financial travelmanagement: why you don‘t have to sell yourself via online business

“Financial indepent; traveling a different country every month; work independently; seize your opportunity and create a better life.” You’ve probably heard these things before, right? Me too and much more. The so-called online business. I was often asked how I could afford all my travels and where I got the money or whether my parents supported me. That I work online seemed like an obvious answer to many. In today’s post I want to talk a little about my attitude about the so-called online business and also prove my point that you can travel without selling your soul online.

Financing:
I would like to keep the general sum for my worldtrip private, as I don’t think it’s anyone’s business. But it was a decent investment in myself. It was definitely worth the money for me, the memories, experiences and impressions I created are priceless. For my part, I had to spend just a little of my savings on the trip, but in the months leading up to my departure I often had 3 jobs at the same time. Of course, you often have to let your contacts play in order to keep everything in balance and I managed to do that. But I know many people who worked their asses of, who spent all their saving on travelling or who worked unbeatable jobs or hours to fulfill their dreams of travelling the world. Just because it sounds easy, it often is not. I had a very luxurious budget at the beginnin, but it turned out that I really needed the amount of money. On top of that, these countries were all “first world countries”, which of course are also more expensive to travel to. Personally, I have also invested more money in the security aspect: booked more expensive flights, for a better arrival time; booked better hostels in the female only dorm; took an Uber at night rather than the public transport etc. This adds up to a decent amount over 4 months. Then there is the transportation, which was conspicuously expensive, especially in Japan and New Zealand, and also the food. Even cooking in Korea and Japan is hardly possible, food in New Zealand, Australia but especially in the USA is above average expensive. As well as alcohol and activities. Basically, you can say that none of the countries I visited were budget friendly. Therefore, it depends on the discipline of each person, how long you can get by with your money and what you can and want to afford while travelling. My basic rule was: I don't want to give up anything, but I also have to ask myself if it's really necessary. And it actually worked well. At the beginning I cooked a lot, barely went shopping or drank coffee. As the time passed, I did those things more often, but still within the limits of the possible. It’s really just about keeping yourself in control.

My tips for financial travel management:

Make it clear from the beginning what you are willing to pay.
Stay in a realistic price range; what you can’t afford you simple can’t afford
Don’t forget safety aspect, paying more for safety is no bad thing.
Ask yourself if you really need it.
Self-catering, rarely eating out
Travelbuddies with which you can share the costs e.g.Rent a car
Organise activities yourself
Personally, I often avoid visiting expensive museums etc. because I don’t want to spend my money on them.
Research what the place has to offer for free.
Balance; treat yourself good
Go with flight prices: flight prices change all the time, but flexible travel dates, as well as a daily check of flight costs, can save you a lot of money.
Use public transport
Travel Countries you can effort! You won’t travel far in Australia with the budget you need traveling Thailand for a month.

However, you should always remember that you cannot calculate everything. In one country, there is more partying than in the other. In one country, the subway costs more, in the other, the coffee. Something can happen at all time and you should always be prepared for it.

Online Business: Why You Don't Need something like that to travel the world

I think most people already know the meaning of online business but a short explanation for y’all: people who work online or the people who earn their money online usually work in companies that sell various financial services products. From day trading strategies to cryptocourses to travel tools, a wide range can be found. I myself have noticed only this certain company, in recent years rather neutral but now definitely more negative than positive. I don't have TikTok, but even I have heard the negative criticism. In any case, the company is strongly criticized for being less about the financial tools offered, and more about a certain marketing strategy, namely the so-called multi-level marketing. Customers are encouraged, not only to take advantage of the services offered, but also to attract other customers. Basically, this marketing is not illegal, but critics are unsure whether the company is actually just based on this marketing strategy. If this would be the case and the financial products actually exist
only as a “decoration” or as a “cover”, the whole would be considered as a snowball system or pyramid system and would therefore be illegal.

What makes critics think it could be such a system?

Well, if you go on the trail of the company itself, you get quite quickly to blogs and videos describing that the company used to have a different name, but due to some scams etc., it was then renamed to it’s current name. Also, one can find positive reviews eg on Trustpilot, which often sound a bit too high, they do not evaluate constructively but rather imply improbably high praise. However, the negative comments often offer valid arguments why one should stay away from this company.

And what's wrong with it in general?

Well, a snowball system always means one thing: the last one needs to cover all the cost. The first person to resell the concept receives a commission for each resale from himself, but also from his customers. If one person sells to two people, then they sell to two other people, then they sell again, eg., eventually there are no more people left to sell to. So while the first person benefits from every sale, the last person stays on the cost.
In order to be able to get into the whole concept, the end consumer has to buy a package, which is billed monthly and can amount from 99 dollars to almost 1000 dollars. And every time they sell, the people at the top earn. If the company only focus on the marketing tool or if the other tools are also as worthy as the MLM only the company and the employees know that.

But what does that have to do with traveling?

Basically, many young people advertise on social media with such companies to enable themselves financial freedom. This is certainly true for a few, but others pay the price. You see more and more often, especially young girls/women with similar Instagram profiles, who present their beautiful life with great trips and expensive clothes. And all thanks to online business. But I know from my own experience that you can achieve all this without having to rip off others or do morally questionable things. But, of course, work has to be done. Because let's be honest with ourselves: the concept of online business only works so well because today's generations want to make as much money as possible with as little effort as possible and many would even go over dead bodies for that. But why then do many people still work from morning to night to be able to finance their lives? There's got to be a flaw in the system somewhere.

In the end, of course, everyone has to ask themselves how far they want to go to be able to fulfill their dreams. I just wanted to show you that there is another way, and believe me, when you are on your way to understand yourself and your own way of thinking better, you are glad to have chosen the morally less questionable path, because to build your own happiness on the misfortune of others is not a nice solution for anyone.

Thank you for reading today's slightly more critical post. Leave me your opinion on the subject and until next time,

yours Valentina

Sources:

Handelsblatt