30 Day 30 Way Ebook

AlmostFearless.
com
30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

Copyright 2009 Christine Gilbert http://almostfearless.com
INTRODUCTION ................................................. 5 GETTING STARTED .............................................. 6

THE MENTAL SHIFT TO BEGIN THE REDESIGN .............................................................................................. 8 THE TRAVEL DIET ............................................................................................................................... 13
EARNING A LIVING............................................ 16
TURNING YOUR JOB DIGITAL ............................................................................................................... 18 WHATEVER YOU DO, DONT BECOME A TRAVEL WRITER ............................................................................. 24 BECOMING A DIGITAL NOMAD, FREELANCE EDITION ................................................................................. 28 BECOMING A DIGITAL NOMAD - SMALL BUSINESS EDITION .......................................................................... 34 ADVANCED DIGITAL NOMADING - THE TIME SHIFT .................................................................................... 39 THE PART-TIME DIGITAL NOMAD ........................................................................................................... 42 67 TRAVEL FRIENDLY JOBS TO CONSIDER ................................................................................................ 46
PLANNING TRAVEL ............................................ 50

BRINGING YOUR PETS AROUND THE WORLD ............................................................................................ 52 SAFE, AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN - FINDING PLACES TO STAY WHEN YOU TRAVEL ............................................... 57 PLANNING A TRAVEL BUDGET THAT WORKS .............................................................................................. 61 TAKING THE CLASSROOM ON THE ROAD ................................................................................................. 67 THE NOT-SO-SECRET TRICK TO FINDING CHEAP AIRFARE ............................................................................ 73

TRAVELING HOMESCHOOLERS SPEAK - HOW THEY DO IT ............................................................................ 77
GETTING READY TO GO ................................... 84

SELLING YOUR HOUSE IN THE DOWNTURN .............................................................................................. 86 THE TROUBLE WITH SAVING ................................................................................................................. 91 EXTREME DEBT - PAY OR STAY ............................................................................................................... 95 STAYING FOREVER - LIVING IN ANOTHER COUNTRY ................................................................................. 101 GETTING HEALTH INSURANCE WHEN YOU TRAVEL ................................................................................... 107 PAYING BILLS WHILE AWAY AND OTHER SUNDRY TASKS ............................................................................ 113 HOW TO MAKE MORE MONEY ........................................................................................................... 118 GETTING A JOB WHEN YOU RETURN ................................................................................................... 123 HOLY CRAP, WHAT HAVE I DONE? (PRE-TRIP JITTERS) ............................................................................... 126
FAMILY AND FRIENDS ...................................... 128

CONVINCING YOUR LOVED ONE TO TRAVEL TOO .................................................................................. 130 TELLING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY .................................................................................................... 134
WHEN YOU TRAVEL ......................................... 137

THE ART OF UNPLANNING ................................................................................................................. 139 COMMON SENSE SAFETY WHILE TRAVELING ........................................................................................... 144 WATCHING TV/MOVIES OVERSEAS ...................................................................................................... 149 TAKE A BREATH, THIS IS HAPPENING ..................................................................................................... 153

INTRODUCTION
When I quit my corporate manager job in June 2008 in order to completely change my life and travel the world, everyone I knew thought I was crazy. I started the site almostfearless.com to document my transition and Ive learned that Im definitely not alone. There are lots of people who have done the same thing and even more that are thinking about taking the plunge. In the past year, Ive gotten hundreds of emails and comments asking me the same question: how do I do it? This ebook was originally posted on my blog, as a series of 30 posts. The idea was to help someone thinking about traveling long term turn that into a reality, with the real world practice steps that would get you there. Since then, its quickly become some of the most popular content on my site and I knew that at 30,000 words, I had written a small book, not just a series of blog posts. Im very happy to share this ebook for free, but in exchange I want a small favor. If you like what you read, subscribe to my site. If it helps you travel, spread the word. As a writer, I live and die by the support of my readers. Id love to continue producing ebooks like this for free, but in order to make that happen, I need you. Do you know someone who needs to read this? Forward it on. And if you find yourself sitting on a beach in Thailand, because of the tips you read here, I want a postcard.

GETTING STARTED


THE MENTAL SHIFT TO BEGIN THE REDESIGN

If youre thinking of ways to travel the world, you might have wondered: how do you go from planning to actually making it happen? Whats the crucial step from wanting to travel to just doing it? Only 2 years ago, I didnt know. I would study travel blogs, trying to fit how their steps into my own circumstances. Id re-read How it feels posts trying to find some clues as to what it is really like to give up everything to travel and summon my own courage. Id research residency visa requirements to countries that Id like to visit. Id make budgets, dream itineraries, look up flights important research but it cant go on forever. Eventually, I just made the decision to go honestly committing myself to redesigning my life and traveling in the next six months a simple but difficult step. I set a date. Making that decision changed everything. Heres your test: When are you leaving? If you have a date, congrats, you are well on your way. Sure there are lots of details to work out, but youve already completed the hardest part: the first step. For those of you who dont have a date, heres where it gets tricky. When does research to make sure its possible, become a roadblock in and of itself? If youre not careful the problem becomes: You cant take the leap until youre sure it will work out You wont know it will work out until you take the leap In other words, anyone that waits for a guarantee waits forever. Its not coming.

Today, Im asking everyone to take a small step with me and change their expectations from finding what will definitely work to what probably will. Yes, there is inherent risk in redesigning your life and traveling the world. But Id also caution that there is inherent risk in everything we do. Buying a house is placing a bet that you wont be laid off or the market wont crash, leaving you 25% underwater on your mortgage. Taking a job is placing your short term financial future in the hands of an employer that you dont know very well. Placing your money in retirement accounts is a statement that you feel pretty confident that you wont need that money this week to survive. But how do you really know? The answer: we never know. Im not asking anyone to put their financial future, careers, spouse, children or pets at undue risk. Rather I ask that you change your thinking as you research your options from looking for the absolutely, failsafe, must work to reasonable to assume, others have done it as your trigger to take the plunge. The same as you would for anything in your life. Then you must set a date. Breaking your own rules The second step is to become a diligent rule breaker. Every time you say to yourself, I cant do that, because I want you to ask yourself why. For example: I have a dog and I cant bring it with me and I cant leave it behind I cant travel with my kids I know everyone says this, but I really cant save any money

There are people who travel with their pets, take their kids abroad and make an art form out of living cheaply to save for travel. So why cant you? Why have you set that rule? When you set a rule for yourself, youve just changed a problem into a deal breaker. Unless someone alters the space-time continuum and makes it possible to neither bring nor leave your pet at the same time as you travel, youre effectively closed the door. Problems we can deal with. Huge amounts of debt? Empty savings account? No ideas of where to start? All fixable. Breaking the laws of physics? Not so much. The goal is to not live by rules youve inadvertently set for yourself. Instead of preemptively deciding that its impossible, release yourself from controlling the outcome and try to get to the core of your concern. For example those concerns then become: How can I ensure my dog is comfortable and happy when we travel together? How can I travel with my kids and stay sane, afford it and maintain their schooling? What are some ways I can raise the cash to travel? After you answer these questions, you may decide that the tradeoffs arent worth it. But it will be an informed decision. You will make the choice, not your initial fear/reluctance/negativity. Your homework: 1. Write down every item that is preventing you from traveling right now. As we go through this eBook, we will be (hopefully) crossing those items out. This is your to-do list. 2. Go through your list. Have you created any impossible barriers? Have you set an impossible rule for yourself? Try re-wording the problem in a way that addresses your core concern without jumping to conclusions about the outcome.

3. Start thinking about a date. If youre not ready yet, thats okay, but you might set a soft date based on the items on list #1, based on how your estimate to address each item. As you go through your concerns, adjust the date as you get closer to working out all of your details.


THE TRAVEL DIET

In the upcoming chapters, Ill be looking at many of the questions that readers sent in to my website: how to save money, deal with debt, get a visa, homeschool kids, travel with pets and so on. But first, before we do any of that, I dont want to waste any time. Im putting you on a diet. The travel diet becomes the lifestyle modus operandi of any world traveler. Its simple: Dont buy anything, unless its worth the travel time it costs. Were not talking about just saving money; were talking about changing your relationship with it. Every dollar you spend is a certain amount of your finite life spent working for it. The goal is to work less, travel more. The easiest way to begin this process is becoming acutely aware of your relationship with money. Nothing makes you more aware of what you spend and why than not spending anything at all. It takes a mindfulness to not spend. Its often learned on the road, after you go wildly over budget in your first few weeks and over time you learn how to live on less than you ever thought possibleand still have an amazing time. The irony is that the same skills you learn on the road will also get you traveling that much faster. Its never too soon to start. And when youre spending an extra month in the South Pacific, youll thank me. Remember this: Money spent = Time not traveling. $15 pays for an extra day in some countries. The concept in practice

Stop, breathe, think. If youre considering buying something, take a moment to stop and breathe through the impulse. Sometimes what seemed like a must have will not seem as important after a little time. Have you ever talked yourself out of buying something? Maybe you walked around the store too long, holding the item, contemplating and in the end decided against it. This is exactly why sales people want to rush your purchases- the initial impulse is often stronger than the actual need. Use creativity first, cash second. Often we buy things to solve problems. I need this X, so I can do Y. What if you couldnt buy your way out of the problem? How would you solve it then? I suggest going through this decision tree (in order) before making any purchases: Workaround: Can I find another solution? Reuse: Is there something I can mend, reuse or re-purpose? Borrow: Does anyone I know have one? Barter: Can I trade services or goods to get what I need? Buy Used: Have I checked Craigslist/Salvation Army/second hand stores? Buy New (at best price): Will the cheapest model met my needs? Can I get a discount? Make it a fun. Its hard at first to start living more frugally. You begin to focus on everything that is missing, instead of what you will be gaining. It helps to make it game-like challenge and set short term goals: Try to buy no groceries for 10, 20, 30 days (depending on how big your pantry is). Youd be surprised how long you can survive on the food that you have, with a little creativity.

Look for free local events for the weekends- you might see a side of your area that you never appreciated. Set dinner challenges- Can you make a delicious dinner for under $5? Whats the cheapest meal you can make in bulk? Can you beat that? How many days in a row can you go without spending a cent? Or make weekends a spend-free zone. Start living the travel lifestyle now. Little things, like subscriptions to Netflix, a gym membership, magazines, cable, expensive cell phone plans, and so on, will be the first things to go, when traveling. You wont miss them. Youll find alternatives. You can watch your favorite shows online or workout at home or live without a cell phone data plan. Homework: 1. Even if youre just contemplating travel, put yourself on the Travel Diet at minimum, no big purchases, thoughtful shopping and reduction in expenses. 2. The next time you feel like you need to buy something, give yourself 5 minutes cooling off period before making the purchase. 3. This month, commit to convert one potential purchase into being free, using one of the spending alternatives: workaround, reuse, borrow, or barter. 4. For every household purchase, put it to the backpack test. Will you be able to (or want to) carry it with you? If not, dont buy it.

EARNING A LIVING


TURNING YOUR JOB DIGITAL

If you can swing it, getting your boss to let you work remotely can be a great way to travel the world. Its not as rare as you might think, either. In my former corporate life, I managed almost completely virtual teams. Even when a team member was based in my office, it wasnt unusual for one of us to be working from home. Even my direct boss lived in another state. If youre not lucky enough to work in an environment with an established remote employee program, you may still be able to convince your boss to work outside of the office. To determine if youre a good candidate, check these four conditions: 1. You dont need to physically interact with machinery, customers or venders to complete your work (for example, a PC technician, nurse or sales rep would not be a good fit). 2. The company already has the hardware (like speaker phones) and/or software (like video conferencing or teleconferencing service) and youve seen them in use within your department (even if it wasnt specifically for a remote employee). Also be sure to check that you can access everything at home that you can at work. Can you check email and voicemail from home? Can you log into your companies network? Download files? Use work-related software? 3. You have a laptop for your job already or some people in your company have one. If you think youll be able to buy your own and use if for work purposes, its going to really depend on the IT security policies at your company. Any sizable company should have a problem with business info on a personal PC. Also, keep in mind that your boss may have to budget for it a year in advance. 4. You are a trusted and valued employee. If youve just gotten written up for being late or missing assignments, its highly unlikely a boss will trust you to work even more independently.

Do you meet all four conditions? Then it may be worth approaching your boss about working remotely. How to Broach Going Digital This is a case where youll want to be very sensitive to your companys culture. If you get a no it can be hard to come back from that. Use your gut instinct, but here are some ways to approach it: The Litmus Test 1. Let your boss know that you have an appointment at your house one morning next week that you need to wait for. Reassure him that youll bring your laptop home and keep working as you wait. (This is better than faking sick and working from home, as you might make the wrong impression like kiss up). Goes well? Continue on 2. Schedule a meeting with your boss and ask him directly about the ability to work from home. Youll want to be prepared with how youll stay in contact, a backup plan, how they will keep track of your assignments and a communication plan. But your bosss first question is going to be, why? Youll want to keep this simple and objection free. Good and true reasons like, I am sick of the commute are often easier to swallow than Id like to backpack across Central America. While both may be true, your boss isnt ready for the latter yet. They are concerned that youll keep doing the work and wont make them regret the decision. Leave your big travel plans out of it, for now. Goes well? Continue on 3. Your boss probably said something along the lines of, let me think about it or Ill have to check with HR. Now is the time to give him a little air, and work your butt off being the superstar that you are. In two weeks, pop into the office and casually mention that you just finished XYZ awesomeness, oh and by the

way is there any update on the work remotely thing? Be persistent but friendly, work hard and be productive, but dont be surprised if your boss drags his feet. It may take a few months to get an answer, in the meantime, start forming your backup plan. The Im Gonna Quit This one is uber-risky. Its a quick way to find out how valued you are or are not. 1. Schedule an appointment with your boss. Let her know that youve received an offer to work at another company. You really dont want to take it, but its working 100% remotely, which is something that is very appealing to you. You would love to stay where you are but its just so hard to pass that up. Is there any way that they could accommodate you? Be prepared to have information on how this would work if they did let you. The decision will come fast, and it may mean goodbye. The Big Fat Lie Well the last one was a lie, but thats a business lie, which doesnt count, right? This one is lying about your personal life. Not for the weak stomached. 1. Craft an elaborate lie about possibly, maybe having to move just beyond what would be reasonable to drive. Maybe your spouse got a new job? Try not to say your moms sick, thats just immoral. 2. Schedule an appt with your boss. Set out your very compelling dilemma and ask them to help you figure out how to make this work. Perhaps suggesting something absurd like working 80 hours one week and zero the next as you fly between cities. Then it comes to you could you, would it be possible, to work from home? Goes well? Hug your boss and try to keep your story straight.

The Truth This one worked for my husband, dont underestimate it. 1. Schedule an appointment with your boss or just send an email. Ask if you can work remotely, because youd like to travel to X. Assure them that youll be able to complete the work and you understand that for any reason they could let you go if they werent happy. If youve worked remotely before, mention it. Then sit back and wait. In my husbands case they made him sign a letter saying hed still do his job while travelingand if he didnt they had the right to fire him. If they ask for that, do it! Its no more protection than what they already have. Other Tips: If you cant get a yes from any of these methods, then you can always to ask to do it on a trial basis. Try 1 day a week for 90 days. Then work your butt off in that time to prove how easy it will be for your boss. I mentioned this above, but be prepared to answer their objections. How will it work for meetings? What if you need to see the client? How will they get in touch with you? Will you pay for your own phone line? Do you have high speed internet at home? What about sensitive information on your laptop? If youre not considered a rock star in your office right now, you might want to take some time earning that designation before you approach your boss. Have a list of your accomplishments ready if you need to justify why you deserve this perk

I specifically didnt mention how to go from working remotely to traveling the world in this post. One step at a time. If your boss does bite, youll want to spend some time working out the kinks from your home, before you hit the road. A word about honesty I would suggest you go the honesty route, but Ive included the other options, because, hey, sometimes they work. Ive personally seen people negotiate nearly 100% remote working based on some personal situation when it was absolutely not allowed for anyone else. Is it fair? No, but your boss is human. They want to help. And if you dont like your job, and probably will quit anyway but wouldnt mind squeezing a year or two of remote work out of them, then you might not feel very bad about painting an inaccurate picture of your home situation. Be aware that a change in managers can mean that your work remotely agreement is revoked. Always have a backup plan.


WHATEVER YOU DO, DONT BECOME A TRAVEL WRITER

Im addressing this in a separate section because this question was one of the most common emails that I received about this series. Want to travel the world, write about it and get paid all at the same time? Of course you do! The connection is obvious, youll combine two things together and youll have an advantage because youre already traveling. The problem is that its obvious to everyone. And there are a lot of travelers. The same phenomenon happens in the small business world. Everyone loves food. So why not open a restaurant? The answer is that the skills needed to cook a great meal or host a dinner party are not at all the same ones needed to run a restaurant. Youre working on razor thin margins. You need a mercenarys command of budgeting and your staff. Yet, year after year, thousands of people open their first business as a restaurant and most of them fail. Why? Because they picked a business based on what they liked to do, rather than where they would have a competitive advantage. The same can be said about travel writing. Loving travel and being good at writing about it is not the same thing. Are you meticulous? Do you like to research? Can you write at a professional level? Would updating a guidebook and running around a city 12 hours a day making sure that phone numbers and maps are correct make you happy? Are you willing to spend 20 hours researching and writing a piece for $50 in the beginning? Have you ever worked in the industry before? Most of the travel writers that you read in magazines have been doing it for over 5 years.

Other people, like myself, who find a way to make a very modest living between writing and blogging have a prior history (and trust me, Im no role model for success). I was an editor in high school. I had my first piece published at 15. In college I co-founded a writing society and was chosen to meet Allen Ginsburg. After college I worked in a publishing house for a year. After that I learned about web technologies and can write HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP. Ive had blogs since 1999. Two years before I started this site, I wrote a novel (unpublished). These things dont matter, no editor cares about them, but Im trying to illustrate something. Most of the travel writers I meet have similar pasts maybe its a PhD or a prior career as a textbook editor. The point is that any prior experience really does help. Some people make it look easy until you find out they have a MFA in creative writing and four years at a magazine under their belt. If you want to do it, absolutely, go for it. I just needed to get it on the record: if youre picking travel writing because its a quick or easy way to make a buck, youre mistaken. Now, if you still want to become a travel writer, there are just seven pieces of advice: 1. Write about your hometown first and get as many published clips as possible. Do this is well before you begin traveling. 2. Join Media Bistro and read all their articles before you start pitching publications. 3. Write every single day. Writers block is a myth. Youre a professional. 4. Write broadly until you figure out your voice, your niche and where you want to be. (That means work-for-hire if necessary, even if its corporate). 5. Plan your articles before you travel, not after the trip. Try to get as many assignments before you leave as possible. 6. Reach out to people to get feedback on your writing and start a blog.

7. Dont forget: the industry is small. Try not to burn too many bridges in the beginning with your newbie ways. Then prepare to spend all of your free time writing, researching, reading about writing or thinking about it. Are you suitably scared off yet? Good! Thats the point. There are 101 other ways to make money while traveling and well cover a bunch of them before the end of this eBook.


BECOMING A DIGITAL NOMAD, FREELANCE EDITION

Previously, we talked about turning your job digital. But what if your boss wont agree to allow you to work 100% remotely or your currently job doesnt translate well to a digital oneor more importantly, you just dont want to keep doing what youre doing now? Option #2: Going Freelance. Going freelance is the path of least resistance. You dont need permission from your boss or start-up money or even a complicated legal structure. This makes it really easy for people enter the marketplace making it extremely competitive. The good news is that most freelancers are horrible. If youre good, savvy and work hard its still possible to make room for yourself. Which Comes First the Website or the Client? The first thing everyone does when starting out is to spend a month building a web presence. I say, wait. The most important thing to becoming a freelancer is getting work. Presuming you have some experience, have some people you have worked with and can speak positively to your experience you already have your first line of attack: the referral. If youre not so great at networking, now is the time to start. Set up a LinkedIn account and feed it the emails of all your former coworkers (or let it access your email and grab your whole address book). Now is not the time to spam everyone you know, but it is the time to put yourself out there. Getting work without a website LinkedIn is your friend. Mine your network. Remember that old boss that loved working with you? These are potential clients. Use online sites like elance.com or guru.com to hawk your skills. Check out the Work Wirelessly job board and search for Craigslist.org postings.

Create a Monster.com profile that specifies remote only. (You might get contacted by a lot of headhuntersdepending on your skill set but they often have short term contract work). Go Local. Youd be surprised how the online world neglects the businesses right in your home town. Find the consulting firms/artists agencies/placement agencies for your niche. Sometimes they can throw you higher profile work than youd get on your own. If appropriate, start attending networking events in your area or participating on conferences to get your name out there. Once you get the work, then the fun begins. Three Ways to Be a Kick Ass Freelancer 1. Know what youre doing 2. Do it and on time 3. Be a professional Being a professional is the toughest one, because its so subjective. I think of it as emulating this kind, helpful, honest person who is both confident and excited but practical and realistic (even when you feel like strangling your client). It comes with practice and most of it is learned from being on the receiving end of someone who is clearly not professional. Everything you say and do should have the underlying message: I am here to help and Im happy to do it. Even when youre delivering a no. A helpful analogy I learned in my corporate training (and believe me there was plenty) was to Sandwich Your No. One layer compassionate understanding, a middle

layer of heck no and bottom crust of I really understand and maybe this will work instead. An example would be: I understand that its important to have this done by Monday. Unfortunately, Im not going to be able to accommodate your request as I have prior commitments. What can we do now to prepare, so that I can hit the ground running next week? It sounds cheesy, but seriously its like a Jedi-mind trick for pouty clients. Oh you understand my needs but arent able to meet them but are trying to do whatever you can to help? Ok. The Business Side of Being Your Own Business You dont need anything at first, except very good records. Extremely good, detailed records, with receipts. For everything. If you get any money, write it down. If you spend any money, write it down. Your home office is a deduction, including the cost of rent and utilities, prorated based on square feet. Industry publications and memberships can be deductions. One person I knew went to Italy every year for research. Anything could be a deduction and when tax time comes, you will be absolutely scrambling if you didnt keep track all year. Being a sole proprietor under your own tax number (social security) is fine for now (or you can purchase a Tax ID for a few bucks, but youre still a sole proprietorship, it just prevents you from having to disclose your social to clients). You dont need to pursue a LLC or S-Corp legal status yet, you can do it later: it costs money and makes filing your taxes more difficult. There are benefits, but only if youre making money! If youre pulling in less than $1000 a month, then your deductions will probably be enough to prevent you from paying any real taxes so why go through all that until it makes sense (i.e. will save you money)?

Why Freelancers Give Up: The Client Cycle The hardest part of being a freelancer is that it takes almost all of your time to find work. You might work for 2 months sending out bids, contacting people, surfing the job boards. Nothing. Then one day you will get 5 clients at the same time and work around the clock for two months. Yeah! Youre finally taking off. Youve made it. Then the work ends, you finally look up and theres no one around. Theres absolutely no work. Limiting the Boom and Bust Cycle of Freelancing I said limiting, because its never possible to have perfectly consistent levels of work. There will be times when you scramble. There will be times when your phone is unnaturally quiet. Golden rule of freelancing: Always be looking for new work. Even when youre working, even when you cant breathe, you need to keep putting yourself out there. But, you cant say yes to everyone. You cant accommodate last minute requests all the time. You cant take a project when youre overbooked just because youre afraid another one wont come. You will burn out, you will disappoint people when you under-perform and in a year from now youre not going to like freelancing very much. Too much work? Negotiate later start dates. I know the client said it has to be done by X, but they are full of crap (usually). Every client in the world says that because they think it prevents you from taking forever on it. Be firm. Set expectations.

If youre going to lose the account anyway, pass it to a friend. You have to say no sometimes, but giving a referral buys you enormous goodwill and its just the nice thing to do. Maybe theyll repay the favor. Raise your prices. If youre consistently working at 90%, youre undercharging. You will lose some clients, but thats the point. Its basic economics. There is one of you (limited supply) and a high demand (many clients) which means prices have to go up. Be strong! Youre obviously worth it. Fire your annoying clients. If they take up a lot of time for the same price as your appreciative, nice clients, then fire their butt. They will never improve, they will always be a pain, so might as well cut them loose now, while you have plenty of good work to take their place. You Can Start Now If youre still at the day job, theres no reason that you cant begin looking for clients now. It may be difficult to manage after hours work, but its a really smart idea to have at least a few clients before you take the plunge. If you think your boss will mind, dont talk about it on Facebook or LinkedIn, if you have current coworkers as friends. It may mean a little stealth work, setting up new profiles under a new email, just to keep things separate. Ultimately, there are a million things to be learned about freelancing, but it all starts with you, getting out there, getting work and keeping clients.


BECOMING A DIGITAL NOMAD - SMALL BUSINESS EDITION

I started a small business in 2002 with my husband. It was a little design studio, we had a sales staff and some artists working for us, and an office space across the street from Starbucks headquarters in Seattle. We walked into the business will very little cash (we had both been laid off from our dot com jobs) but with plenty of energy and enthusiasm. The business did fine. We made about what we would have made working full time at that point in our careers. We were able to pay for the S-Corp status and a lawyer. Our rent and business phone/internet checks never bounced and we paid our staff on time. However, after a year we closed it down and got regular jobs. Why? Because it sucked. We were essentially working as full time freelancers plus running a business, overseeing staff and trying to find and woo clients. It was a 7 day a week, 17 hour/day job. Talk about burnout. Im convinced its not the way it has to be. We tried to use the same skills we used in the workplace for our business. The problem is that when youre an employee, working hard is rewarded. When its your business, its about working smart. Our biggest mistakes: 1. We didnt have cash. This forced us to take on clients that paid little and go after a quantity strategy approach verses quality. We were scrambling from the beginning. You dont want your cash flow to determine your business strategy, thats a very bad approach. Its short-term thinking and what happens is that you are too busy to chase quality work as much as you should or create any systems that would lessen everyones work flow. You might identify inefficiencies but be powerless to do anything about it. The business is running you.

2. We got an office space too soon. We worked for about a month in our basement, and we should have stayed there for the whole first year. It felt like we needed a real office to be legit, but the truth was that we could have saved all that money and reinvested it into the business in ways that would have increased our bottom line. 3. We didnt outsource enough. We tried to do everything I mean everything ourselves. I was building databases for clients, designing our website, taking on every project. Thinking we were milking all the value out of the project by doing it ourselves, we were instead missing an opportunity. We could have actually earned more by outsourcing. We would be able to take on more clients, focus just on our core competencies and waste less time. 4. We didnt focus. If the work was there and it was even tangentially related to design, we took it. At one point we were doing voice over work for a medical video on varicose veins. Not exactly what we had planned in the beginning. Because we didnt focus, we never became specialists in any one area. We missed out because we tried to be everything to everyone. 5. We didnt create systems. The number one piece of advice Id give anyone trying to start a small business is to plan you out of it. Every single thing your company does must be done by someone else. Youre running the business, not literally running it. You are not every employee. Your job is to think about how to make more money. If youre answering phones, pitching clients, doing the work, updating the books and sweeping the floors at night, you dont have a small business. You have a freelancer. You. The first thing to think about is getting everything off your plate and how to monitor that with the least amount of daily involvement.

