There are around 1.6 million volunteers who have left home to go and volunteer in different parts of the world. Some of them planned as early as two years in advance on when they are going to volunteer and what they would do. While for some of them it took less than two weeks to plan and leave home. Depending on the individual, early planner or late planner, it is advisable to plan in advance for a volunteer abroad trip. Advance preparation helps the volunteer to: make everything ready before leaving; taking advantage of budget deals; get time to sort out finances; have more options and avoid last minute problems. Volunteers who use volunteer travel organizations don’t have to plan much as they are helped by the organizations and they oversee everything. However volunteers who are travelling independently will be forced to plan in advance so as to make the most of their trip. Here are a couple of more reasons to plan in advance: