For myself and Lisa Dudzik Perth was always somewhere we dreamed about visiting, ever since we watched a movie together when we were kids which talked about the beauty of this place in Australia. We didn’t grow up with a lot of money so the idea of jetting off to Australia was pretty outlandish back then, but we both held on to the dream that we could one day do it. Last year was mine and Lisa’s 25th birthday and we decided that there would be no better time to bite the bullet and head off to our dream destination. Everyone has a destination in their mind that they’d love to get to and no matter what your situation is, here is how to go about getting there.
Starting Early
Unless you are a high earner it is unlikely that you’ll just be able to pick a place and head off there, which is why Lisa and I began saving for this trip 3 years prior to taking that flight. The reason for this was financially motivated, we needed to give ourselves enough time to both earn the money which we needed and save the money which we’d earned. Life can throw you curveballs so having 3 years to prepare would have also covered any emergency spending which we had to make.
Work and Suffer
In the final 18 months before our trip we were both working 2 jobs each and working online to boost our income. This was incredibly arduous and equally as miserable but we knew that there would be a big bright, Australia-shaped light at the end of the tunnel. The benefit of working this hard, beyond making more money, was that we were either too busy or tired to even spend the money that we were making. Working hard was the only way that we were going to get to Perth and that is exactly what we did.
Discipline
Saving up enough money isn’t just about making as much as possible, it is also about having the discipline to not spend money when the opportunity arises. Lisa and I both took measures to stay strong and avoid spending money unnecessarily during the planning stage of our trip. We would call each other when we wanted to buy new clothes or take nights out, and decide collectively whether or not it was worthwhile.
Final Push
Saving up the money wasn’t just about getting to Perth, we wanted to have an amazing time when we were there and we didn’t want to be worrying about cash during our dream vacation. In the final months before we left we sold many of our possessions to add to the kitty and we took on every bit of overtime that our bodies could manage.
Eventually we made it and all of the effort and hard work was absolutely worthwhile, if you have a dream destination then you need to work hard and suffer a little, but it will taste so very sweet when you get there.