Planning a gap year: Costs and funding

The costs of your gap year can easily add up - often to much more than might be expected - so it is important to be resourceful before as well as during your time out. Potential costs will depend on your plans but might include:

• payments to volunteering or gap providers;
• living expenses;
• travel costs and related expenses, such as visas and insurance;
• ongoing commitments, such as mortgage or loan repayments.

Budgeting

Prepare a budget to include all expected costs. Using a spreadsheet for this will help you to organise your finances and also provide evidence of IT and business skills for employment applications. Include details of when any loans and overdrafts already taken need to be repaid. A sample spreadsheet is available at Gapadvice.

Try to prioritise what you want to get out of your gap year. This will help you to put the most important things at the top of your list of budgeting needs and eliminate non-essentials.

Reduce costs as much as possible. Consider staying with friends or family while you are working to raise funds for gap year activities - this will significantly reduce your outgoings for this period of time. Network to find contacts who may be able to help with accommodation or put you in touch with providers in the areas you intend to work in or visit.

Getting the most for your money

• Research flights, gap providers and activities you are planning and find out if they are cheaper on certain days or at particular times of the year.
• Try to factor some flexibility into your plans to allow for contingencies. While you are away, opportunities may arise that you don’t want to miss.
• Think creatively about how to raise money so that you can extend your travelling or volunteer for longer periods of time.
• If your plan is just to travel, it will limit the time you can spend away because you will be incurring expenses without earning. It may also reduce the positive impact your time out will have on prospective employers in the future. Consider working while you are away, both to earn some money and to enrich your experience. You will need to check in advance on what sort of work might be available and the implications for the type of visa you will need.

Fundraising

There are many potential sources of funding but it takes time, energy and some creative thinking to find them. Here are some ideas:

• fundraising activities ranging from car boot sales to events such as quiz nights;
• sponsorship from companies - offer them incentives such as printing their logos on your travel t-shirt;
• working, perhaps part time, while you plan your time away;
• grants from funding bodies, charities and grant making trusts - to search for grants, use the Directory of Grant Making Trusts (available in university and public libraries) or computer based databases such as FunderFinder.

Loans

Research the details of the types of loan available to you:

• student loans - take a student loan early and earn interest until you need the money;
• bank loans - concentrate on loans aimed at students, which have lower interest rates and longer term repayment plans;
• financial support from your family in the form of a loan or a gift.

With all loans, whether from financial institutions or from your family:

• make sure you understand exactly when you will have to pay back the money;
• think about when you will be in a position to make repayments and how much you will realistically be able to afford;
• don’t make promises or commitments that you won’t be able to keep.

You should think particularly hard about taking on financial commitments if you are taking time out during your degree course and will be returning to study rather than to work, especially if you already have student debts to repay.