posted by: Prime Sarmiento

photo by:  Rowdy Kittens

  Whenever people ask me where I get the money to indulge on my passion, I only say that I know my priorities. Traveling is important to me – if only because I need the time and space to write.
 
  While I'm not into luxury traveling, I'm also not a backpacker (oh my Goddess, please save this finicky solo female traveler from grotty, cockroach-infested hostels!). I fall somewhere in the middle – a value-for-money traveler – if there's such a thing. It's also not cheap to travel solo as a woman as I need to pay a premium for comfort, safety and health.
 
  So how do I finance that? Well, I work hard, I brown bag my lunch, I avoid going to the mall and I automated my savings account, so that a certain portion of my monthly paycheck will automatically go to my designated travel fund.
 
  But scrimping and saving are nothing more than techniques. What is harder is how to stay focused on these techniques. And believe me, I don't have stronger will power than you (If I have such self-discipline, I would have been 20 pounds lighter).
 
What made the difference is developing an abundance mindset.
 
  Before I pay for anything – especially something that will be classified as a “want” not a “need”, I ask myself if there's anything missing in my life that I had to fill it by buying a new bag/cell phone/hardbound book? Why is it that I'm lusting for a clearly useless stuff when I already have a lot of stuff and thriving relationship with my friends and family?
 
  I have everything that makes me happy and I don't need to buy  stuff  for validation or raise my self esteem.  That kind of mindset is what, in the end, boosted my own travel fund.
 
  So think again before you blow up your paycheck to buy a new pair of designer shoes or to pay a ridiculous amount for a haircut in a chi chi salon. Do you really need those shoes and that haircut or are you just trying to cover up for your own insecurity?
 
If you like to email this to your friend, you can send them this link: http://solofemaletravel.net/travel-tools/solo-female-traveler-abundance/