We didnt fail completely. We did manage to pull in a healthy income. We did gain some name-brand clients. In fact, one client was so impressed with an animation we did, he offered my husband a full time job, working remotely (the job my husband still works to this day). What We Did Right: 1. We worked sales, hard. We didnt sleep, but we did pitch everyone we could: Yahoo, Ebay, Major League Baseball, you name it. Sometimes wed get the work, other times not. In the beginning we spent most of our time creating mock-ups, free samples of our work to show off what we could do for each potential client. If youre just starting out, its the only way to land someone big. 2. We didnt waste our time with free work seekers. In the design world, there are lots of people looking for free services. They say, You can put this in your portfolio! which is just silly. A more subtle trick is when someone puts an ad asking for a logo design but wants to see mock-ups first. Rule: get paid first, then work (unless you approached them first and they are a big name, see above #1). 3. We reached out for help. I went to the Small Business Administration and got connected with some mentors who ended up throwing me thousands of dollars worth of work, plus the invaluable advice they shared. 4. We took care of the accounting and legal structures. It was a pain, cost money, but it was one of the smartest things we did. If we had ignored it, we could have been hit with massive taxes, since our company did over the six figure mark in the first year. It didnt feel like a lot because after expenses and our salaries we were just squeaking by, but at tax time it was a life saver. 5. We cared about doing extremely good work. We treated every project as a potential reference so we really gave 110%. This made such a big difference in our retention rate. We knew if we could just

convince someone to take a chance on us, that we could make them very happy. Every time we kept a customer, we had more time to look for other work. Ultimately, this lead to my husbands current job, which as 100% remote is part of what lets us travel full time. If you can, Id suggest saving enough money so that you can afford to hire people to do most of the dayto-day work for you. Its a full time job to analyze the market vs. your strategy and your time is best spent doing that. You need to figure out how to do things cheaper, better, faster. Let someone else do the repetitive tasks.


ADVANCED DIGITAL NOMADING - THE TIME SHIFT

Theres a dirty little secret Tim Ferriss doesnt mention in the 4-Hour Workweek. And most digitalnomading-travel-the-world types are pretty loathe to bring it up. Its a big fat problem and it only gets worse the further you travel. The time difference. You see, we dont want to get ahead of ourselves. We spend a lot of time talking about how working 100% remotely is not only possible but a better alternative to working in a cubicle. We convince you of that. You agree. Then we take you further down the primrose path and show you all the wonderful ways you can get free of the cubicle. Youre not sure if you can pull it off. We dance, we sing, we pull out the ponies and put on the whole show. For most of you, its not enough. The 4-Hour Workweek was a NY Times Bestseller, but how many people are actually quitting their jobs? Its a tough sell. So we leave it at that. But once youre committed to becoming a digital nomad, you suddenly find the advice has dried up. One reader innocently asked me, But wait, what about the time difference when youre in Asia? Ah, that. Some would say you have three options: 1. Get a job or client where you dont have to be available via email or phone during their business hours. 2. Work all night. Sleep all day. 3. Dont go to Asia. Thats true. But there are things you can do:

Negotiate the night shift. For some employers it would be a bonus to have someone working overnight on their projects. Need something turned around for the next day? Give it to our overnight person. Your overnight will be during the day so it works perfectly for everyone. Unplug your client. If youre a freelancer or small business owner, its possible to set expectations early. Youre available to talk at a certain time and everything else will be handle via email. If youre clear from the beginning, itll minimize issues later. Start weeding out your needy clients. If you know that youll be time shifting, say moving from 6 hours past their business hours to a full 12, begin putting everyone on a low contact diet. For those who complain find replacement clients. Consider starting a small business. The best way to own all of your time is to buy it back from the world in the form of working for yourself. Maybe this is a 2 year plan, but its never too soon to start planning what that would look like. If its doable, time shift your life. If youre living just 6 hours away from their business day, its still possible to make that traditional hours work. If its a US east coast company and youre living in Spain that means working from 3 PM until 11 PM just in time for Spanish dinner.


THE PART-TIME DIGITAL NOMAD

To date, this eBook has been covering the lifestyle redesign involved in moving overseas or traveling long term. However, thats not to imply that traveling is an all or nothing proposition. For many people, giving up their house or traveling year round isnt the goal. Instead, perhaps you imagine summering in Greece or taking month long trips once or twice a year. How does this affect the planning process? Breaking Free to Travel Career-wise you can go two ways: quit your job every six months to take off to some far flung destination or find work flexible enough that you can schedule those same getaways. The first option isnt rocket science- most college students have perfectly the work and dash lifestyle. However, getting a boss to let you unplug and take off for 1/3 of the year will take significantly more finesse. Thats why you dont want a boss. There are a handful of seasonal jobs: school teachers, construction, landscaping, golf courses, tourism, university jobs etc. However, short of landing one of these temporal gigs, the chances of convincing your boss to let you take the summer off or to extend unpaid vacation as a job benefit are extremely low. The best way to become a part-time digital nomad is to become a full time one. That means starting your own business (as long as you can leave periodically), becoming a freelancer or getting a job where you work 100% remotely. For most of the year, youll live like every other digital nomad, except your location of choice will be your hometown. While Youre Gone

Unlike a full-time digital nomad, you may be able to spend your traveling time work-free. Of course if youre working for an employer remotely, this wont be possible, but its not at all uncommon for the selfemployed to travel sans assignments. On my travels, Ive met many people in this situation small business owners taking six weeks off to learn Spanish in Guatemala or the IT Guru that would work six months at $100/hr then take the rest of the year off. If youre traveling full time you might be tempted to feel a bit sad for their short term plans, but as youre banging away on your laptop during the day, theyre making the most of their travel time. Unfettered, completely free and enjoying their time because of its finite nature, not despite it. The key is to create the systems before you go, so that your livelihood doesnt come to a screeching halt. If you own a business you need to plan from the beginning , to be able to confidently hand it over to someone else while you travel. If youre a freelancer, then you need to be a strict time-master and be clear with your clients that you absolutely are not available during your scheduled travel times (you dont need to tell them why, just be clear). Having a trusted freelancer that is willing to cover you during your away time is a good strategy to keep clients from straying too far. If youre working seasonally, you may have the easiest time picking up and leaving. Just dont be surprised if your coworkers are less than impressed with your healthy tan and travel stories when work picks up again. Which is better? Full-time or part-time? I have a theory that most full-time travelers eventually become part-time digital nomads (if they continue traveling). While traveling around the world for a year or five is wonderful, after a while most people settle down, at least a bit. That doesnt necessarily mean they settle back home perhaps they spend the winters somewhere warm and then travel, albeit more slowly, throughout the rest of the year. For someone planning their first big trip, Id advise you not to worry about this too much. Most people travel

for a full year before they start day dreaming about having their own bed and a place to put things (thats bigger than just what they can carry). Which is better? I always think people should travel as much and as far as feels good and no further. If youre burned out, stop traveling. If youre bored again, its okay to change plans and leave early. Were all doing this and making incredible sacrificesbut its only worth it if you love it.


