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Travel Budget, Money Matters, Financial Talk Mom, can I borrow ten grand?! Gimme yo mastercard! How the heck can I pay for my trip?! Ideas for making money. How much dough do I need?

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Old 01-02-2005, 09:19 PM   #1
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I am trying to figure out how I am going to afford a very long term (over one year) trip to Europe and Asia. I have decided that my "base camp" will be Prague for cheap resupply and equipment. I have one BIG problem tho. Student loans. I have $15.7k USD that wont go away when I travel. I am open to suggestions. I plan on camping a lot and hoping to score some free board now and then by meeting people while abroad. I will also hopefully get some side jobs, odd jobs, and under the table stuff while I am there. I am also working on an informational website that is dedicated to backpacking. I also want to get permission to post a link so I dont get tagged for spam. Please help me achieve my dreams!

Thanks,

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I am traveling around the world until I find something that makes me want to stop. I am an aspiring photographer and hope to find whatever it is I am looking for...
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Old 01-03-2005, 06:50 AM   #2
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One idea I might suggest is that you choose another city than Prague to be your base camp. Prague is getting more and more expensive, and since you are on a strict budget you might want to look into another Eastern Europe city as a home base that would be cheaper. Some possibilities are Bucharest, Sarajevo, Belgrade, or even Budapest.
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Old 01-03-2005, 12:26 PM   #3
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haha, if you want to save money, try London! haha, no.....I think that Prague is pretty cheap. But, if you want to look farther east I think that Croatia would be an amazing place!! It's really beautiful there!! Also, Turkey! Probobly outside of Istanbul, in one of the other major cities, Izmir, Antalya, Ankara. But Prague seems like a pretty safe bet to me!
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Old 01-03-2005, 02:30 PM   #4
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Thanks for the input guys! I noticed how no one really touched on my student loans issue. HAHA! I guess that means I am screwed there (and therefore have to postpone my dreams...peace corps is not an option btw..) Granted it has been less than 24 hours....Is it cool to post my link here or will i get banned for it? It is my personal site that contains a lot of info pertaining to backpacking....I do have a donations section but I dont expect much to come from it.

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"To Alcohol! The cause of--and solution to--all life's problems." -- Homer J. Simpson
"I didn't get to where I am today worrying about how I am going to feel in the morning." -- Ron White (Blue Collar Comedy Tour)
"I was born to lose and destined to fail." -- Mike Ness, Social Distortion
"Eat healthy, exercise daily, die anyway" -- My motto
"Everyone I know, goes away, in the end...I will let you down, I will make you hurt..." -- Johnny Cash (NIN Cover of "Hurt")

I am traveling around the world until I find something that makes me want to stop. I am an aspiring photographer and hope to find whatever it is I am looking for...
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Old 01-03-2005, 03:15 PM   #5
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Wow I skimmed your first post totally wrong....and thought you had $15K to spend in Europe and I thought damn...can you share the wealth?

Yeah I don't know too much about paying off loans but am investigating it as I will be over $60K in debt when I"m done....

I know if they are federal loans you have either a 6 or 9 month grace period after graduating, leaving school, whatever....so if you just finished you could quick go before you have to start making payments, or go then come back and enroll again in the least amount of hours possible to be a student again...My potential plan is to take a semester off and travel, then come back before 9 months is up and be a student again, thus avoiding payments for the time being.

Dude who am I kidding, I am going to be in school until I'm 40 if I follow my own advice. But seriously, I would think if you could consolidate and get the lowest payments possible, if you can get some kind of job while abroad you could probably swing it?

I'm open to the idea of the Peace Corps but there must be some other way to put off payments for a bit besides that and death.
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Old 01-03-2005, 03:31 PM   #6
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That would work...but I need to pay them off. I want to travel for YEARS abroad. I was inspired by a guy's blog that I read who has been at it for 8 yes EIGHT years. I am currently looking for a second job while I am replacing my primary one and taking a full load (this is my last semester) in college. I gotta knock this thing out ASAP! My long term view now is to travel for a few years, settle back down somewhere, and either start my own backpacker-only travel agency, a hostel in europe, or go back to my Finance career. Keep this thread running I need lots of info!

