Changing the “I’m Too Poor to Travel” Mindset – Say Yes to Travel

Last Updated: 7/31/22 | July 31st, 2022

“Your advice is great if you are middle-class, your parents give you money, or you’re from the West. Your website could never work for me. I’m too poor to travel. This advice is only for privileged people.”

After over 15 years of traveling the world, I’ve heard this critique a lot.

All these naysayers believe their situation is special, and that no one else has ever been in their situation before or that only well-off people can do what travelers do.

And it’s not just travel.

We all make excuses as to why we can’t do something we desire or why our circumstances are different.

“The gym is too far away.”

“I don’t know anyone at the event so I’ll just stay home.”

“I’m probably not tall enough to play basketball.”

“I don’t have the coordination to learn to dance.”

“That’s only for X type of people, not me.”

We believe we’ll never accomplish that great thing we aspire to because we lack the one secret ingredient everyone else has to make it happen. We’re just too different.

When it comes to travel, people think what’s really holding them back is money. Cold hard cash. Eveything else is secondary. They imagine they can’t travel because, unlike me, they can’t tap the Bank of Mom and Dad, are burdened by their debt, or aren’t as lucky or special.

But I’m not special.

I had debt too (I’m still paying off student loans). And my parents didn’t pay for my travels — I saved up and paid for them myself.

Sure, I was born a middle-class white male in the US so there is inevitably some privilege involved.

But, by automatically putting yourself in an “I can’t” position”, you dismiss any advice that doesn’t mesh with that worldview and thus miss all the ways you can travel.

People with this mindset remind me of cynics like Bob. A few years ago, Bob dismissed the advice on my website because he didn’t believe I could travel the world without parental help.

By believing that everyone else is special, unique, or rich, folks like Bob put up a psychological barrier that lets them ignore all the ways travel is possible.

Nothing about their circumstance prevents people like that from traveling except their own mindset.

Millions of people from all walks of life, circumstances, and age groups find a way to travel. When I started at the age of 25, I believed I was doing something challenging and unique.

Then, when I got on the road and saw 18-year-old broke kids, couples, families, grandparents, people from developing countries, and solo travelers of all ages embarking on similar adventures, I realized I wasn’t as special as I thought. That realization helped me learn that travel was a lot easier and more attainable than I thought, because if they could make it happen, anyone could do it.

I understand there is some monetary requirement to travel. There’s a limit to how cheap it can be and how many free flights you can earn.

There are always circumstances such as health, visa issues, debts, or family that will keep someone from hitting the road. Not everyone can (or wants) to travel the world. If you’re working poor, travel is obviously not something you can do.

After all, no matter what, travel is still a privilege and no amount of “yes, I can” menality will change that for a large percentage of the world.

But, in my experience, what keeps most people home is not money but mindset.

It is the false belief that their circumstances are different and everyone else who travels has money or privilege they don’t. They have bought into the belief that traveling is a luxury and unless you’re well-off, you’ll never be able to make it happen.

But let me tell everyone who believes the “I’m too poor/unspecial, etc. to travel” mindset: You’re not.

If you truly desire to travel, you will find a way. For some, it will take more effort and time (maybe years), but you can do it. Maybe you can only save $50 a month. Maybe it will take you a year to get the time off.

But the race is long and there is no finish line. You do the best you can each day.

If you wake up today and tell yourself, “I’m too poor to travel” or “I can’t because of reason X,” you’ll never even look for ways to start traveling. You will only see the reasons why you can’t — bills, flights, car payments, debt, family, or whatever.

You’ll never peer beyond those roadblocks and ask yourself, “How do I overcome these obstacles like others have?”

The only difference between those on the road and those who are not is that the former kept saying “yes” to travel instead of “I can’t.”

So wake up today and say, “Yes, I can travel too,” and start looking for what you can do right now to make that happen.

Ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do today to get closer to my dream trip?”

Start small.

Look at your day-to-day spending. How much would you save if you bought a Brita instead of a daily bottle of water, gave up Starbucks, cooked more of your own food, or drank less?

What if you gave up cable? Downgraded your phone plan? Walked to work? Sold off your unneeded stuff?

Find ways to supplement your income by becoming a local tour guide or Uber driver, or renting your spare room or couch on Airbnb.

Become a house sitter.

Start collecting frequent flier miles.

Start a change jar.

Just do something. Starting small gives you the small victories that help you slowly realize you can do it. The more wins you have, the more you keep going.

When I was planning my first trip, I first cooked more and drank less.

Then I gave up going to the movies. Then I sold my stuff and found a roommate. Then I found ways to car-share to save on gas.

Each step built on top of the last, and I got more confident in my ability. I woke up each morning I said to myself, “I can do this.”

It didn’t happen right away. It took three years of working overtime and saving to make it happen.

But once I started saying yes, I created a positive feedback loop that kept travel my focus and always within reach.

I recently read The Power of Habit, on the power of belief in changing habits.

According to the book, people who didn’t believe something was possible never changed their habits. They would diet, try to get sober, or exercise more, but it would never work. However, once they believed they could change, once they found themselves part of a community that supported them, that’s when the mental shift occurred and the new mindset took over.

I’ve met people on the road who traveled after having only earned minimum wage. They accomplished it because they woke up every day and asked themselves, “What can I do today that gets me one step closer to being on the road?” It’s easy to say, “Well, I make $9.75 an hour,” but Michael worked on minimum wage and found a way.

True: the lower your income, the longer it will take to save enough to travel. But longer does not mean never.

You just need to start looking for ways, no matter how small, to begin living your travel dreams.

“I’m too poor to travel” is a belief that causes many to lack the confidence to believe travel is possible. They buy into the media hype that travel has to be expensive. It’s easy to think we travelers are special and that my advice doesn’t apply to them.

But I didn’t know anything when I started to travel. I had to figure it out along the way. I worked overseas to keep my trip going, my parents have never helped me, and I still have student loan debt.

So did the dozens of readers from this site that also found a way despite many obstacles.

Not everyone is going to be able to travel. I understand that. I’m not talking about those with circumstances like poor health, sick parents, or massive credit card debt. I’m talking about the middle majority. I’ve met people from all walks of life on the road, so I know that travel is not just for the rich, it’s for everyone.

I know from experience it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Stop saying no and begin to see all the ways you can make your travel dreams come true!

Note: I’ve received some feedback that I want to address. I’m not saying if you close your eyes and say “I believe” that you will magically find yourself in some far-off land. It doesn’t work that way. There are many valid reasons why people can never go traveling, no matter how much they “believe.” This article is about trying to get people to change a mindset that keeps many from even trying to find a way to travel. Many people, even if they can go travel, don’t even try, and this article was meant to push people to at least try.