67 TRAVEL FRIENDLY JOBS TO CONSIDER

Im sure there are 1,000 different jobs you can do overseas, but here are 67 just to illustrate how varied the options are. If youre struggling to find a way to make money while you travel, perhaps one of these offbeat stories will give you a new angle. Most of these are firsthand accounts, others are links to job boards you might not have considered and a few are how-to articles. 1. I have an incredible job. Be like this guy. 2. Work in the Foreign Service. 3. Take your US based strategic communications job on the road 4. Work as a Theatre Tech. 5. Get a job in Hong Kong from the job boards. 6. Find a paid internship in IT in India. 7. Act your way across Europe. 8. See Antarctica up close with the many job opportunities. 9. Find jobs across Asia at the PacificBridge 10. Become a wildlife biologist 11. Turn your full time job into freelance 12. Help on a farm. 13. Teach English. 14. Make money with your blog and showing other people how to do it. 15. Find jobs online in Thailand 16. Guide Bicycle Tours. 17. Work in an Eco-lodge. 18. Start up a business in Hong Kong. Or in Japan for that matter.

19. Become a Diver Instructor 20. Search for jobs in Malaysia 21. Join the legions of IT professionals working remotely and become an IT consultant. 22. Beyond teaching English use your English skills to land other customer facing work. 23. Be like Rolf: become a Travel Writer. 24. Get a pub job. 25. Work in a Ski Resort. 26. Join the bon fire and work at campsites worldwide. 27. Managing Editor of an online travel network slash guidebook writer slash translator slash. well you get the idea. 28. Become a geologist. 29. Work in a hotel in the UK 30. Find jobs from house-sitting to farm hand at wwoof.org 31. Help businesses and writers polish their prose as a freelance copy editor 32. Start your own import/export business 33. Be a bar hostess in Japan 34. Snap up an IT job in Europe. 35. Take care of little ones anywhere in the world: become an Au Pair. 36. Help individuals and small business get off the ground in developing countries by working in Microfinance. 37. Work in New Zealand wineries. 38. Get a job on an Alaskan Fishing boat. 39. Check out jobs in Singapore 40. Sell your photographs to glossy magazines like Vogue

41. Take your corporate job abroad 42. Get your hands dirty and work on a farm in Tuscany. 43. Write what you love and become a freelance writer 44. Fund your travels by playing online poker. 45. Chicken Sexer, Bollywood Extra, and 18 more weird travel jobs 46. Do what you love and teach others how to, too. 47. Search the online classifieds for jobs in Japan 48. Put your design skills to work and be a long distance Art Director 49. Be an English language radio announcer. 50. Search the Gajin Pot for even more jobs in Japan 51. Become a Backpack Filmmaker 52. Become a local, and then find opportunities like voice over work, corporate English gigs and more. 53. Search the online listings for jobs in Korea 54. Be an on-the-ground journalist as freelance foreign correspondent. 55. Become a companys Twitter Guru 56. Play the market and sell stocks 57. Search the online listings in India 58. Become a bush pilot. 59. Take photography to the next level and become a freelance photographer. 60. Be a nurse overseas. 61. See the world from the open sea: find work on a sailboat. 62. Travel port-to-port as you crew Cruise Ships. 63. Show tourists the sites in Rome as a Tour Guide.

64. 65. 66. 67.
Check out the job listings from the Maldives Become a professional freelance web designer Search the job boards on ExpatForum.com Learn how to become a freelance translator

PLANNING TRAVEL


BRINGING YOUR PETS AROUND THE WORLD

One of the most frequent questions I receive is about bringing your pets overseas. Can you do it? Yes. But before you pack up Fido in a regulation sized airline carrier, consider a few things: Having your pet with you will limit the kinds of transportation you can use. Many buses, trains, subways and shuttles wont allow pets, or if they do, they may require them to be caged or muzzled. Having a pet can make flying much more expensive and limit your options for airlines. While many airlines do allow pets, some dont, and if your cat or dog is over 25 lbs, expect that list to get even smaller. Combined with fees for your pet, these can double your price in some cases (Consider this example: For a certain NYC to Paris flight the cheapest option is $600 but that airline doesnt allow pets. The cheapest pet-friendly ticket is the actually the fifth cheapest option at $1100 not including pet fees). You wont have the flexibility to move as quickly. For many thats not a problem, but when traveling with your pet, you should be thinking in terms of months not days at any destination. Finding pet-friendly accommodation will take longer and for the sanity of your pet, youll want to have some kind of routine. Ive traveled with pets my two 80 lb+ lab retrievers. Theyve camped with us across the US and Canada and lived with us in Madrid. Ive also left the dogs behind, having them stay with relatives while we backpacked in Central America. Personally, I prefer traveling with the pups, even though it takes more planning and cost. It was really fun walking the dogs around Madrid and they loved all the attention they got from locals. What do I need to do?

1. First you need to determine every country that you will be visiting on your trip. Each country has their own regulations (although most of Europe shares the same rules) and while its usually easy and simple to comply, its not always possible to do so on the fly. 2. Look up the rules for each country. I use pettravel.com. There are 190 countries listed, but in general, the rules include some combination of the following requirements: at minimum a letter from your vet saying its a healthy animal or a rabies certificate. They may also need a USDA certified form (or for nonUS your official agency) from your vet (youll need to get the form, have your vet fill it out, send it to the USDA and they send it back stamped) and/or they may want your pets micro chipped (be sure that your use the international standard chip, so its readable everywhere, not just at home). A very few countries require advance permission. An even smaller number wont allow your pet at all (Iceland, unless by special permit) or will require rabies blood/titer testing, a 6 month process before you leave (UK) or has mandatory quarantine (Australia). These are just generalizations, so be sure to look up each countrys rules (which can also be different depending on if where youre coming from). 3. Check each airlines website for their rules around pets. For going to Europe, Ive always used Iberia, which was the cheapest and allowed x-large travel kennels, something to consider if your dog is Lab-sized or bigger. Each airline has a page about their pet policy, but sometimes its so well hidden, youre better off calling to ask. Be careful not to get transferred to cargo shipping, which is not the same and will cost a lot more. 4. When booking your flight, be sure to call the airline directly, rather than booking online. If its a 25 lb+ animal, they will create a pet reservation, as there are limits to the number of pets for each flight (first come first serve). They will probably not charge you for the pet fee until you arrive at the airport. (Some airlines have rules about time of year either too hot or too cold and they wont take pets in the hold).

5. The size of your pet will determine what kind of carrier you need. If you have a small pet (>25 lb), youll need a carrier that fits under your seat (they label these at the major pet stores). For larger pets, they need an airline approved kennel. They go for about $60-$120 depending on the size. To the top of this, youll want to tape a leash, water bowl and food, in case you and your pet get separated for any reason. 6. Arrive at the airport early! If youre medicating your pet, either with sleeping pills (talk to your vet) or something over the counter (we use three Benadryl per dog to knock them out), give it to them when you arrive. If youre checking your pet into cargo, expect to be whisked off to have your dogs weighed, pay for their tickets and bring them to a separate security line, all before you check in for your flight. 7. When you arrive at your destination, if your pet wasnt under your seat, itll be waiting for you in baggage claim. As you pass through customs, theyll check your paperwork and scan the microchip (if required). Now what? We like to have a private transportation for us, since the dogs are so big and the cages are huge. Whatever transportation you decide to use, just be sure your pet is allowed. Renting an apartment, instead of staying in hostels or hotels, is a great alternative for those traveling with pets. Even renting by the week, can allow you the flexibility to leave your pet alone for a few hours (many hotels dont allow this, if they do allow pets) and if you hire a dog walker/cat sitter you can even take off for the weekend. Many ferries do allow pets. Usually, if they allow cars, theyll allow your pet (but it may be confined to your car for the duration).

