Hello, I am writing this blog post to talk about some tips that I would have told my past self and also to give insight into my experience of buying a home as a single woman at aged 30 in the UK. 1) Small steps will get you there The deposit saving was the longest phase of the buying process. I had hoped that I would meet someone during my twenties as it feels as though from a young age we are taught that you meet a guy, buy a house then have a family. However at the end of the day we are responsible for our lives and we can create the lives that we want if we put in enough work towards it. If you are reading this article, please do not feel alone. There are a growing number of women taking matters into their own hands and buying a property on their own. It may take a bit longer but all of the decisions are yours, you can decorate how you want and you can crea...
Hello and welcome! I am so excited for you to start your travels and in this article I will be sharing my six tips to make the most of your time. Whilst having a full time job I have travelled to over 25 countries and states in the past eight years and you can too! :)
1) Be Organised
- At the start of the year in January set aside ten minutes to look at the year ahead and workout how much annual leave you have.
- Look at when the bank holidays are and also any bonus days off that you have in your shift pattern so that you can make the most of your time off.
2) Be Flexible
-You can use flight websites to set the destination as anywhere and also enable the cheapest month setting so you can work out the cheapest flights for your holiday. One of my cheapest holidays was going to Oslo as the flights cost £30 return and it was £60 for three nights in the hostel. The price was because me and my friends were willing to go in January. Sure, it was cold but that added to the fun and me and my friends ended up going sledding outside the palace and it added to the magic of the holiday.
- I also tend to stay in private rooms in hostels with my friends as a lot of then have kitchen facilities and we will do a small food shop depending on the location. In Oslo it is a very expensive city so we had breakfast and took a packed lunch when were exploring but in other locations like Lisbon was pretty cheap so me and my friends treated ourselves to meals out.
3) Be Aware
- One of my work colleagues asked me how I could afford to go on a few mini breaks each year and I asked her what she tended to do on the weekends. Her response was "I love to go to nightclubs and partying!" and I then asked her how much she spent last weekend and she said that it was £80. I basically said that that is money for flights and a hostel and that if she cut back on a few nights out a month she could enjoy a few mini breaks. Everyone has different values and I believe that you should do what makes you happy. I would prefer to spend the money on an adventure.
- Awareness of your finances is your first step to travelling and just putting aside a small amount of money such as £100 per month will soon add up.
4) Be Strategic
- I would often book flights on weekends to get the most of my days off and also would choose early morning flights to enable me to make the most of the day.
- Before the trip I would put together a rough itinerary and also research other places that I would go. After a few trips away you will really start to see the number of countries that you have been to stack up. When we went to Helsinki, I found out that there was a ferry that could take us on a day trip to Tallinn and we used the full day to explore the city and bus tours can be a good way to see the city in an efficient amount of time.
5) Be Social
- I have been lucky enough to meet some amazing people and each time that I got the desire to travel somewhere I would tend to drop it into conversation and then would do all the planning and organising. Often people are more receptive to coming on a trip if you do the work for them and give them the total price for flights, hotel and the dates available. I really enjoy this part of the process but often once the flights had been booked would ask one of my friends to book the hotel as a way of delegating. I would then create a group of ten or so people and give them the dates and then gradually we would get down to the final people that could come.
- If all else fails then there are lots of travel companies that now have solo travel packages where you can meet a group of like minded people travelling around a destination that you want.
6) Be Bold!
- Everyone has a different things that they value but I always knew from a young age that once I started a full time job that I would put in the effort to travel when I am young. I do not want to wait until I am retired to travel the world when maybe I am not lucky enough to reach that age or I may not be physically well enough to do all the things that I want to do. Our time on this earth is temporary and you can create a life that you love by planning in things to look forward to and year by year you will find yourself learning more about the world and enjoying everything that it has to offer.
I am so excited for you to start travelling and hope that you found this blog useful :)
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