonna fun
We love to travel with our 3 kids. In 2019 we had saved enough for a 6 week Europe holiday (after a 24 hr flight from Australia we wanted to make it as long as we could) So many people said ‘you’re so lucky’ but it wasn’t luck. We don’t earn a lot but we go without things others would never. We have old, hand-me-down phones on tiny plans, cars from 2003(purchased second hand), limited kids after school activities….we don’t have subscriptions and the kids have to save and buy things they want. But none of us feel like we’re missing out, in fact we are talking about doing another trip because we want to have a European white Christmas (obviously a few years off yet) It was funny perusal you talk, knowing what has happened over the last 2 years.
Our family went on yearly vacations but was always same place relatives. Our little family was weekend trips. I regret that now. My husband both had our own businesses and we worked 7 days a week if we weren’t physically working we were doing book work or preparing for next week. I remember as a kid the fun times with my family vacations. You kiddos will love the memories.
I feel people spend to much money on kids toys and clothes. Instead of buying a bunch of toys I like to buy my kids experiences. We will go to an amusement park, zoo or museums. I ask grandparents for restaurant gift cards or park tickets for birthday or Christmas presents. For vacations we love to rent State Park cabins or stay in a tent. Fishing, lake swimming, hiking all no money spent activities. There is a lot of new clothes that are sold at thrift stores or yard sales.
We did a road trip across the country…from GA to the Grand Canyon and Utah and back…two years ago. We have 4 kids and considered purchasing a camper or rv. In the end, we found it really suited us to rent an RV. The kids could move around some and we had a bathroom on board. We ate on the road mostly because of the kitchen. We can’t camp a lot because my husband is a pastor, so this option worked so great for us! No maintenance or insurance or payment on a camper we wouldn’t use much!
I used to live in Scottsdale- if you are near there, go to MacDonald Ranch, free to wonder around the old town and pet and ride the horses (donation for guide is recommended). Theres so many great parks nearby too. The Pump it up jumping houses place is good too and has an hourly rate. Arizona Sunrays has dropin kids gymnastics on certains days of the week for a small fee. McCormick-Stillman Railroad park is fun for train loving kids. Theres tons- I don’t want to overload you, let me know if you need more help. have fun!
Haha, so my husband isn’t the only one that flys halfway across the US for a vehicle 😁 it was so good to hear you confirm driving older vehicles! ( And cashing them off right away)We currently drive a 2007 suburban ( although we could afford newer)and love it. Over 200k miles and still going strong. Although our experience was getting TOO old vehicles doesn’t work either…just a happy medium 🙂. Also,was glad for the tip about flying with kids,we have 3,and are trying to map out the least stressful way of traveling. We are researching RVs,and think that might be great with kids.
I think a lot of times people think it needs to be a week long vacation to somewhere far away. Most people have fun destinations 3 – 4 hours away. Work your way up to more extravagant vacations. Kids love simple “vacations” whether thats renting a boat on a lake for the day, staying in a cabin in the woods, or going to even camping in your backyard can be fun adventure for little ones. My grandparents would take me ever winter to a hotel with an indoor swimming pool and we would order pizza. I’m from the Midwest so swimming is a luxury in the middle winter. Be creative because simple vacations can make wonderful memories with your kids
Hi there!! Your personality seems very similar to mine. I’ve been perusal your articles for a few weeks as we’ve just moved to a new house and I am really set on minimalizing. I’m curious as to whether you have ever done the Enneagram personality test? I am a nine on the Enneagram so I wonder if you May be as well?
Wow!!! Your in Arizona!!!! I live in Arizona!! Joe’s real farm grill is a fun place to eat, it’s in Gilbert. The Arizona science Center is always fun, look for ticket discounts on groupon. Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa is fun there is even a little gocart place across the street. If you really really want to take the time the best zoo here is Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium. I’ve hugged a kangaroo there and you can hand feed and get licked by griaffes. At cerain times of the year there is huge fields of roses being grown by that zoo which is fun too. Legoland discovery center in tempe could also be fun, in that mall that its in a fun restaurant for the kids is the Rainforest cafe. I hope you have loads of fun!
Seeing that you are from Minnesota,have you been to Split Rock Lighthouse at Two Harbors? This is our destination for summer we bought a camper 3 years ago and this is how we are able to afford vacations with a family of five. We actually found our camper on Facebook on a RV used for sale site in our state .maybe if you have a Facebook page you could do some searching and see if they have a Minnesota /Wisconsin site.
When we had absolutely zero money (and also zero debt) we found ways to have a holiday with our then small kiddos. I would stash away every spare dollar I had left from grocery shopping. I’m great at not spending money so I always had spare each week. I would stash that away and we used that money to pay for powered camp sites, and then we would do camping trips in our caravan. Super not roughing it, but it had to be a holiday for me too, right?! For spending money, my husband would collect all his spare change. Since we have $1 and $2 coins here it added up and we would have about $400 spending money for the couple of weeks we would go away. We made great memories with and for our kids, and we got to get away on a camping holiday, usually with friends.
Over the years our family has taken vacations to the west coast. And when we do, we usually rent either a small home or a condo which has all of the amenities that we could possibly want and we love it and it’s so much cheaper than hotels, since we can fix our own meal and have a home base per se on our little trip. Love your posts. Thanks for sharing your life with us all.
I live nearby and weather is so nice now. I listen to Dave every time he’s on in the car. Larry Burkett with Christian Financial Concepts, has passed away, but he is who I listened to about becoming debt free. I enjoy your articles. I grew up camping and vacationing in Michigan, going to church camp. It was a great life. I remember Mom building a fire at Lake Michigan so we could grill hot dogs (with a little sand).
Oh my goodness! It was like listening to my husband and I! We don’t get into sports at all, we buy all uses clothes, and we travel in the off season! We also own old vehicles and refuse to let our kids get involved in tons of extra activities that drain us. You are not alone! We bought a camper and LOVE it. It is one of the best decisions we ever made. A little bit of home away from home. Have fun.