Its relatively cheap and easy to find college student/travelers abroad willing to watch your animals for the weekend, in exchange for a place to sleep or a few bucks. Having your own transportation with animals makes a big difference. If you have a dog, bring poop bags! These are hard to find when traveling, but a complete life saver for being a good dog owner abroad. Try to plan your trip so you minimize flights and long drives. Be ready for some negative behavior. If youve never moved with your pet, they may get a little mad about moving overseas. Its not that its a new country; its that its new. When we moved from Texas to Boston, our dogs did some revenge peeing for about a week (Oh are these your favorite shoes? How about after I pee in them!). Be patient, try to establish a routine as quickly as possible and give them lots of positive attention. If you decide to leave your pet with someone else I know this is a really tough decision, but believe me its harder on you than them. In fact, the heartbreaking part is that your pet will adapt, and get used to their new owners. Our dogs barely seemed to recognize us when we returned. It comes back over time, but that was the saddest part for us. Now its like nothing changed. Your pets will adjust. If youre planning a whirl-wind year around the world, it may make more sense (although youll miss each other) to leave your pets with someone you trust. While we handle change as exciting, it can be very stressful for an animal, so you may be acting in their best interest by leaving them in a stable environment.


SAFE, AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN - FINDING PLACES TO STAY WHEN YOU TRAVEL
Before traveling long term for the first time, you may spend a lot of time worrying about the safety, cost and cleanliness of accommodations along the way. Some people have written me and asked where they should stay because, Im not planning on staying in hostels. Hostels are not for everyone. Personally, I dont mind using them when Im traveling alone I like getting to know other people. But if youre not up to it, or youre traveling with kids, pets or just want some privacy, its definitely not the only option (who wants to bunk with their husband with 6 other people?). In fact, if youre willing to spend the time doing the legwork, there are some amazing places to stay that are still affordable. Finding those beautiful, cheap, safe, affordable, clean and well-located places to stay 1. Consider longer term rentals. Renting by the night, even at the cheapest of hostels, can often cost more than renting an apartment by the week or month. Were not talking managed properties, where a realtor is trying to get 4X market value for those one week vacationers, but rented directly by the owner. Where a hostel might cost you $20/night, you may be able to rent something weekly for $100. The benefit is that its private, furnished, has a kitchen and a private bath oh and its actually cheaper than sleeping in a dorm. 2. Use Couchsurfing.com, but not for the couches. One of the greatest benefits (besides offering free place to crash if youre so inclined) is that you can use it to connect to folks in a city before you get there. They can give you advice on where to stay, help you find long term rentals and even meet up with you for coffee when you get there. The site is all about relationships, so Id only suggest using it if you

also have an interest in making friends with locals (that is, they arent there just to be your travel agent) that being said, it is one of the best resources for getting an informed perspective. 3. Connect with the language schools. Many schools help students find places to stay and have relationships with people renting out apartments or rooms. We found an amazing apartment with 180 degree views of the city for cheap by doing this. You dont necessarily have to take classes at the school, they are often happy to funnel the business to their contacts. 4. Look on the hostel sites for bed and breakfast listings. These will typically cost a little more than a private room in a hostel, but the quality is often much higher. In many countries, these listings are found among the hostels sites, even though they are very different. 5. Negotiate a weekly rate discount at a hotel slightly over your budget. I used to never think of this, I would just spend a week in a city and not ask for any kind of discount. That is, until I saw other travelers doing it, and was able to score 2 weeks at a reduced rate at a hotel with air conditioning in Costa Rica (they are more likely to do this in the slow season). 6. Use the sites the locals use. If you wanted to find an apartment in the US, youd use Craigslist. For the rest of the world, its up to you to find the equivalent. If its in another language, you can use Google translate. If it comes to booking a place and you need to communicate via email, you can use the same translator to draft your letter and then ask folks on a language board to proof read it for you (translators very often do crazy things to certain expressions). By skipping the sites aimed at tourists youll be getting better value. Taking the time to use the local language will also give you access to properties that simply dont have a website.

7. Dont be afraid to walk. If it doesnt live up to your standards, dont be afraid to check out. Its tempting to be polite or to assume all hotels in this area are as dirty/scary/unpleasant, but usually thats not the case. Now that youre at your destination, you can look inside before booking or even ask to see the room first. Dont stress! If it does happen, just keep your spirits up, and move on. Youll laugh about it later, I promise. 8. Wait until you get there. Its a little more adventurous, but it often makes sense to only book 1 night at your destination in advance and then walk around the city to find flyers or stop into hostels/hotels or read the local paper to find something for the rest of your stay (unless youre traveling in the high season or during a festival, when it will be nearly impossible to find anything). While online reviews and research can certainly help, many things become very clear once youre on the ground. Theres no way to ever know what the crowd will be like at any place. The location and relative safety become apparent after you get there. There is no substitute for your impression of a place.


PLANNING A TRAVEL BUDGET THAT WORKS

Planning a budget is a personal matter its about money, our money and how we plan to spend it. Theres no shortage of advice on the matter quick how to's to turn your paltry salary into millionaires escape or stern warnings about the importance of tracking every penny. The real trick though, is there is no trick. The best budget is the one that is simple enough that you can memorize it. Here is the dilemma: if you plan a complex, detailed budget, you may have accurate day-to-day numbers but unless you then record every penny you spend against your budget, the tool is meaningless. In other words, if you create a budget to plan and control costs, but dont use it once youre traveling youre only getting half the value. Youll fail to control your costs. What good is it to say, I plan on spending $50 a day but then run around and spend $75 a day. Did creating that budget help you? The second dilemma is that most budgets micro-manage your activities. Will you be going to the museum? Taking a bus to the ruins? Renting a car to tour the country side? How do you know? If you do know, we really need to talk about your level of travel spontaneity. The truth is no budget is going to be very accurate, unless youre willing to make some major flexibility sacrifices. Wouldnt a rough idea and complete autonomy be more ideal? If youre going to create a simple budget, where do you start? Most long term travelers have a sense of how much they can afford, and manage these details in the back of their head, perhaps having a running total for the day or week and confident that any overspending can be made up elsewhere.

