Crossing the Finish Line!

Posted on 07. Sep, 2010 by in Trip Planning

So this is it- my spending diet is basically over. The trip is a mere two weeks away. My ultimate goal back in January was to have raised $20,000 by this point. After months of frugality and nail biting, the grand total is:

$22,232.27

(This total is assuming I sell my car for exactly what I owed on it- so the actual grand total will *hopefully* be a little higher).

whats in your piggy bank

Creative Commons License photo credit: Identity Photogr@phy


Now keep in mind that I started in September 2008 with literally zero dollars and a credit card balance. I can attribute my success in savings to three main things:

  1. Being fortunate enough to be able to live at home rent-free.
  2. Taking about 60% of each paycheck and putting it directly into my savings account.
  3. Cutting back severely on all those small things like buying clothes and books, eating out, drinking etc.

Of course I did have some splurges, mainly in the area of travel. Over the past two years I’ve taken trips to Iceland, London, San Francisco and New York. If I hadn’t done that I’m sure I could have reached my goal much earlier, but I would probably have gone insane, so it’s a fair trade-off to me.

Worth it.

Overall, hard-core saving wasn’t all that painful a process. I barely missed the money that went into my savings, and I got used to not buying tons of things I didn’t need. I didn’t beat myself up if I overspent one month. I just resolved to do better in the future and pressed on.  Watching the money pile up in my savings account was a powerful motivator.

Some strategies worked for me better than others. I fell down on the selling my stuff plan, and ended up giving a lot of things away. However I made up some of that money via the advertisements on this blog.  I think you need to be honest with yourself and see what works best for you.

Here’s a review of my money saving journey since January, or how I saved 12K in 8 months:

I’m not telling you this to brag, but to point out that this sort of savings IS possible. I know I had an advantage living at home, but I really think that if I could pull this off, most people can. My job was entry-level but not all that high paying. I’m not the best person with money or the most disciplined saver, but a little dedication and prioritization really went a long way.

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53 Responses to “Crossing the Finish Line!”

  1. Mike

    07. Sep, 2010

    Nice typo – “Im telling you this to brag.” Ha!

    Reply to this comment

  2. claire

    07. Sep, 2010

    Good for you! So awesome-you are right…seeing all that money piling up is such a powerful motivator. Once you start saving money like that and reaping the amazing rewards of having it when you need it/want it, it is really hard to go back to your previous money mindset (or lack thereof!) Enjoy your hard work!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      07. Sep, 2010

      Yeah I’ve been saving so long it’s hard to see the money flow back out- even if it is on things I need like airline tickets!

      Reply to this comment

  3. Michael

    07. Sep, 2010

    Congratulations! Paarttayy in China~~

    Reply to this comment

  4. Verity

    07. Sep, 2010

    Well done! I’m so jealous that you’re heading off on your travels. You’re going to have such a brilliant time. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it (and living vicariously) through your blog posts :)

    Reply to this comment

  5. Garrett

    07. Sep, 2010

    Cash money! Now, go spend it…..carefully. :)

    Reply to this comment

  6. Michael Tyson

    07. Sep, 2010

    That was pretty much our philosophy to saving too. We still splurged here and there – went on a trip to Thailand and a couple of weekends away in the country, ate breakfast out on the Saturdays – but we didn’t buy much stuff. We also saved money on rent by house-sitting for about 11 months. We were incredibly lucky and most of our savings were thanks to this. I would strongly recommend anyone trying to save to look into living rent-free wherever possible.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      07. Sep, 2010

      Living rent-free made all the difference in the world. You offer a really good alternative to moving back in with the folks.

      Reply to this comment

  7. ayngelina

    07. Sep, 2010

    Congratulations. I agree that if people really want to travel they can find ways to do it. I wasn’t able to move back home so it took a bit longer but was still able to make it happen.

    Reply to this comment

  8. Abhi

    07. Sep, 2010

    Congratulations Steph! I think I also need to go on a spending diet soon.. will refer to this post when planning it!

    Reply to this comment

  9. Emily

    07. Sep, 2010

    Holy crap! I’m amazed that you were able to save so much in so little time. That’s awesome. You said your job wasn’t that well-paying, but it looks like you made a ton of money each month–was that from your blog? Just curious.

    My rent and bills are really high, so I’ve struggled to save for travel lately. It’s almost enough to make me want to move home and get rid of rent, too! Very cool that your parents were able to do that for you.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      07. Sep, 2010

      A small amount of it (maybe a couple thousand dollars) came from the blog but most of it was just putting away $1,200 minimum from my paycheck each month. That’s about the amount I would probably have to spend on rent in this area.

      Reply to this comment

  10. AdventureRob

    07. Sep, 2010

    Good work on all the savings, I was previously a big saver in my longer term job by the ex spent it all, so I relied on redundancy money to travel, you’ve got about 50% more than I had and I went for 15 months, so you should be able to travel for 2 years easily on that budget.

