Need a loan for Travelling

[TheLedge]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on what my best options are regarding a loan that I'll be taking out for travelling for 12 months. I'm at the end of clearing my debts and what better way to celebrate than by taking out another load of debt!

Anyway, I know the best option is to save up and then go, but it's not feasible for me right now.

I'm looking to take about €10k of a loan and then potentially pay for my flights on a 0% credit card. I know it sounds like madness but I have some investments that will be maturing at the end of the 12 months (i.e) on my return which would mean that I could clear most if not all.

So if anyone could advise the best option for me on getting a 10k loan for travelling & living and about 4k for flights, insurance etc, I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks

 

[ClubMan]

I'm looking for some advice on what my best options are regarding a loan that I'll be taking out for travelling for 12 months. I'm at the end of clearing my debts and what better way to celebrate than by taking out another load of debt!

You are joking?

I'm looking to take about €10k of a loan and then potentially pay for my flights on a 0% credit card.

Doubt that you will get 0% for 12 months.

I know it sounds like madness but I have some investments that will be maturing at the end of the 12 months (i.e) on my return which would mean that I could clear most if not all.

Guaranteed returns?

So if anyone could advise the best option for me on getting a 10k loan for travelling & living and about 4k for flights, insurance etc, I'd really appreciate it!

Check the Financial Best Buys forum.

 

[pinkyBear]

It absolutly does sound like madness, how do you propose to pay this loan when you are travelling??

Don't get me wrong I am not against travelling - but with no savings and on credit, why if you have some investments that will be maturing in a year, why dont you wait for a year??

In a year you will have managed to save a bit and you'll have the investment money..

 

[Oilean Beag]

Two points :-

1. Do you need that much money to do the travel you want? €4k for flights seems a lot. Reconsider your plans to include budget flights, budget accomodation and getting a working visa for one of the countries you are visiting so as to build up funds while travelling.

2. Can you delay 6 months or so and then the investment that you speak of will mature half way through your trip giving you fresh funds to continue with.

 

[TheLedge]

Thanks for your considered replies everyone.

ClubMan: I'm not joking unfortunately! & I checked the FBB forum initially, it's quite good but I just want to talk through my plan. Investments are guaranteed. I've seen a 9 months 0% Credit Card from Egg (UK).

Pinky: Paying for the loan would be done by borrowing more than I need and leaving cash in bank with a direct debit to pay it each month.

I can't leave this for another year because of age and personal circumstance, but I fully appreciate your questions.

SNB: yes, as mentioned below I intend on earning decent wedge in Australia for 5-6 months and living in budget accom.

Good point about delaying for 6 months but the wheels are in motion as I've already handed in my notice in work.

Some more info I initially omitted: I plan on travelling for 2 months on the cheap, (its a round the world gig, 5 continents over 12 months!). I'm hoping to get contract work in Sydney after the first 2 months of not working which will pay well - I'm not picking grapes!

I'm currently based in the UK so would that affect me applying for loans back in Ireland? I've been non resident for 3 years. I'm guessing it will and I'll have to borrow from a UK bank at a higher rate.

 

[ClubMan]

ClubMan: I'm not joking unfortunately! & I checked the FBB forum initially, it's quite good but I just want to talk through my plan. Investments are guaranteed. I've seen a 9 months 0% Credit Card from Egg (UK).

Are you based in the UK? If not then you probably won't get one of those cards/offers here in Ireland (Republic). If you are based in the UK then note that this site is primarily geared towards Irish personal finance and related matters. In any case I wonder about being able to borrow €10K while skipping the country and having only recently cleared other loans. Do you have any missed payments on your ICB (or equivalent) records?

Pinky: Paying for the loan would be done by borrowing more than I need and leaving cash in bank with a direct debit to pay it each month.

You are borrowing money to pay back the money borrowed? Now why didn't we all think of that. The personal finance equivalent of Steorn's perpetual motion machine? Unfortunately neither will work.

I'm currently based in the UK so would that affect me applying for loans back in Ireland? I've been non resident for 3 years. I'm guessing it will and I'll have to borrow from a UK bank at a higher rate.

Doubt that you will be able to borrow here so.

 

[TheLedge]

Are you based in the UK? If not then you probably won't get one of those cards/offers here in Ireland (Republic). If you are based in the UK then note that this site is primarily geared towards Irish personal finance and related matters. In any case I wonder about being able to borrow €10K while skipping the country and having only recently cleared other loans. Do you have any missed payments on your ICB (or equivalent) records?
You are borrowing money to pay back the money borrowed? Now why didn't we all think of that. The personal finance equivalent of Steorn's perpetual motion machine? Unfortunately neither will work.
Doubt that you will be able to borrow here so.