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"To Alcohol! The cause of--and solution to--all life's problems." -- Homer J. Simpson
"I didn't get to where I am today worrying about how I am going to feel in the morning." -- Ron White (Blue Collar Comedy Tour)
"I was born to lose and destined to fail." -- Mike Ness, Social Distortion
"Eat healthy, exercise daily, die anyway" -- My motto
"Everyone I know, goes away, in the end...I will let you down, I will make you hurt..." -- Johnny Cash (NIN Cover of "Hurt")

I am traveling around the world until I find something that makes me want to stop. I am an aspiring photographer and hope to find whatever it is I am looking for...
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Old 01-04-2005, 07:58 PM   #7
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Declair Bankrupcy
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Old 01-04-2005, 09:55 PM   #8
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Question

Four things are not dismissed in bankruptcy:

Child Support
Taxes
Alimony
Student Loans

Sorry! heh. I wish. But I also want to keep my credit in tact so I can have a life after travel. I am looking for a second job (night and/or weekends) in the Atlanta area. Any fellow ATL residents out there that can hook me up? I am looking in all the normal places...It looks as if I will have to run my ass into the groud, be very grouchy, jumpy, and unhappy and then finally quit both jobs and go. I just hope it wont affect my body too much to where I cannot enjoy myself. I have done the 7 day work weeks before (of course I had a full load in college as well) and I damn near killed myself (metaphorically speaking). I will give it another run. I am very interested (and have a good rep) in eBay. Whats good to sell? I could do that easily and get some extra $$. I am open to more suggestions keep them coming guys thanks!

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"To Alcohol! The cause of--and solution to--all life's problems." -- Homer J. Simpson
"I didn't get to where I am today worrying about how I am going to feel in the morning." -- Ron White (Blue Collar Comedy Tour)
"I was born to lose and destined to fail." -- Mike Ness, Social Distortion
"Eat healthy, exercise daily, die anyway" -- My motto
"Everyone I know, goes away, in the end...I will let you down, I will make you hurt..." -- Johnny Cash (NIN Cover of "Hurt")

I am traveling around the world until I find something that makes me want to stop. I am an aspiring photographer and hope to find whatever it is I am looking for...
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Old 01-04-2005, 10:05 PM   #9
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hey, we have something else in common besides loans. I'm in the Atlanta area (home) and Athens area (school). I don't know about looking for jobs in Atlanta; I need one in Athens! My sister goes to Tech though and just scored a really good job; I could ask her. What kind of job are you looking for?

I buy stuff on ebay; don't know about selling stuff though.
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Old 01-04-2005, 11:51 PM   #10
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Quote:
or even Budapest.
ahem!
I spent around £4000 ($8000) in four months in my basecamp of budapest in 4 months
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Old 01-05-2005, 08:08 AM   #11
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Try bartending! I'm only 18 and I've been bartending on and off for about 7 months. When I was working a good 30 hour week I was making about $400 a week (and apparently that's terrible in the bartending world!) I paid $350 for bartending class which only lasted 5 days, but if you know the owner of the bar or anyone that works there, you don't need to go to class, you can just be taught everything there. It's an incredibly fun job, and its actually the reason why I'll be traveling to europe next summer, because of a drunken conversation I had w/ a very intelligent guy who INSISTED I go to Europe. Check it out, see if anyone's hiring.
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Old 01-05-2005, 09:34 AM   #12
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you can forbear (forebare?) your loans in which case you will only pay the interest for that year, or if you have not used it yet, you can file economic hardship which defers your loans for a year os so. I'm on deferment now, cause i have some credit debt, books from school on the old credit card, and will most likly forbear when the time comes. Its sux in the long, run, but schools loans are second only to mortgage interest rates, so its not a killer. you can also consalidate the loans, which will lower payments as well. hope that helps a little, and sorry for all the typos...in a hurry typing. good luck and have a blast.
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Old 01-05-2005, 01:55 PM   #13
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As for your loan of $15.7k

Here is the mathIm assuming your loan is about 3.5% in interest)

if you defer your loan a year at a 3.5% interest you will be paying approximately about $45.80 a month in interest.

that will be about $550 a year in just interest. Take to account that student loans interest you accured that year is deductable.

