I'm 27. I only earn about 46k a year and I like to think I travel a lot. I tend to live well below my means as it is but I save a lot of money on a day to day basis.

My thing is visiting national parks and being local. I like seeing beautiful sights and historically important things. Thankfully in the US these are free or the entrance is covered by the annual pass I bought for $80.

When I have a weekend off, I'll find a cheap ass hotel in an area I can drive to in less than 10 hours and leave after work Friday. I don't care about food so if I can't find something cheap I'll just eat from the dollar menu. I'll hit up any NPS location on the way and back and not really longer for too long since I don't need hours to take in the scenery.

Usually the NPS souvenir and gas are my biggest expenses and I spend around 100-200 depending on location. I try for this once every other month or so but I've been doing enough overtime that once a month is feasible.

I'm currently saving 15k for a three month long road trip next year. I've decided seeing the country was my biggest goal in life right now and worth the investment. I intend on camping as much as possible, hotels only when necessary and I'll be eating a lot of bland but calorie packed foods to keep me going (and a lot of coffee). I talked to my boss and thankfully my job is in high enough of a demand that they're promising to hire me back once I come back.

Also I'm aware I won't get the glamorous travel experiences people post about. Itll be dirty and it'll be lonely but it brings me joy and makes my life worth living. In other words, I don't need the fancy lunch in a parisian cafe and a hotel facing the eiffel tower to make visiting Paris worthwhile.