Affording the Unaffordable: Empty Pockets Don’t Equal Empty Life

Melissa Burns

How often do you say to yourself or hear it from those near you: “You can’t afford it”? But the truth is, there are very few things you really can’t afford. Even if your financial position leaves much to be desired, it doesn’t mean you should skimp on everything – and it doesn’t mean you cannot do anything to improve it. Here are 5 ways to afford the unaffordable:

1. Study Online

Education is often a first stepping-stone to a better life – but college costs money, and student loans are not available to everyone. It’s a vicious circle: you need college education to make money, but you won’t get into college without money that you don’t have. Today there is, however, a way out: online education.

There are many well-paid positions that don’t require formal education, being more concerned with your skills: programming, design, copywriting to name a few. And these skills can be acquired via free or low-cost online courses where you may educate yourself and even choose your own schedule.

2. Hitchhike

Some think that hitchhiking has all but died out. Mass media are all too eager to tell horror stories about gruesome fates hitchhikers are likely to meet, and the majority of people readily believe them. Nevertheless, there is still a persistent hitchhiking movement whose members state that it is far less dangerous than we are used to believe. And no one would argue that it is by far the cheapest way of traveling, even in a foreign country, allowing you to see the wonders of the world for a fraction of what it would have cost you otherwise.

3. Move to a Cheaper Country

If you have skills that allow you to work from home, you may consider relocating to another country, where the salary you currently get will buy you a lot more. In our day and age it is far from being unattainable – many countries have very lenient immigration laws, and in some Asian and South American locales you can live an opulent life for a salary that would be considered very humble in Europe or the USA.

4. Living on the Move

We all have hundreds of things that we don’t really need but which define our lives, tie us up, don’t let us move. Why not get rid of them? If you keep your personal belongings to bare essentials, you are free to go anywhere you want: where you can get a better job, where you can learn something new, where you can save money on the rent.

5. Volunteer

Volunteering by definition means you are not getting paid – not much, at least. But it can help you save a lot of money by getting access to otherwise unavailable events, meeting new people that may turn out helpful later, receiving freebies and so on.

Your life is as rich as you make it. Even if currently you don’t have high incomes, it doesn’t mean you can’t live a full and rich life – just start doing something for it.

Melissa is a student of journalism. She is graduating this year and is working on her own project Studday dedicated to deliver information about educational trends and opportunities to students all over the world.