“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”

For the first year of my travels I lived off of five dollars a day (which equates to just 2,000 dollars a year), and then for the second year, I bumped it up to ten. Granted, this doesn’t include visas or flights, but with very limited flights (only over oceans which tend to be uncycleable), it is easy to cycle around the world for years at a time on a very small budget. It is also possible to work along the way in many countries, teaching English, farming, or working at hostels, which can provide free living and sometimes even a bit of income (or, in places like Australia, a lot of income).

Now, what does five dollars a day get you? In cheap Asian countries such as India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia, and a few countries in South America (Bolivia and Peru), this gets you a room in the simplest hostel or guest house and a meal (sometimes even three) out in the market or at a cheap local restaurant. In most of the world though, a five dollar a day budget means you are sleeping in your tent every single night and you are cooking lots of pasta, rice, and oatmeal for every meal. What five dollars a day doesn’t get you is luxury. Forget the fancy restaurants (or restaurants of any kind outside of developing countries) and shopping sprees. It won’t pay for your nice hotel room or even a shady motel room at that, and it certainly won’t cover a night drinking at the bar.

Now, I understand this lifestyle isn’t for everyone. Not everyone wants to call their tent home, and I have yet to meet many people willing to cook every single meal on a small petrol powered backpacking stove. It would be easy to spend thousands where I spend hundreds and travel in comfort, but, as a twenty-year-old who had never made more than ten dollars an hour before cycle touring, that was definitely not an option. Nor do I want it to be. By traveling cheap — living out of my tent, staying with locals, and eating street food (in developing countries) — I ended up experiencing the culture in a way most people miss. Sure, like everyone, I wouldn’t mind a bit more money in my account, but in all honesty, I am glad I have a small budget for such an extravagant trip as it has forced me to live my life in the simplest yet happiest way I could ever imagine.

Check out this photographic journey, from sunrise to sunset, of what five dollars a day can get you.

365 Days in Money: How to Live on Five Dollars a Day
Backpacking On A Budget

Flights
-855$ (San Diego to Delhi)
-200$ (For my bike to fly)
-480$ (Delhi to Georgia)
-1,110$ (Turkey to Ushuaia)

Visas
-0$ (USA)
-110$ (India- three months)
-280$ (Nepal- six months)
-90$ (India- three months)
-20$ (Turkey- three months)
-90$ (Argentina- three months)
-0$ (Chile- one month)
-0$ (Bolivia- two months)
-0$ (Peru- six months)

Pacific Coast USA: 4.5$/day/person

-Food: 127$
-Lodging (more like tent space): 22$
-Bike maintenance: 0$
-Medical: 0$
-Other: 25$
(Bike mirror and pepper spray)

Total: 174$
Days: 38

India: 6.55$/day/person

-Food: 225$
-Lodging: 200$
-Bike maintenance: 15 cents
-Medical: 15$
-Transport: 110$
(High since I had expensive taxi and bus rides to get to Ladakh, my starting point)
-Essentials: 15$
(Maps, gas, ATM fees, passport photos, shampoo…)
-Nonessential: 50$
(Clothes, internet, nose piercing…)
-Permits: 22$

Total: 635$
Days: 97

Nepal: 4.43$/day/person

-Food: 368$
-Lodging: 216$
-Bike maintenance: 14$
-Medical: 3$
-Transport: 68$
-Essentials: 44$
(ATM fees, fix shoes, soap, toilet paper, shampoo…)
-Nonessentials: 39$
(Gifts, clothes, internet…)
-Permits: 32$

Total: 784$
Days: 177

India (again): 6.10$/day/person

Total: 506$
Days: 82

Georgia: 6.40$/day

Food: 355$$
Guest house (room and board): 55$
Hostel: 84$
Extras (shampoo, toilet paper…): 10$

Total: 504$
Days: 79

Turkey: 6.7$/day/person

Total: 400$
Days: 60

One Month Vacation With Family (Turkey): 23$/day/person

Total: 700$
Days: 30

————————————————————————————————————–
Total for first 18 months (560 days): 6.6$/day/person

Living: 3,703$ (6.6$/day)
All expenses (living + visas + flights): 6,928$ (12.4$/day)
————————————————————————————————————–

South America: 14.7$/day/person

Total: 2,800$
Days: 190

Cycling the Andes for 15$ A Day