Woman who started travelling at a young age shares how she affords her lifestyle and her BEST MONEY-SAVING tips
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There’s nothing more romantic than the idea of travelling the globe, being exposed to a variety of rich cultures, and waking up to new sights to behold every day. That is until reality seeps into the daydream and you’re slapped with the harsh reality that you have to actually figure out a way to pay for it…
Let’s face it, travelling isn’t exactly the most accessible or affordable hobby one could partake in, but there are several workarounds to hopping from country to country without breaking the bank.
In fact, one globetrotter who has been going on dreamy, international expeditions since she graduated from high school proved that touring on a limited budget IS indeed possible. And to add to that, she also revealed several money-saving hacks that will surely help you tone down your expenses if you want to follow in her footsteps.
Sibu De Benedictis, 33, dropped everything to travel shortly after conquering high school. The decision followed spending several ‘miserable’ years trying to ‘fit in’. From then on, she has been to a total of 70 countries with zero plans of slowing down any time soon.
In June 2020, she decided to keep all of her possessions in a storage facility located in Germany, where she was living at the time while completing a master's qualification remotely.
Since then, she has officially switched to living as a digital nomad (or a person who is able to financially support themselves completely location independently) and is living her life to the fullest.
Sibu has travelled to 70 countries. Image Credit: @goglobalwithsibu
The young voyager is now sharing the best money-saving travel tips that she picked up from more than a decade of travelling in an effort to be living proof that you don’t need wads of cash to see the world.
“There's a huge misconception that travel is unaffordable,” she said. “I've been living off jobs that are minimum wage or less for a good amount of years now. The world would be a better place if we could all travel more,”
To fund her on-the-go lifestyle she took on several jobs including waitressing, pot washing, and bartending.
“$25 can buy you five Starbucks coffees, but it could also buy you drinks at a rotating bar in Baku, Azerbaijan, or [give you enough money to spend] a day wandering around Mayan ruins in Mexico,”
“There are so many things you can do or get for free too. You just have to do some research and pick your favourite,” she continued.
Sibu regularly encourages others to take the risk and book a ticket somewhere as she believes in “experiences over possessions”.
Video Credit: goglobalwithsibu
Among her list of budgeting tips, which she often shares on Instagram, is scoring top-notch living accommodation for free – and the secret is by house-sitting while the homeowners are away.
Through an app called ‘Trusted Housesitters’, she dedicates a chunk of her money to an annual membership (costing between $129 and $375) that enables her to stay in some of the most incredible homes while their owners are away. In exchange, she is only expected to keep everything safe and organised.
“House sitting has changed my life. Once you've paid for the membership, the possibilities are endless,” she said.
“There are so many more things possible for you to do than you think – I want to highlight that again and again,”
Sibu highly recommends ‘House sitting’. Image Credit: goglobalwithsibu
Sibu added that even though house sitting can sometimes require you to “look after plants or pets, it allows you to go anywhere.”
She explained that when she left Germany, she spent over a year travelling around the US and residing in a range of homes via house sitting. This still cost her way less in comparison to how much her expenses would have amounted to if she opted to stay in hotels.
Sibu shared a couple more savvy travel tips, including the secret to packing light even for long stays.
“You don't have much space so you should only take items you love that you can wear over and over again,” she detailed, adding that she only takes seven tops, seven dresses, and a few pairs of bottoms with her.
Video Credit: @goglobalwithsibu
“For me, that's more than three weeks of outfits,” she revealed, emphasising that she has only been flying to warmer destinations recently so that she doesn't have to carry around heavy and thick pieces of clothing.
For Sibu, every dollar she earns has to be stretched as much as possible in order to fund her lifestyle.
“You have to account for the little things you buy. $10 here and $10 there does add up,”
Her final advice to those who have always wanted to travel around the world is to take “the plunge”.
“No matter how many tips and tricks I share, you have to go and buy that ticket and get on that bus, or plane, or train,” she said.
