PotD: 1 + 2

I love being back in Blacksburg, don't get me wrong, but being here and getting caught up in the rowdiness that is downtown, I forget about my goals for after school. A few are for fun, like traveling, but a few are necessities, like buying a new laptop. That's $2000 right there. Traveling, depending on where I go and how long and stuff like passports and whatnot, will be in the thousands. All that's not even including school and rent, which I'm in charge of too.

This summer I laid out a budget for myself and decided I would stick to it. If all went well, and I stuck to the budget and I made as much money as I had foreseen, I'd be alright.

Well here we are, 2 weeks into school and I'm already scared to look at the bank account and see how far off my budget I am! It can't be that bad, and there's still time to correct it...but its still something.

So, in an effort to stick with my goals and not get off track (I mean buying jaegerbombs for someone's birthday should've been factored into my goals equation to begin with...right??) here is a blog post from one of my favorite blogs:

Travel. Ahhh travel. 
You could say we have a relationship, we know each other, we get each other and we will forever continue this romantic dance. However just like any relationship I'm in no way any expert. But I think I've been fairly successful and I believe that  simplicity is key. Key for many things in life including travel, a beautiful thing that so many people love to make complicated. So after listening to envious words and excuses. Seeing Pinterest explode with countless amounts of dreamy travel quotes matched with an equally dreamy photo. And being aware of the more respectable those who seek out how they themselves can be a part of the wonderful travel experience.. I've decided to share the simplicity.
Here are the only four things you need to be on your way to the leaning tower of Pisa or the Sydney Opera House.. 
1. Balls. You need the balls to go alone, because if you wait around for your friends they're most likely not going to follow through. Which means you won't. 
2. A job and budgeting skills. Save EVERYTHING. That might mean no more morning coffee and canceling netflix, but so so worth it in the end
3. Disconnect. Disconnect from the nay-sayers including the nay-sayer part of your biggest critic- yourself. It's never going to a "right time" to travel in the sense of relationships, finances or career. But you have to decide what you value more, because the "right time" will never come.
4. A deadline. Buy your ticket no matter what 2-6 months out. It makes you less likely to back out and a timeline to help you save, prepare and get excited!

I especially like 1. There's plenty of people who say they want to...and then just don't follow through. The girl who's blog this is from just spent 2 months in Nicaragua alone, and had the best time of her life. It would be great to have friends to go with, but getting their commitments is the hard part. We shall see.