Credit crunch gap year

For many it has always been considered a rite of passage before or after university to take time out to travel the world and gain some life experience. However when the phrase on everybody’s lips is ‘credit crunch’ could the face of the gap year be changing?

Helen Guyver, Marketing Manager at Real Gap explains that having to budget will not affect the number of people taking a gap year, as she says, ‘On the whole people are finding a way around this and people that really want to travel will still find a way to do it.’

People are falling into three categories, there are those that still want to go away but because of money worries aren’t willing to leave their jobs and so are opting to take extended leave. Then there are those who are still doing the trips but are simply cutting them down to save money, while some people are choosing to work during their gap year.

‘The credit crunch is fuelling the gap year market. Forecasts are pointing to 30% less graduate jobs this summer and so many people will opt to travel post university in the hope that things are better when they get back,’ explains Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com.

Less is more

Remember that you’ve taken a gap year to experience other things and so make sure you do just that. Avoid wasting your money by becoming a tourist and going out too much and instead focus on experiencing the country and their culture.

‘It’s better to do less countries well than more badly - £1,000 spent travelling through three countries in two months will be much more fun than spending £1,000 flying through eight countries in six months, where you simply travel loads, seeing loads of airports and can’t afford to do anything,’ explains Tom.

Flying around the world first class on your gap year might seem like the ideal way to travel and staying in top hotels might be great but remember that less can sometimes be more.

‘InterRail Europe is a cheap option, or even better, get some bikes, some mates and head over there, camping on route,’ says Tom.

Cut backs

In the time of the credit crunch, budgeting is the best way and Helen suggests cutting down on things here and there to help you get further on your trip. ‘Save as much as you can before you go. Little things all add up – quit smoking, have one less drink on a night out, give up chocolates and magazines and don’t buy that coffee on the way to work’.

‘After A-Levels me and a couple of mates decided to take time out and have a gap year but cash flow problems meant that we wouldn’t get as far round as we’d hoped to. We did a couple of car boot sales and stopped going out as much and in a three months we’d saved enough,’ says third year sports rehab student, Chris Jackson.

It figures that the less you spend while you’re preparing for your trip then the more you can spend when you’re on your trip. ‘Most people spend over £100 on a brand name backpack while going for a quality non brand could save them £50. When buying insurance only buying what applies to you and none of the add on’s they offer could save you around another £30,’ explains Tom.

Arguably the combination of the credit crunch and the awful British weather is making people think that life is too short and sending them straight to their computers to get their gap year trip booked.

‘A gap year is not limited by money. It’s limited by your imagination,’ says Tom.