Long Term Travel Tip #2

International Shipping, you need to budget this expense.

If you are going to travel for an extended period of time, you don't want to be burdened by carrying around the various things you will ultimately purchase. Thus, many travelers figure they will simply ship things home as they go, but rarely do such travelers budget for this expense. Granted, shipping costs will vary depending on where you go, but depending on the size and weight of the box, you can easily spend in excess of $100-$200 to ship items back to the U.S. For myself, this expense caught me a little off-guard, you know it is going to be expensive, you just don't anticipate that international shipping will be "that" expensive. I would have to double check, but when I was gone for 9 months, I shipped items back 4 times, and I think I spent a total of close to $800 for shipping cost.

Travel light, travel far.