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Comment by ryanong | Hacker News Reader

I'm traveling the world and living on $40 a day. I have a $300 netbook, an iPhone 4S which i could live without because it isn't unlocked so it is just an mp3 player, and a $70 kindle. No you don't have to be rich to live a minimalist life style. You have to be vigilant about it. For food I am living frugally, making lentil soup or pasta. These things don't require much room.

All the things that I own at this point in time fall into at least one of these three categories.

1. Help me reach goals or aspirations (computer, camera)

2. Make my life simpler and safer (Water bottle, Telephone, multi-tool, clothes, accessories)

3. Provide or improve an experience (kindle, speakers/headphones)

The one thing these three categories share is function. Everything you own should have function and it should be consistently used/appreciated.

Here is to a life, instead of bought, lived.

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How do you handle shelter?

I'm actually living in a relatively high COL area for about that much (maybe closer to $35, even, excluding healthcare). But traveling seems difficult: transportation costs, plus costs of AirBnB's seem to bring it up significantly. Do you simply couch surf?

please answer this, ryanong. I'm gonna take a year or two off of work soon to do this- I'm sure other people would like to know as well.

I used to live in NYC, and even there I was able to keep down my COL. I was lucky enough to grow up there but I found an apartment for pretty cheap in outer brooklyn. I didn't go out to clubs much, or eat out much either. I hung out mostly in cheap bars or dinner/house parties with friends.

Right now I am in South America, I am using couchsurfing.com and using hostels. I have an apartment right now which cut down costs a lot but still hang out with the local couchsurfing community. I cook nearly all the time so food is pretty cheap. I am lucky that I can program and work remotely but I have friends who do data entry work, translation, english tutoring. I have friends who volunteer in hostels for free room and board or use http://www.helpx.net/

As for traveling, mostly by bus, or budget airlines(which are as expensive as buses). And I do not move often.

Hanging out with couchsurfers has really kept my daily COL. I personally hate most tourist traps and by hanging out with couchsurfers usually you get amazing local cultural experiences for either free or cheap. IE My host in Venezuela took me to his girlfriend's niece's baptism party where I sang, drank, and danced with 70 year old venezuelan women.

I find I am happiest not going on a guided eco tour, or going to the top of some tall thing(building or mountain), but sharing thoughts and experiences with different/local people.

do you have a blog of some sort? I am going to pursue this lifestyle as well, and any tips are extremely valuable. Hooray for traveling!

http://youtube.com/ryanmalcomong

I have found that tips for traveling are all over the internet so I have none to give really. The advice you heard me tell you now is told by many others in travel blogs. http://reddit.com/r/travel

Youth is a form of wealth

I've met all kinds of ages while traveling. 18-72 mostly in their 20s yes but that is because of the amount of responsibilities. Most of the older people I have met learned how to delegate responsibilities and obligations or get rid of them.

Increasing responsibility is only one facet of aging. Others include lower energy levels and reserves, health issues, and general need to take more care with the body (e.g. need a comfortable bed, otherwise will be stiff and swollen for many hours in the morning). These often lead to higher monetary expenditures, reserves, or insurance requirements.

I'm curious what your plans are to support yourself once you're done traveling? Most people don't have the luxury of taking these kind of lengthy trips, because having a lengthy resume gap in this kind of job market will kill you. Do you have some kind of safety net, either in the form of liquid wealth, family support, lifestyle business, or professional/personal network for when you're finished seeing the world?

He says he's currently working remotely as a programmer. No gap in the resume. Not a ton of career advancement I'd wager, but not a large gap either.

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