It’s time to make our accounting apparent. After all, one crucial thesis of this experiment is that these adventures are possible on a bare-bones budget. Frankly, It’s been a constant battle. As we’ve explained, a hefty savings would have been much more comfortable than a summer of grueling jobs and mimunum-wage living. The first weeks in Vietnam have been so hectic because Saigon made us sweat moisture and money at equal rates. Finances are another burden, another challenge, another one of those recurring crises people encounter in travel.
We’re trying to forge a path that others can easily follow, and money is the launch pad. So we’re weaving our fickle finances into our developing story – in essence, we need to prove the $0.00 in Jet Set Zero.

We left Seattle and landed in Saigon with $3859. Three months of labor had seen that money steadily accumulate, but our first month saw it rapidly melt.

Here’s our financial footprint so far:

$630 – Housing and accommodations for 3 weeks

$260 – Expensive trip to Nha Trang

$125 – Bonus Hog, but she’s a recent addition to our team…and yes, we bough, and are currently driving, a motorbike for $125

$672 – Food – 3 months of our summer nutrition-less food budget inspired a little financial recklessness our food spending, and we averaged about $8.50/person/day, including daily trips to wifi cafes. We love our hotel, but trying to do Jet Set work in those dark stuffy rooms just makes us yearn for cool temperatures, fresh air, and peaceful quiet, all of which are so abundant in Saigon… so we’re driven to local wifi cafes, which always involves opening and emptying our wallets.

$200 – Drinks – we haven’t yet figured out the cheaper watering holes, and we’ve had a couple epic party nights, though to be fair, a “bad night” drinking can set us back a whopping $30…

$45 – Transit – daily Xe Om (motorbike taxis) rides to/from work and big taxi rides (from drivers who liked taking long expensive excursions before dumping us off at our destination) are adding up pretty quick

$175 – miscellaneous get-yourself-set-up costs, including annoying banking withdrawal fees

So, we’ve spent $2107 so far, leaving us with $1752.

Seems ok, right? Unfortunately, we don’t get paid for another week and our teaching schedules are far from mature, so we don’t expect to pull in much money. At this point, we need to move to cheaper housing and find a way to stop leaking money at local cafes…
At the end of each week, we’ll post a financial report which follows the episode, telling you the poor, the bad, and the poverty of our travels.