Work Travel Volunteer

The necessary evil.

Download our budget guide to work out exactly what you need to get before you go and how much you'll need whilst you are away. We've provided a sample budget guide based upon one year saving and one year traveling where the person has spent four months on a volunteer placement in Africa, then four months working in New Zealand, then four months travelling in Asia - see work, travel, volunteer! It makes sense.

Anyway, realistically, you'll need to save for at least a year unless you already have lots of savings stashed away. Don't forget other means of income whilst you are away, like earning some money for a few months (Australia and New Zealand pay surprisingly well, no wonder they are always smiling) or money you may receive from tenants after you've paid your mortgage. If you work in a freelance field such as marketing or journalism, you may even be able to do some paid work whilst you are away, but bear in mind that if you accept work, you'll have to be near a fast speed computer. There's nothing worse than trying to work on an old pc in the depths of rural Africa that keeps crashing when you have a deadline to meet. And anyway, why were you going away again?

As well as money for whilst you are away, there are hundreds of things you'll need to get prior to leaving, most of which we've listed on the spreadsheet. Don't forget that flights, tours and volunteer placements will take a wedge out of your savings.

How much does it cost, in general?

We get asked this all the time. It really depends on how well you manage your money and what you want to do. One person can easily survive on 6 to 8 thousand if most of the time is spent in a developing country. If you decide to spend most of your time in a developed country, you'll need more (exchange rates aren't so good) but then weigh it up against the fact that you will most probably be working part of the time.

We tried to live off 10 pounds a day which was quite feasible but cost in for 15 to 20 if you think you'll want to see and do everything!

Fundraising

If you've signed up to volunteer and there is a cost, there are plenty of ways to fundraise money for your chosen project. i-to-i have kindly provided us with a downloadable fundraising guide to help you avoid sitting in baths of baked beans.