Some of you may be wondering, "Hey guys, how on earth do you expect to pay for such a glorious excursion as the one you're planning?"
Well, it's not an easy task. For us to spend 100 days driving, eating, being tourists, sleeping, and eventually arriving in Portland and, of course, needing a place to live upon arrival... we each need a pretty hefty chunk of change. Which, of course, we've been preparing.
We three travelers have been setting money aside for our trip since the earliest stages of our planning, way back in June. The original plan was to bank $10,000 each, which would be accomplished by putting aside $200 each week. That's quite an amount, one that would take some sacrifice on all our parts, as well as more than a modicum of discipline.
For Joey and Sarah, the logistics of the money-saving plan seems a little simpler than for me, in that both of them are paid a salary. They get the same amount of money every week, and will continue to do so without fluctuating downwards, for the remainder of our planning stages.
I, on the other hand, am not afforded such a luxury. I work two jobs, and the one that I rely on to support myself is as a waiter in a restaurant. And as we all know, there are slow nights and busy nights in the restaurant industry. During the summer, some nights were especially sluggish, as everyone and their mother seemed to have abandoned us for the Jersey Shore. And given our nation's current economic misgivings, it's clear that fewer people are going out for casual dinners, in lieu of eating at home and saving their money.
Thus, Joey and Sarah have been on a pretty even keel, ponying up their cash on a paycheck-by-paycheck basis. I, on the other hand, have been somewhat more sporadic, dropping in large amounts of cash on what seems to be a monthly basis, based on my bill-paying schedule.
Just a few days ago, we passed the six-months-until-we-leave mark. All three of us seem to be just slightly behind, but not by much. I have just over $4,200 put aside, and Joey and Sarah have just over $4,300 each. And we have 25 weeks remaining. Our remaining numbers - what still needs to be saved - look like this:
Tom - $5,785 remaining ($231.40/week)
Joey, Sarah - $5,675 remaining each ($227/week)
So please, wish me good fortune at work, and let's hope the holiday cheer brings out some heavy tippers this season.
P.S. And don't think about robbing us or anything, as Joey and Sarah have been cleverly putting all of our money into CDs. Good to have finance guys.
