As I write this I’m in about £9K, give or take of debt. Debt being, credit cards, bank overdraft, shopping accounts etc. So for me the question is, how do I get myself out of all this debt?
tips
Blogging when you’re not travelling
When I first started yasmintravels I neglected my blog a little (okay maybe more than a little).. but as someone who was just starting out I often wondered how do I write posts on a travel blog when I’m not travelling?
It’s a question that took me more than a little while to eventually figure out the answer to. I found that when I wasn’t travelling somewhere it was difficult for me to work out what to post. I just assumed I could only really post about travelling and as it happened.
I’m not saying that now I have everything completely figured out or that I have my blog where I would want it to be but I thought I’d give you all a couple of hopefully useful ideas if you’re ever stuck in a rut like I’ve been many a time.
Lists:
Everyone loves a list!
Whether it’s your top 5 favourite destinations, top 10 favourite hotels, top 3 restaurants. Anything just get writing lists, everyone loves to read about them and it let’s people get to know about you and what you like a little more.
Advice and tips:
Even if you feel like you have no advice or tips to give anyone or if you feel like it’s all been said before there’s someone out there that hasn’t read it and is searching for your post to help them.
Photo posts:
If you are anything like myself, you will have about a gazillion photos of absolutely wverytjing you’ve ever done and everywhere you’ve ever been. Turn them into posts! I don’t know about you but sometimes I can’t be too bothered reading a post and will basically just go in search of beautifully picturesque images instead.
Reviews:
A classic post. Write a review. It could be a review of somewhere you’ve ate, somewhere you’ve stayed, a company you have used. Reviews are always going to be useful to people so write them.
Stories:
The thing that I feel attracts me to posts and blogs mostly is the feeling that there is a person behind writing all this and the getting to know someone. No-one wants to read another generic post, add some of yourself to it. Tell us a story about something that’s happened to you, let us get to know the person behind these posts.
Future plans:
So you’ve found yourself stuck at home, you’ve been your trips that you’ve had planned and now you’re sat at home planning some new adventure. Write a post! Tell us all what you have planned, maybe we can add some advice and give you ideas of where to go and what to see next.
Guest posts:
You’re running out of ideas but you’ve made a friend that runs another blog. Why not ask them to do a guest post? Your readers will get to read posts from someone else’s point of view and you’ll invite some traffic towards the guests blog.
Bucketlist:
Another absolute classic. Everyone and their gran these days have a bucketlist (and if you don’t you should). Some people think they’re overrated, not me. I love reading people’s bucketlists, I love knowing what other people aspire to do in the future.
Explore your own:
Something I’m trying to do a lot more at the moment is explore my own city of Glasgow more, and sometimes I’ll try to venture out to see more of Scotland. If you can go out and explore your own town or city, somewhere you’ve probably grown up and thought you knew everything about. You’ll probably learn that there’s things and places you didn’t know were right around the corner from you.
Favourite blogs/posts:
The great thing about blogging is there may be so many people writing about the same thing, but we all have a different view and perspective on things. Dedicate a post to your favourite blog or post out there.
So, these are a few tips to help you when you feel like you’ve no motivation to write.
You don’t always have to be travelling to write a travel blog.
Do you have any tips or advice on writing posts when you’re not travelling? Maybe I’ve missed something out? Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know!
Saving for travel
Whether you’re wanting the spontaneity of being able to jump on the next plane to anywhere or whether you’re organising a RTW trip, you need money to get you started on your journey.
Saving.
I find myself asking, what is saving? How do you do it?
Because for me, I couldn’t save money to save myself. No word of a lie. I struggle so much to save any money and I don’t understand how most of the time. My money just seems to disappear right before my eyes, yet I have nothing to show for it.
How does she save to travel? I hear you ask.
Well, firstly I am part of a menauge (when a group of people give someone so much money a week/month etc and once a year; or however long it is going on for you receive that money back in a bulk). I have taken two turns in our menauge, so I get two payments a year, this is £20 per week per turn. So I give £40 a week or £160 a month. With £1000 per turn I manage to save £2000 per year. Although if I’m being honest I don’t see this as me saving money regularly, I see it more like paying a bill each month. I think it’s maybe because I can’t access the money at all until my given slot to receive it back. Which for me is a great thing!
Not everyone has the possibility of being able to do this so why not give the money to someone you trust? That’s what my friend does. She gives so much per week when she gets paid to our other friend who keeps it for her, this way is good as it means you can access your money but you just have to ask for it first.
I have tried many other ways of saving money, things like a terramundi pot. However beautiful they may be, getting my first one when I was a young teen taught me how to get the money out without smashing the pot (the life of a Glaswegian teenager who just wants to get drunk with her friends at the weekend). So these unfortunately do not work for me.
The thing that really annoys me? I wish I could see where all my money goes!! I try and keep note and calculate every penny I spend but I just end up forgetting.
I’ve told myself this year will be different, I opened an Internet savings account last year which currently has about £1.27 in it.. I’m going to use it and not dig into it at anytime. I need to control my money more.
If I want to travel and see more of the world I need to get my act together and learn to do all these things I seemingly can’t.
Do you have any good saving advice to share with us? Comment and let us all know.
Yasmin x
Advice please guys..
Basically everything I’ve read about RTW trips say not to book everything through travel agents and to book it yourself, as you go. I’m one of those people that because I’m travelling myself I would want to have everything booked, whether it be flights, hostels or anything else. But then I know that wouldn’t leave my trip very open to do what I want..
Basically guys I’m asking for your advice? I’m wanting to travel Asia mostly but probably some other places too if I can afford it. What am I best to do? Book as I go or book in bulk before I go? Also any advice of the best places to go or stay or whatever would be greatly appreciated!
Yasmin Travels 