I have a clean credit history, and have never missed a payment. I realise the site is geared at irish personal finance, but given that I'd be moving home to Ireland I thought I'd ask the questions here. I suspected that it would be difficult to borrow and then skip off somewhere else and I've received a degree of confirmation about that now.

I'm aware of Steorn and their hilarious antics but as I see it, borrowing X + 2k, using the 2k to make the repayments temporarily is a solution to a difficult problem. If I can use the 2k to tide me over repayment wise for a few months, then I don't have a problem with paying the interest premium that comes with it. Once I start making money abroad I can start overpaying the loan.

It certainly won't make the personal finance journals but it might be the only way around this. No?

 

[Luckycharm]

€4k seems alot for flights you should be able to get a round the world ticker for between €1500-€2000 have you contacted Trailfinders for example.

I presume you are working now will you have your last pay packet to live off? I found when Travelling the best way I found was having an overdraft facility that way you only paid interest on when you went into the red. So if you are working in OZ you can use that money to support yourself not having to use the overdraft etc.
Get a credit card by all means as it is always handy but use it wisely or the interest will kill you when the interest free period runs out and you could be paying it for years.

 

[Thirsty]

I intend on earning decent wedge in Australia

Intentions are one thing, reality is another - do you have a perm resident visa for Oz? - have you properly checked out employment there?

If it's a Working Holiday Visa the you may well find that getting full-time or professional contract work is not that simple.

 

[TheLedge]

€4k seems alot for flights you should be able to get a round the world ticker for between €1500-€2000 have you contacted Trailfinders for example.

I presume you are working now will you have your last pay packet to live off? I found when Travelling the best way I found was having an overdraft facility that way you only paid interest on when you went into the red. So if you are working in OZ you can use that money to support yourself not having to use the overdraft etc.
Get a credit card by all means as it is always handy but use it wisely or the interest will kill you when the interest free period runs out and you could be paying it for years.

I'll be phoning Usit this weekend but 4k is the number I have in my head from a friends experience. It's effectively 25 stops, 4 in each continent and 5 intercontinental.

 

[TheLedge]

Intentions are one thing, reality is another - do you have a perm resident visa for Oz? - have you properly checked out employment there?

If it's a Working Holiday Visa the you may well find that getting full-time or professional contract work is not that simple.

Going on experience of colleagues who've been there and done it in the same field, I'm pretty confident that I can earn enough. There are plenty of contracts in what I do and I can expect to earn between 50 & 70 AUS$ an hour. Yes it's a working holiday visa that would enable me to work in each job for 6 months at a time. The rules have changed recently.

 

[Luckycharm]

$50/70 an hour are you an accountant or a specialist trade, if you could earn that you will not need a big loan as cost of living alot cheaper over there.

 

[capall]

You will find it hard to get a loan from any bank without a regular income

Why don't you head straight to OZ and work there first and bum around travel if and when you get the money together . It won't take much to get you out there and set up
Foreget

 

[CN624]

I'll be phoning Usit this weekend but 4k is the number I have in my head from a friends experience. It's effectively 25 stops, 4 in each continent and 5 intercontinental.

Have you planned your trip at all yet? There is probably no need to go for that type of ticket. Chances are you will do a lot of travel over land and not use 4 flights per continent. There are much cheaper ticket options available for round-the-world trip.

As for budgetting, I´ve done round-the-world for the year and 16k euro should cover most of it. (Not including flights)

Lots of casual work in Oz at the minute if you have your visa.

 

[TheLedge]

Have you planned your trip at all yet? There is probably no need to go for that type of ticket. Chances are you will do a lot of travel over land and not use 4 flights per continent. There are much cheaper ticket options available for round-the-world trip.

As for budgetting, I´ve done round-the-world for the year and 16k euro should cover most of it. (Not including flights)

Lots of casual work in Oz at the minute if you have your visa.

Cheers for the advice.

yeah, we're very much in our development stage of our planning. We've almost definitely decided that buying a 25 stop trip outright would be very restrictive and pressurising. Speaking with people who've "been there, done that" they say that if they were to do it again they'd just buy a one way trip to Australia, stopping in Asia for a while and just wing the rest. Far more freedom, far less pressure.

This new 24 month visa is brilliant.