What I use
The tools, accounts and gear I actually use to travel on $12,000 a year.
Some of these links may be affiliate links. If you buy through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Details on the Disclaimer page.
Money and cards
Your bank is the thing most likely to quietly cost you money abroad. Foreign transaction fees and ATM fees add up fast.
These are my personal referral links. If you sign up through one, I may get a bonus too. It never costs you anything extra. Offers are set by each company and were current as of October 2026, so check the terms on their page before you apply. Not financial advice.
Capital One Venture X
My main travel card. The yearly travel credit and the points pay for most of my flights and a good chunk of my stays.
75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months.
Capital One Savor
My other everyday card. Between the two, every regular purchase earns something.
$200 cash bonus after you spend $500 in the first 3 months.
Capital One 360 Checking
My everyday US checking account. No monthly fees and no minimums.
Any current sign-up bonus shows on Capital One’s page when you open the link.
Capital One 360 Performance Savings
Where my savings sit and earn interest. No fees, no minimum balance.
Any current sign-up bonus shows on Capital One’s page when you open the link.
Wise
A multi-currency account and debit card. Hold euros, lek or baht and pay the real exchange rate.
Your first transfer is fee-free. Use it within 6 months of signing up.
Charles Schwab Investor Checking
Refunds ATM fees worldwide. How I pull cash abroad without paying for it.
$100 to $1,000 when you open a brokerage account or IRA and deposit $25,000 or more within 45 days. Checking alone doesn’t qualify.
Phone and internet
Two separate problems: keeping your US number alive, and getting cheap data wherever you land.
- Tello. Keeps my US number for about $8 a month, so banks and two-factor codes still reach me.
- Airalo. eSIMs for data. Buy before you land, scan a QR code, and you have data when the plane touches down.
- Proton VPN. For public Wi-Fi and for streaming my home services from abroad.
Flights
The line item most likely to wreck a low budget. One unplanned $600 flight is 5% of my year.
- Points and miles. The long, expensive flights go on points from my Venture X, so they cost little or nothing in cash. How that fits the budget: How I’m Planning to Travel Full-Time on $12,000 a Year.
- Google Flights. The fastest way to see a whole month of prices at once.
- Skyscanner. Good for searching from a whole country to anywhere, when you don’t care where you go next.
- Going. Emails you when cheap fares show up from your home airport.
Places to stay
For anything longer than a few nights, the price per night drops fast if you ask.
- Airbnb. Best for stays of a month or more. Monthly discounts cut the nightly price hard, and you get a full place with a kitchen.
- Booking.com. The biggest selection of hotels and guesthouses. Often cheaper than Airbnb for shorter stays.
- Hostelworld. For hostels, and for meeting people when you arrive somewhere alone.
- TrustedHousesitters. Free stays in exchange for looking after someone’s home and pets.
Work exchange and seasonal work
Trading a few hours of work for a bed is the biggest lever in my budget.
- Workaway. How I found hostel volunteer gigs in Costa Rica and Panama.
- Worldpackers. Work exchange with more vetting and support than most.
- CoolWorks. Where to find seasonal jobs in national parks and ski towns, many with housing included. How I did it: the free Work a Season guide.
Tours and getting around
For the days I want to see something without overpaying for it, and for figuring out the cheapest way from one town to the next.
- GetYourGuide. Day trips and tours with free cancellation on most bookings.
- Viator. The other big tour marketplace. Worth comparing prices between the two.
- Rome2Rio. Shows every way to get from A to B: bus, train, ferry, flight, and roughly what each costs.
Travel insurance
The one thing I won’t travel without. One hospital visit abroad without coverage can wreck a year of budgeting.
- IMG Patriot International Lite. The travel medical plan I use. Solid coverage for a low monthly price.
- World Trips Atlas. The other plan I seriously considered. Worth getting a quote from both.
Gear
Everything I travel with fits in two bags.
- Canon R6 Mark II with the RF 24-105mm f/4L. My main camera and lens. Most of the photos on this site came from it, or from my phone.
- Minaal 3.0. My main bag.
- WANDRD PRVKE 21L. Camera and tech bag.
- Bellroy 7L sling. For carrying the essentials day to day.
- Sirui travel tripod. Small enough to actually bring.
- Packing cubes. The cheapest way to make one bag work.
- A universal adapter. One adapter that works everywhere beats a bag of them.
- A good power bank. For long bus rides and longer travel days.
Apps and subscriptions
The small monthly bills that follow me to every country. They add up fast, so I keep this list short.
- Google One. Cloud storage. Every photo and video I take backs up automatically from my phone.
- Spotify. Music and podcasts for the long bus rides and travel days.
- Epidemic Sound. Licensed music for my videos, so nothing gets pulled down for copyright.
Get the free guides
The $12K Year shows how all of this fits into a full year abroad. Work a Season covers landing seasonal jobs with housing included. Get them free.