Crowd Funding Your Trip

Traveling can be very expensive. In some cases, depending on where you decide to go, you can easily spend over a thousand dollars on transportation, entry fees, and visas before you even set foot in another country.

For many aspiring travelers, financial limitations are a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to overcome in order to realize their travel ambitions. But thanks to people’s generosity and the increasing popularity of crowd funding, those dreams are able to become reality.

Crowd funding has been around for centuries, but its essentially an effort to raise a funds for a project or endeavor by collecting money from a large group of people, typically from the Internet, according to Forbes Magazine.

Using Foursquare Abroad

To say Foursquare is a popular app is an understatement. Within three years, it has grown to a community of 25 million registered users worldwide. Due to its popularity and breadth, the location-based app is filled with countless check-ins, specials and tips. While checking in may be second nature to you here in the United States, you may not expect to get much mileage — if any at all — with the app when you’re studying abroad.

But you’d be wrong! Aside from the obvious badges and mayorships, Foursquare can actually be useful during your time abroad, for obvious reasons and some not so much. Here are five ways in which Foursquare can enhance your study abroad:

5 Ways to Travel Cheaply

Whether you are travelling aboard or domestically, travelling is expensive. It is a luxury for those who are able to afford it, but there are 5 ways that you can cut down the cost before you hit your next destination. 

Timing: Consider the location that you want to visit and find out when their off season is. An off season is typically a time period where the destination doesn’t see a lot of travel and money coming in. A lot of different destinations try to keep travel going through these times to bring more money into their economy, so costs are dropped considerably. Tropical destinations tend to be slower during their ‘cooler’ months and cooler places like Colorado, typically offer discounts during the summers. 

Tips for Daily Living in a Foreign Country

After you’ve gotten your tickets, packed your bags and leased your foreign apartment; you may be surprised to find the little things in life may be more complicated than advanced grammar. 

Grocery Shopping

You will soon discover that the student budget doesn’t cover dining out for every meal and a trip to the grocery will be in order. Many countries have street markets, like Rome’s Campo dei Fiori. The market is a perfect place to practice your communication skills as you haggle price and discover new foods. Bring cash and a sturdy bag to carry your goods. 

Walking down the aisle of a foreign grocery store is an interactive vocabulary lesson, but it could present cultural challenges as well. Some grocery stores require communication over deli counters, and you may also may be required to weigh and price your produce selection. 

How to Save Money When You Travel

We all know the feeling of saving up for months before taking off on your travels or even just scrimping and saving before your holidays. We have asked and blogged about many tips and techniques on how to save money so you can enjoy a future trip without worrying about your financial state. However, for some the money saving continues on the trip as travellers who want to see the world will do so despite any financial restraints.

So, that got us thinking, what is the best way of saving money when travelling? How can you see all you want to see on your trip without sacrifices because of limitations on your wallet? Here are a few suggestions as to what you could do to take out your wallet less and help you save money while travelling.

Going Abroad - Helpful Tips

Studying abroad and travelling abroad comes with a lot of rules and suggestions. You may get all your information that you need from a school counselor, a friend with experience or a website but there are a few things to consider that most people forget to mention, here are a few:

Communication: Depending on where you decide to study, your communication methods may be limited. Overseas calls can add up on your cell phone if you don’t have an international plan. Before you head abroad talk with your phone carrier and see what options they offer and be aware of internet usage on your phone as well, high charges may apply. Internet on computer can be hard to come by depending where you are. There are many internet cafes that you can use; a lot of these cafes have a timed session. So carry coins and plan ahead.