As I have been recently posting, after living in Chicago for a year, I decided to go to South America. While living in Chicago, I was studying, so I only had enough time to work part-time. In that time, though, I still managed to go to a couple conventions, I went to Canada, and I managed to save up enough for my South-America trip.

My friends were often incredulous as to how I managed to “have so much money,” but I really didn’t. I was only working around 25-30 hours per week, and I was only getting paid around $10 an hour, which was less than a lot of my other friends were making. In the end, I made far less than they did, but I always seemed to have money for traveling and they didn’t.

As far as how much I spent on my trip to South America, before going there, I had spent about $1500 on vaccines and flights. There were a few vaccines I had to catch up on, and they were not cheap, as it ended up costing me about $1000. The other $500 or so was my flight into Lima and my flight back out of Bogota.

While in South America, I spent about another $1000 over the three months that I was there. That includes the $200 plane flight over the Nazca lines (that I could have gone without…), my almost $200 bus trip from Foz do Iguaçu to Rio de Janeiro, and my $150 or so flight from Rio de Janeiro to Bogota. Other than the big travel expenditures, I really only spent about $500 while I was in South America on local travel, food, lodging, and any other auxiliary expenditures.

Altogether, I spent about $2500 for 3 months in South America, and that includes $1000 worth of vaccines that will hold me over for a decade or so at least. Not counting the vaccines, I spent about $1500 to fly to South America, wander around for 3 months, and then fly back.

I managed to save up for that over several months of working and putting whatever was left over from my paycheck after paying rent and other bills into my account.

Even though my friends made more money than me, they always seemed to be broke. I noticed that they spent their money as soon as they got it, though. They were always buying the newest gaming systems, the latest video games, new musical equipment, eating out a lot, or whatever else. Each instance of going out for dinner or buying a new game isn’t that much alone, but it adds up over time.

I, on the other hand, tended to always cook my own food. I didn’t buy many games and if I did, they were usually older games that were on sale. I tried to only buy the necessities and save the money that I had for traveling, which is how I managed to travel so much on so little.

What helped me and still helps me save up is really analyzing my expenses. Using cash, while annoying, also helps limit my spending. I pull out a couple hundred bucks every 2 weeks and use that for everything including food and any “fun” expenses. If I run out, I typically become a shut-in for a few days until time enough has passed that I am “allowed” to withdraw more money.

It all depends on what you prioritize, and I prioritize traveling over other material goods. That’s why I primarily save my discretionary income for the next big trip. With a bit of discipline and will, you can too!