How to save money for a 4-6 month hike.
Your mind is made up. You can think of nothing else (and talk about nothing else). You. Are. Doing. It.
Hiking the full distance of the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail or Pacific Crest Trail is not going to be cheap - here a few ways that you can save for your thru-hiking adventure.
But first, ask yourself a couple of questions.
How much money do I need for a thru-hike?
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question.
Researching online isn’t too helpful either, with budgets ranging from $4,000 to $8,000.
You are never going to get the budget spot-on, as people travel differently and there are many uncontrollable factors at play (e.g. weather conditions, injuries, gear going wrong etc), however there are a few guiding factors that will give you a good idea of how much money you need.
Thru-hiking budget considerations:
How long do you think it will take? Some people hike quickly, others not so much. It’s hard to say how many miles you will hike each day, but once you find your ‘tramily’ (trail family), it’s hard to leave the group and you may find yourself hiking less/more than planned.
Overall, if you don’t have a set date that you have to finish by, book a one-way flight and wing it (check out the Visa section for more info on one-way flights).
Flights and insurance costs - dependent where you live, you will need to budget for international and domestic flights, as well as comprehensive travel insurance.
Gear - do you need to buy everything or just a few items? Do you want to buy ultra-light (UL) gear - translation? UL is super expensive.
Re-supply strategy - are you sending loads of boxes ahead or re-supplying on-trail? Hiker hunger is a real thing and you are going to eat a lot on trail and re-supplying every 4-7 days can get expensive, especially when you aren’t able to shop in a Dollar Store or large supermarket.
Side trips / town days - do you plan to take lots of side trips and enjoy 1-2 days in town (huge splurge potential), or are you tight on time and not planning on many town days?
Medical expenses - overseas travellers may want to keep some money aside to cover medical expenses, as it could take a while to be reimbursed by your travel insurance provider.
Post hike expenses - if you don’t have a job lined up when you get home, you will need to set money aside for when you return.
Set yourself a savings target
When you have something epic to save for, you might be surprised how easy it is to forfeit certain activities so that you can save money.
Set up a separate online savings account
Keep track of your savings easily and why not name your savings account something fun!
Mine? Adventure pot.
Set money aside for when you get home
I know, you aren’t thinking that far ahead yet, but be kind to yourself and set yourself up for when you return home (it can take around 1-3 months to get a new job).
How does your money get spent at the moment?
Take a hard look at your monthly expenses and identify a few quick wins - as well as a few areas of compromise.
Lockdown taught us what we need and we don’t need, making it that bit easier to make a few adjustments to our weekly routine.
Quick wins - there are certain things that you have to budget for (rent, bills, food etc), however there are a few non-essential costs which make easy targets to be culled.
Not so quick wins - aka compromise. If you like eating out a lot, it might be time to dig out your apron and invite friends over for a dinner.
Review monthly outgoings
Identify where you spend the most and find ways to compromise and reduce costs. Focus on areas where you are you able (and willing) to compromise.
Outgoing breakdown:
Fixed costs - rent/mortgage, bills, phone contract, commute costs etc
Variable essential costs - socialising, food etc
Variable non-essential costs - clothes, hair/beauty etc
Other costs - petrol, car insurance etc
Identify how much you can save every month
Golden rule when trying to save money? Don’t wait until the end of month to transfer money into your savings account.
Instead, calculate what you can save each month and transfer that amount as soon as you get paid.
Go one better and set up an automatic transfer.
Savings calculator
To help you calculate how much you can save each month, make a copy of the savings calculator (Google Sheets, 2 tabs).
Save your own copy - two options available:
File > ‘Make a copy’ or ‘Download’ (Microsoft Excel)
Change currency:
Format > Number > More formats > ‘More currency’
Side hustle.
Everyone needs a side hustle! What are you good at - can you do that in your free time?
There are so many different ways you can make some extra money on the side:
Sell unwanted items.
Sell a range of items from old sports equipment to household items.
Selling online is easy, with lots of different platforms to choose from:
Facebook Marketplace
Ebay
Gumtree
Depop
Quick wins - daily savings.
Make simple compromises to your daily routine and save a lot over a year.
Goodbye takeaway coffee - a tough ask, but think of it as practice for the trail when you are hiking in the backcountry!
Meal prep - prepare your own lunch at home and take it to work. Meal prep for a few days and it will be less of a chore.
Commute to work - can you save costs by cycling, ride share, taking the bus etc.
New clothes - stop buying new clothes, simple!
Less ‘out-out’, more dining in - get inventive with friends and family, try a potluck dinner where everyone brings a dish.
Buy used gear
Save a tonne by buying second-hand gear online.
Let’s be honest, your hiking gear is going to get trashed anyway, so why not save a few bucks!
Someone is always upgrading their hiking gear which means that you can find a great deal on used gear.