Traveling on a Student Budget: Part 1

our resort on our Honeymoon to Cancun

I've been planning on writing a couple posts about traveling and today seemed like the perfect day to write about it since it's currently -9 degrees out and I'd much rather be someplace warmer. We just got back from a weekend trip to Vermont which wasn't tropical by any means, but I'm still savoring the pure mountain beauty of Stowe - snow and all.

Recently I've had quite a few people ask me about how we can afford to travel as two students in graduate school. It's a fair question since both Spencer and I are full-time students in challenging programs and by no means have a lot of money. First I want to say, we're paying for our graduate school tuition 100% and obviously that means loans. Medical school and physical therapy school are extremely expensive and no amount of working through school could come close to paying our tuition. So we have student debt, which while not ideal is a necessary evil on our career path. We also believe that loans are for school and things like rent - the necessities. We don't use loan money to buy wants - things like clothes or travel expenses. I don't think that's necessarily something everyone should have to stand by, but its a decision we made early on and have stuck to. So how do we fund our little excursions? Well for one, both of us work. Spencer works much more than I do because his program has a lighter workload and makes it possible for him to hold a steady part-time job. I work only occasionally during the semester, but increase my hours around the holidays and over breaks. For example, in the two weeks I had off for the holidays I worked just short of 40 hours. Spencer and I work at the same place and our boss is extremely flexible and works with our crazy schedule - something we're incredibly thankful for. We also sell things on eBay which is much more lucrative than most people would guess. 

In terms of travel specifics, we don't travel far. If you're looking for tips on how to travel to Europe and the Fiji islands on a student budget, you've come to the wrong place. We just can't afford that type of travel at this point in our lives, which I'm perfectly content with. I'm of the opinion that travel is about finding the beauty in each and every place you find yourself in - whether that be our honeymoon to Cancun where we definitely splurged, or on our 2-day trip to the next state over two weekends ago. It's often easier to find the beauty in certain places, that's what makes them "travel destinations", but sometimes it's the hidden gems that can make for the most beautiful memories. If you approach each new place with the conviction that you're on a wonderful adventure and beauty awaits you around each bend, your sure to proven right.