Budgeting for your gap year

How to work out a budget

OK, so now you know what you want to do, let’s work out what it’s going to cost. What you decide to do will obviously have an effect on what you need to budget for – ie. with a volunteer placement there will probably be a fee to pay up front or a set fundraising target, but then you won’t need to budget for accommodation or daily food costs during your trip. If you are freestyle travelling you will need to create a daily budget of requirements, and include extra for transport and activities throughout the trip. Realistically, you are looking at about £20 a day for accommodation, food and travelling, but this does vary hugely depending on the country (it could be as little as £5 a day in Burma). Getting paid work abroad will mean that you don’t have to save up nearly so much money, but you will still need to save for your ticket there and other costs up front (eg. visas, gear, etc) and enough money to live off until your first wage cheque comes in.

Gap year ‘must buys’ to budget for

There is a checklist of “must buys” that you should include in your budget:
Travel ticket ( RTW flights; budget flights; train ticket) travel insurance, visas, vaccines, accommodation, gear, transport, food, drink (bottled water & beer!), fun, trips.
Do a bit of research now to work out travel costs and put some realistic prices next to these items. As a guide, plan for about £120 for your insurance, £200 for gear. The amount of money you will need for your gap year is very dependent on where you intend to travel and for how long. Money goes a lot further in Asia than it does in Australia.

Visit the Lonely Planet’s world guide for the cost of living around the world. Choose your destination, then click the “money” link on the LHS and you can see the cost of everyday items like bottled water.

Raise more than you think you’ll need, just in case. You wouldn’t want to have to miss out on a brilliant opportunity which you could have done if you had just worked one more day! Most people spend more than they think they will. You should also factor in some emergency money – something to fall back on in times of need. If you don’t use it during your trip, all the better – have a classy blow out in your last few days! Or, you could be sensible and use it as a financial cushion for when you arrive home to reality.

RTW tickets v budget flights

If you are intending to visit more than one country, look into buying a round the world ticket as this can be very economical. If you planning to go to only one or two countries, check which budget airlines fly there. Don’t just look at direct routes – it could be a real money saver if you are prepared to put up with a little inconvenience. And don’t forget to look into trains and even boats. You’re not in that much of a hurry, are you?

I’ve worked out my gap year budget – now what?

Now you know how much you need, how on earth are you going to raise it? Whatever you’ve worked out, it’s probably thousands – and most likely thousands more than you’ve ever owned before. Don’t be daunted by the figure. Check out our saving money for your gap year, raising money and fundraising sections.