    Reply to this comment

  11. Amanda

    07. Sep, 2010

    Wow, congrats! I’m sure it feels good to have met your goal and more.

    Knowing that saving like this is possible is pretty inspiring. I think I need to put myself on a spending diet now…

    Reply to this comment

  12. Eric

    07. Sep, 2010

    That’s awesome. I am starting something similar so its nice to see that it can be done.

    Reply to this comment

  13. Dave

    07. Sep, 2010

    Congrats on surpassing your goal! Now comes the fun part!

    Reply to this comment

  14. Corbin

    07. Sep, 2010

    Congrats on saving that much! I can’t imagine what kind of trouble I could get into with 20 gino’s sitting in my bank while I travel. When I did my gap year I left with 4 thousand dollars. Needless to say I did have working visas, but I was always envious of those who didn’t have to stop every few months to save a bit to keep going.

    I think I need to take a page out of your book and get my save on. Hard!

    Hope you have a blast, and don’t go spending it all in one place now ;) !

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      08. Sep, 2010

      4K- that is impressive you were able to make it work. Even with this much money I’m still worried about making it last.

      Reply to this comment

  15. Adventurous Kate

    07. Sep, 2010

    HELL YA! Congrats, Steph! This is an amazing achievement…and it’s great that you were able to indulge your travel urges!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      08. Sep, 2010

      Thanks Kate! I think I might actually have lost my mind otherwise.

      Reply to this comment

  16. Luke

    08. Sep, 2010

    Congratulations!!
    Wow, this is incredibly impressive and hella inspirational. Wonder if I can do the same thing..? Good work!

    Reply to this comment

  17. Russ

    08. Sep, 2010

    This is really great! Congrats!

    Reply to this comment

  18. Anthony

    08. Sep, 2010

    Kuuuuuuuuudos Steph! Well done to you, you stuck to your initial plan and now you’ll have an awesome time with all the hard earned savings. This is VERY inspirational stuff as 20K Pounds is my goal and I have just reached the quarter mark.
    Congrats :)

    Reply to this comment

  19. Adam

    08. Sep, 2010

    Awesome, congratulations. It does make it a lot easier when you’re saving for something that is so important to you, and you will take these “lessons” you learned into the future with you. We have curbed so much unnecessary spending since saving and going on our RTW trip. Congratulations and good luck in your last few weeks!!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      12. Sep, 2010

      It’s true, I don’t even know if I could do a shopping spree now. I am changed forever!

      Reply to this comment

  20. Emily

    08. Sep, 2010

    Wow! You’re really going for it! I admire how much you’ve been able to save–just goes to show that when you really want something, you can make it happen.

    Emily

    Reply to this comment

  21. Danica

    08. Sep, 2010

    Wow 20k! That’s amazing!

    I need to start saving money, but at the moment I’m in school and have no job. Not exactly ideal, but at least I’m graduating in December. :)

    I’m sure you will have an amazing trip! Good luck!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      12. Sep, 2010

      Once you graduate and get a job you can start to get the money saving started. Good luck!

      Reply to this comment

  22. Alouise

    08. Sep, 2010

    Wow that’s quite impressive. I love that you still allowed yourself some indulges during your savings but were still disciplined enough to reach your goal. Good advice for anyone saving for travel or any big purchase, like me trying to pay off student loans.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      12. Sep, 2010

      Paying off student loans is very similar as far as willpower and discipline go.

      Reply to this comment

  23. ehalvey

    08. Sep, 2010

    So exciting!! And that could totally pay off my loans from Emory and then some. Hmmmm, what exactly was your job that you just left?? Haha.

    Reply to this comment

  24. SHABL - Rob

    09. Sep, 2010

    Well done, look to see if you can find a website that makes cash. I spent $X,XX3X on one in 2007 which has paid out over 300% and now own an internet printing press… You have the coin look to invest so you don’t just chip away.

    GOod luck on the Eurail comp.

    Reply to this comment

  25. Audrey

    09. Sep, 2010

    Just to echo everyone else here (and the rest of the world) – congratulations!!

    And all those months of saving and thrifting won’t mean a thing when you’re in Asia shortly. Enjoy!

    Reply to this comment

  26. the destination india

    09. Sep, 2010

    this is really amazing .good luck, keep it up..

    Reply to this comment

  27. Diana

    10. Sep, 2010

    Wow wow wow! Great job!!!!

    Reply to this comment

  28. Expat in Europe

    04. Nov, 2011

    wow i admire you..i can’t save like that coz when i see cheap trips, i go book it asap..lol.. cant wait to see spain soon! nice tips here..thanks!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      06. Nov, 2011

      Thank you! It always feels so great when you finally achieve a goal.

      Reply to this comment

  29. Expat in Europe

    04. Nov, 2011

    i need to find a work soon–to save money…great job!

    Reply to this comment

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