You must be thinking, how can I afford to take three months off work to volunteer and travel the world. Therefore, I am dedicating this first blog post to how I saved money for my trip while living in one of the most expensive cities in the USA.
Since January 2017, I saved approximately $3,000 for my trip... and counting!
The way I saved money for my trip... Sacrifice. I narrowed my sacrifices into the following 4 categories.
1. Food. Based on my experience living in San Francisco, lunch costs somewhere between $9-12 and dinner somewhere between $13-15. To clarify, this is the cost to pick up dinner at a nearby restaurant. If we are talking about dinner out to eat, it is closer to $20-30. If we are talking about dinner from one of the several delivery services, it is closer to $15-20.
So what did my sacrifice look like? No more delivery. Poor me, I have to pick up my own meals. That, plus cooking, or attempting to cook. Cooking and grocery shopping is not my specialty, but I am doing my best to save money by preparing my own meals. If you didn't know, I am a CPA and busy season just ended. During busy season, we typically get a meal paid for if we work more than the "normal course of business". That basically happens 6-7 days a week for a couple of months. So thanks, Uncle D. That helped a lot.
2. Transportation. Living in San Francisco means I live in the birth place of being able to get anything your heart desires at the tap of a button, including a ride around the City. Since my sabbatical was approved in December, I have vowed to take as few Lyfts or Ubers as possible. Side note - I have deleted Uber from my phone, but don't need to get into that now. I walk, take the SF Muni (public transportation), or drive as much as possible. The 20 minute ride from my boyfriends place to mine is now a 50 minute bus ride. A Lyft Line costs approximately $12-20 pending on the time/weather as compared to $2.25 bus ride. Since January, my personal Lyft bill has been approximately $30!
3. Entertainment. When I think about spending more than $10-15 on entertainment (concerts, happy hours, nights out, weekend trips, etc.), I take a step back and consider whether it is truly worth it. While $10-15 in San Francisco is the cost of a meal or drink (see #1), this is likely equivalent to the cost of my lodging, breakfast, and potentially another meal in Central/South America. So I ask myself "Is this really worth the cost of a one + day(s) traveling?". If it is not worth it, which drinking hasn't been, I pass. I also drink a lot when it is free.
4. Re-occuring expenses. While I could not forgo my cable subscription, I critically assessed my re-occurring expense and/or savings and whether or not these costs were necessary. Things I was able to forgo: gym membership, jewelry subscription, additional Roth IRA savings, and excess 401(K) matching. I saved $375 by cancelling my gym membership in 2017. I now use workout videos I already have, free apps (Nike Training Club), and am in the process of picking up running. I saved $100 from cancelling my Rocksbox subscription, which is the equivalent to almost 10 days traveling! I reduced my 401(K) contributions to my Company's match % and stopped contributing extra money to my other Roth IRA. The travel guide book I read highly encouraged selling your car, which considering I drive a BMW and live in SF would make a lot of sense. There are two re-occurring expenses I refused give up even after moving to San Francisco. Yes, this is dating back to 2015 since I already did a round of personal budget cuts when I moved from Minneapolis to San Francisco. My shopping budget has not existed for a long time. In Minneapolis, I allowed $150-250 of shopping PER MONTH and now in San Francisco I allow about that much PER YEAR. Okay, back to the costs I can't get rid of. First, my car. I want to drive her for a long time. She came relatively fully loaded (the type of fully loaded a girl like me cares about vs. a guy who likes cars considers fully loaded) and was way under market. Second, my sponsor child, Dayana. I have donated $30/month to Dayana through the Not-For-Profit Common Hope for several years. I know $30/month may not seem like a lot, but living in San Francisco can be fiscally frustrating. I have not wanted to give that up considering how much of an impact my contributions are to Dayana's life. P.S. If you didn't know, I am taking this sabbatical to volunteer in Guatemala with Common Hope and will get the chance to meet Dayana!
So there you have it! That's how I saved approximately $3,000 and counting (41 days to be exact)! This isn't taking into account how much I will be able to save by securing a sub-leaser for my apartment.
Before I go, I want to say THANK YOU. Thank you to all my friends and family who have bought me a drink or burger or really anything in the past few months. To you it may not have meant a lot, but to me, it did. So, thank you : - )