What are your thoughts on Sibu’s tips? Which one is your favourite (or least favourite)? Share them with us in the comments!
Learn more money-saving travel hacks by watching the video below:
Video Credit: Monica Church
Let’s face it, travelling isn’t exactly the most accessible or affordable hobby one could partake in, but there are several workarounds to hopping from country to country without breaking the bank.
In fact, one globetrotter who has been going on dreamy, international expeditions since she graduated from high school proved that touring on a limited budget IS indeed possible. And to add to that, she also revealed several money-saving hacks that will surely help you tone down your expenses if you want to follow in her footsteps.
Sibu De Benedictis, 33, dropped everything to travel shortly after conquering high school. The decision followed spending several ‘miserable’ years trying to ‘fit in’. From then on, she has been to a total of 70 countries with zero plans of slowing down any time soon.
In June 2020, she decided to keep all of her possessions in a storage facility located in Germany, where she was living at the time while completing a master's qualification remotely.
Since then, she has officially switched to living as a digital nomad (or a person who is able to financially support themselves completely location independently) and is living her life to the fullest.
Sibu has travelled to 70 countries. Image Credit: @goglobalwithsibu
The young voyager is now sharing the best money-saving travel tips that she picked up from more than a decade of travelling in an effort to be living proof that you don’t need wads of cash to see the world.
“There's a huge misconception that travel is unaffordable,” she said. “I've been living off jobs that are minimum wage or less for a good amount of years now. The world would be a better place if we could all travel more,”
To fund her on-the-go lifestyle she took on several jobs including waitressing, pot washing, and bartending.
“$25 can buy you five Starbucks coffees, but it could also buy you drinks at a rotating bar in Baku, Azerbaijan, or [give you enough money to spend] a day wandering around Mayan ruins in Mexico,”
“There are so many things you can do or get for free too. You just have to do some research and pick your favourite,” she continued.
Sibu regularly encourages others to take the risk and book a ticket somewhere as she believes in “experiences over possessions”.
Video Credit: goglobalwithsibu
Among her list of budgeting tips, which she often shares on Instagram, is scoring top-notch living accommodation for free – and the secret is by house-sitting while the homeowners are away.
Through an app called ‘Trusted Housesitters’, she dedicates a chunk of her money to an annual membership (costing between $129 and $375) that enables her to stay in some of the most incredible homes while their owners are away. In exchange, she is only expected to keep everything safe and organised.
“House sitting has changed my life. Once you've paid for the membership, the possibilities are endless,” she said.
“There are so many more things possible for you to do than you think – I want to highlight that again and again,”
Sibu highly recommends ‘House sitting’. Image Credit: goglobalwithsibu
Sibu added that even though house sitting can sometimes require you to “look after plants or pets, it allows you to go anywhere.”
She explained that when she left Germany, she spent over a year travelling around the US and residing in a range of homes via house sitting. This still cost her way less in comparison to how much her expenses would have amounted to if she opted to stay in hotels.
Sibu shared a couple more savvy travel tips, including the secret to packing light even for long stays.
“You don't have much space so you should only take items you love that you can wear over and over again,” she detailed, adding that she only takes seven tops, seven dresses, and a few pairs of bottoms with her.
Video Credit: @goglobalwithsibu
“For me, that's more than three weeks of outfits,” she revealed, emphasising that she has only been flying to warmer destinations recently so that she doesn't have to carry around heavy and thick pieces of clothing.
For Sibu, every dollar she earns has to be stretched as much as possible in order to fund her lifestyle.
“You have to account for the little things you buy. $10 here and $10 there does add up,”
Her final advice to those who have always wanted to travel around the world is to take “the plunge”.
“No matter how many tips and tricks I share, you have to go and buy that ticket and get on that bus, or plane, or train,” she said.
What are your thoughts on Sibu’s tips? Which one is your favourite (or least favourite)? Share them with us in the comments!
Learn more money-saving travel hacks by watching the video below:
Video Credit: Monica Church
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