The acronym “RTW” stands for Round The World and refers to the ever popular around the world trips airlines are offering and people are taking. Basically they allow you to see several continents over the course of about a year. RTW trips do vary quite a bit and don’t necessarily involve the entire world – many of them focus on a particular continent or section of the world. Most of the airline alliances that offer RTW trips give customers a good deal of flexibility in their plans and saving for an RTW is only one aspect of it.
- For general RTW planning and organizing, consult a good RTW trip planner to organize and learn more.
Get The RTW Basics Down
Traveling on an RTW usually includes purchasing a series of tickets on a single airline alliance. You can also take a look and compare prices by purchasing individual tickets for your route, but either way it’s like creating any other vacation budget. Saving for an RTW comes down to figuring out where you want to go, estimating how much it might cost, figuring in everything else in addition to transportation and then doubling all of your figures. The problem is getting good information to begin basing you budget.
You’ll first want to start out with the two big airline alliances; Star Alliance and OneWorld. The both have around the world ticket options and you can generally use all of the alliance airline members to create your own itinerary and map out your route. RTW tickets also are usually based on a some basic stipulations like a total number of miles you can fly (somewhere between 20,000-40,000 miles) on a set price figure. That makes budgeting and beginning to save easy as you get a pretty good idea of how much to save for and can worry about coming up with a route in your own time.
Saving For An RTW – Considerations
Saving up for a short trip is usually pretty easy since your core income and spending will remain relatively stable. After a week or so of leave you can return to your job and pay your bills like usual. Sure, you might spend a bit extra on the vacation itself but all in all it’s a straightforward process. Saving up for an RTW requires you to consider some major aspects of your finances. We’ll start with what are typically the biggest expenditures for most people – and you can skip down past what doesn’t apply to you.
Home - A big question you’ll have to ask is whether to sell or rent. Much of that depends on how long you’ll be gone, the market conditions, and whether or not you can afford to sell (if you take a loss). Calculate any loss into your saving plans and if it’s too much to chew on consider renting. Before you leave on your RTW make sure to have at least 3 mortgages set aside as well as an extra savings equivalent to 1 mortgage payment for any repairs or community fees. Ask around and see if any of your friends of family who may be local can take care of the property so you can save a bit on a property manager.
Car - This is one investment that loses money. Sell you car before leaving on an RTW and you’ll save on car payments (if you have them) and insurance. If possible and applicable, consider selling your ride for a ‘beater’ car that’s $1,000 or less and can get you from point A to B. It will help you save that much more for your RTW and you can always purchase a new car when you return.
Regular Non-Essential Bills – Things like Netflix, your cable bill, and other entertainment expenses can be significantly cut or nixed all together. Do it as soon as you can, it’s more money towards your RTW trip which is better than any TV show!
There are also other expenses you’ll have to consider like your pets. Look for a reliable long-term pet sitter (nearby friends or family who know how to handle pets) or learn how to travel with pets. You might be surprised at what your options are.
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