at your bills do you need certain things, have a boot sale - the kitty soon mounts up if you're a bit ruthless. I've travelled a fair bit in Asia in the last few years and you don't need to break the bank (last time I was away nearly 11 months everything in came to round about 7k ) - best to organise things yourself, read travellers message boards like the thorn tree and try not to plan too much. The answer to the question as phrased in the headline is - "It is now". Reading the description, why the hell bother to travel for two months and then have to scrimp and save even when your pound will go further depending on your Asian destinations because you've taken a loan out? The writer is 49. So s/he should plan for the 50th birthday or any point from the birthday onwards in 2013; Start saving everything possible with some going to repay whatever non-mortgage debts are preventing an immediate trip right now. The rest of whatever is saved should go in an ISA and call that the travelling fund. The interest isn't so important in this case unless they already have a good one; it's a holding account really. Much better to have your own money and then a credit card for emergencies, rather than plastic or a loan funding the whole thing and then you have bigger problems than just holiday blues when you get back and come down