Beat the Rat Race
Kris Gadsby
Seven Steps to a Life of Travel I
t seems every social media account these days is chock full of people in spectacular locations, living the dream. There is a growing trend worldwide of people doing away with the 9-to5 grind in favor of a lifestyle of adventure. Social media doesn’t tell the whole story, however. Leaving home to live a travel life takes the right mindset, planning and organization, a clear goal, and a step-by-step approach. So pack your gumption, adventurous spirit, positive attitude, and wanderlust, and make your dreams into reality! Step 1. Plan a Mindset for Travel No longer content with being discontent? Make some changes. Living and working abroad can mean more time together living on less. Our story began when our family with three school-aged children and a brand new baby suddenly found ourselves in a terrible financial situation. We had a few investment properties that decreased dramatically in value thanks to a downturn in the housing market, and we avoided nearly going bankrupt by selling them off at rock-bottom prices simply to avoid foreclosure. Instead of just working more to pay more on mortgage interest, we decided that this life — working hard and not seeing our kids, just to pay the bank — was not for us at all. We needed a simpler life. This change in thinking set us off on a gap year around the world with our four kids ages 9, 7, 5, and 2. Deciding to go is only the beginning. You’ll need a flexible and positive point of view to help deal with immigration, new languages, culture shock, and overseas emergencies.
Step 2. Start Saving Try to reduce your monthly expenses as much as possible by foregoing unnecessary expenses. Take on extra overtime at work to help build up savings for travel. Make a literal piggy bank on your kitchen counter and throw in all of your spare cash. Funnel everything you save into a savings fund that accumulates interest, and treat that money as “untouchable” for day-to-day expenses. We contributed to our savings by changing our routine. Taking our kids out of school to begin a homeschool journey enabled us to save on school fees and transportation costs. Clipping coupons or saving on gas money probably won’t build enough to buy a plane ticket, but every little bit helps. Step 3. Find Work Abroad Consider how you will maintain cash flow. Can you find remote work in your current profession or even with your current employer? Are your skills or profession in demand overseas? Do you know how to make money as an Amazon seller, blogger, YouTuber, affiliate marketer, social media manager, web designer, paid influencer, or freelance writer, or are you willing to learn? Do you have the time to take a course such as Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or yoga teacher training that will make it possible for you to gain employment in another country? Step 4. List Your House If you own your house, consider selling or renting it long term. You can use those funds to invest in a camper van to road trip your way out of the rat race or to pay for plane tickets. We Everywhere Magazine June/July 2019
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