If you were to consoladate your loan with another institution, yest your payment may be lower, but the interest you are paying will not be deductable, because now it wont be a student loan it will be a personal loan.

that is all I can say for that part.

make your wish come true just manage your finances good and everything should be good. good luck.
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Old 01-05-2005, 02:21 PM   #14
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Thanks for all the info guys! I will have to look into the deferment options. As for the consolidation question...It won't drop the decutability of interest. It still stays a student loan. Most of mine are from the same lender (Direct) and they consildate automatically. The consilidation process locks in the interest rate as well. I planned on doing it just to lock it at 3.25% cos rates will rise for sure next July. I am a Finance major so I know this stuff backwards and forwards. As for bartending...I have been looking for MONTHS with no luck. Atlanta bars have a line of people waiting for jobs. I am not too picky at this point as long as its not sewer work or trash man or janitor. I have been selling on Ebay for years and its great. One problem: I am out of stuff. If I pack everything I own (minus furniture) I will fill about 10 boxes tops.

For all you other pack rats out there I have found this to sell best on ebay:

Computers/Parts - there is no part that is "too old" you may not get much but would you rather have crap or $$?
Branded Bar ware (IE Jack Daniel's shot glass, Heineken Steins, etc) - Anything with a big name and a low price will get bid up to a decent amount

Also I add a $2 markup on shipping to help cover packing supplies and paypal fees. I also got my own UPS account where they bill me weekly by mail. You can also opt to have it deducted from paypal directly for UPS or USPS.

I figured I would contribute instead of being a leech the entire time

foofiter

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"To Alcohol! The cause of--and solution to--all life's problems." -- Homer J. Simpson
"I didn't get to where I am today worrying about how I am going to feel in the morning." -- Ron White (Blue Collar Comedy Tour)
"I was born to lose and destined to fail." -- Mike Ness, Social Distortion
"Eat healthy, exercise daily, die anyway" -- My motto
"Everyone I know, goes away, in the end...I will let you down, I will make you hurt..." -- Johnny Cash (NIN Cover of "Hurt")

I am traveling around the world until I find something that makes me want to stop. I am an aspiring photographer and hope to find whatever it is I am looking for...
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Old 01-05-2005, 03:53 PM   #15
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old toys are great to sell too if they are in decent shape....check out the childhood attic
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Old 01-06-2005, 10:23 AM   #16
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That sounds good. I had a friend living in amsterdam for a year, and he was working for money under the table for a club/comedy club called boom chicago. He made enough to survive out there and have a good time.

good luck on your choices.
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Old 01-06-2005, 12:28 PM   #17
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Thats what I wanna hear! I will definately need jobs like that while abroad. Any one know of any good sites to find weekend jobs in Atlanta/USA? I am currently looking for one! So far so good on my hardcore budget. I am spending my free time researching and working on my website so that I dont go spend money. I am also curious what types of weekend / second jobs people have gotten before. What pays the best? What has the best hours? Thanks in advance!

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"To Alcohol! The cause of--and solution to--all life's problems." -- Homer J. Simpson
"I didn't get to where I am today worrying about how I am going to feel in the morning." -- Ron White (Blue Collar Comedy Tour)
"I was born to lose and destined to fail." -- Mike Ness, Social Distortion
"Eat healthy, exercise daily, die anyway" -- My motto
"Everyone I know, goes away, in the end...I will let you down, I will make you hurt..." -- Johnny Cash (NIN Cover of "Hurt")

I am traveling around the world until I find something that makes me want to stop. I am an aspiring photographer and hope to find whatever it is I am looking for...
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