But if youre getting started, and need to plan how much to save, where do you start? First, youll need to know approximately what the cost of living is in the area youre traveling to. The method I use is to look up the average cost of a hostel. Even if Im not staying in a hostel, its valuable to use this as a benchmark for a few reasons: its available internationally in virtually every country of the world you can use a single website to look it up the numbers are always up to date its the cost for a traveler to stay there and generally at the same level of quality so youre comparing apples to apples it tends to reflect the cost for someone traveling on a budget whereas a hotel cost can fluctuate wildly based on quality. Could you use the cost of living index? Yes, but I dont because I think it generally takes into account what it costs to live somewhere as a local, verses to travel through. You wont be buying a house or doing all your shopping at the market, so I prefer to sample the cost from the travel market instead. Once I have the average cost for a hostel, I multiple that number by 3. Thats my per day budget. Avg. hostel cost per night X 3= Accommodations + food + other expenses So if the hostel cost $20/night, Id have a budget ($20 X 3) of $60 a day. This gives me: $20: accommodations $20: food

$20: whatever else If I decide to rent an apartment for the month, I need to find something for less than $20 X the month (30 days) = $600. If I go over on my food costs, Ill have to cut back from my whatever bucket. What! This will never work! This is the typical budget that I use, and I have a certain standard of living. You may be able to get by on a factor of 2 or you may need at least a factor of 5. I would suggest that whatever factor you use, to do a detailed budget for one destination to put the theory to the test. Compare it to the hostel cost in that area and create your own factor. The advantages are that you will always have a quick way to figure out the cost of going somewhere (valuable if plans change on the fly), and youll be able to keep these numbers in your head. The practical application is that youll always know where you are financially. Making this work on the road If you know that youll be spending $50 a day for the week, I will take out the entire weeks worth of funds at one time (to save on ATM fees) but only carry on days worth of cash on me at any time. If this isnt possible, Ill keep a running total for that day in my head, and plan my spending based on what I have left. If I know that Ill be going out that night, Ill keep my food costs a bit lower. If Ive come to the end of the week and Im ahead, Ill splash out on something nice maybe that great restaurant I had been eying up or rent a Vespa for the day. Exceptions Little expenses, like taking a $12 ferry somewhere, can usually be absorbed into your budget and made up for over a few days. However, what if youre planning on flying? Or taking a $400 sailing trip? Or

signing up for language school? I would get hard costs for these items, budget for them, but dont track them on a day-to-day basis. When its time to pay for it, do so, but dont deduct from your daily budget. Advanced planning for the long term traveler Once you have a handle on how much it will cost by destination, youll want to look at your overall costs. Is it averaging you $25/day? Or $75/day? Is the total amount, much too much? One way to balance your spending is to offset those high cost destinations with multiple days in low cost areas. For example, you may spend 3 months in Europe, but offset that cost with twice as many days in somewhere like Central America or SE Asia. For me, its worked out to a rotating schedule of roughly 3 months expensive, 6 months cheap. Based on your priorities, this may look different, but its a way to keep costs down if youre planning long term travel. Homework 1. Test the theory. Create a detailed budget of what you think it will cost for one of your destinations (or use something that youve already created). Divide the daily cost by the cost of a hostel for one night (you can look up hostel costs at hostelbookers.com or hostelworld.com be sure to sort by price) and this is your factor. Round to the nearest whole number. 2. Create your travel budget. Use the estimated daily costs by destination but also be sure to include the big ticket items separately. Your budget might look something like this: Destination X, 1 week: $30/day ($210 total) Destination Y, 2 weeks: $40/day ($560 total) Destination Z, 3 weeks: $50/day ($1050 total)

Flight from home to X: $660 Scuba lessons: $400 Grand total: $2880 for 6 weeks 3. If youre looking to manage costs, look at whether adjusting your travel schedule will work (if it feels okay, but dont ruin your trip by being stuck somewhere you dont like). For example, if we flipped the last example budget to spending more time in the cheaper places, then it would look like this: Destination X, 3 weeks (was 1 week): $30/day ($630 total) Destination Y, 2 weeks: $40/day ($560 total) Destination Z, 1 week (was 3 weeks): $50/day ($350 total) originally: $43/day now: $36/day


TAKING THE CLASSROOM ON THE ROAD

Is there any way to talk about homeschooling your kids, without inadvertently dismissing teachers as insufficient? I definitely dont want to do that. Lets be clear: the teachers of the world do something very amazing and important. They dedicate their lives to improving those of other peoples children. This isnt about what teachers arent doing, but the options when being in a classroom just isnt an option. The question of homeschooling often comes up around travel, because if you want to take more than 3 months off a year, youll have to find some way to educate your children. The first worry parents have is about quality. In fact, the reality is that homeschooling is often higher quality than classroom education. Its not fair, but a teacher has a major disadvantage. While they teach 30 students in the classroom, at home its all one-on-one. Even if you have the best teacher in the world, they just cant compete. These micro-classrooms automatically outpace even private education, as far as student-teacher ratio. Who wouldnt want that for their kid? But are you qualified? Lets look at a teachers education. They will typically study education in college and earn a four year degree (and later get a masters, but thats not required at first). If you look at their required coursework, many of these classes are about child development and child psychology. Do you need a psychology class for your own kids? Probably not. You dont need them to be their parents, and youre not trying to teach kids you dont know, right? Ok skip those. Other classes are about developing curriculum. For a school district, its important to have teachers who know how to write a lesson plan. But youre just teaching your kids, surely you can just buy those materials (schools have budgets, but on your scale its affordable). So you can skip those. Youll have some teaching assistant time to learn how to handle a classroom for you, doesnt apply. So what are we left with? About 2 years of

liberal arts classes. In other words, the requirements of a college degree in general, not specific to the education major. Teachers are trained to teach in classrooms. They have the education and experience to wrangle a classroom full of young folk while simultaneously educating their little minds. Its a hard job and not just anyone can do it. But youre not trying to teach a roomful of kids. Just yours. Your job is about 1/30th easier than theirs. Besides, your kids will be doing all the heavy lifting (well get to that next). But what if I dont remember the math? or science? or what a gerund is? Thats not your job. Your job is to teach your kids how to self-teach. When they reach the college level, they will be expected to have this skill and its one of the greatest gifts you can give a young person. Youll teach them how to find answers, either using their glossary or the index or in a dictionary or an encyclopedia or on the internet or asking questions through a website or watching educational videos. Your time as a parent teacher will likely be spent talking through issues and making sure that your kids are making progress. You might ask them questions to help them clarify their own thinking. Or you might suggest a resource where they could look it up. Hey Mom, whats a trachea? Your answer, Lets go look it up! Next question, will my kids fall behind? This mostly comes down to jumping through the right hoops when you return home. It wont be about how much your kids have learned (theyll have cut out all the distractions, have a supportive environment and one-on-one support why would they learn less?) However, youll want to make sure that youre covering your bases if you plan to return back to school after the trip. I was homeschooled for my ninth

grade year, and when I returned I was able to receive credit for all of my coursework (including gym class, which I used my time riding horses to count as credit). I went on to take honors and advanced placement classes through the rest of high school and it was a non-issue when applying to college (I was accepted to my preferred and back-up colleges). Some states have testing requirements, or specific course work, so be sure to research that before you leave. If youre planning on traveling longer than a year, you might feel comfortable with teaching your kids at first, but a little worried about high school. I suspect this fear is from the idea that your child will be relying on your to explain materials how will they take a Spanish class, if I dont speak Spanish? The good news is that there are resources online that can connect your child with native speakers and the kind of video and audio resources needed to learn those tougher subjects. What about the social issue? Long term relationships are important and constantly traveling will mean that youll have to spend more time and effort to keep in contact with folks back home. Its certainly possible to arrange your travels so you find your way back to the same place every year or make it a point to spend summers with family (or some variation). As far as being isolated while on the road, this doesnt seem to be a problem. Youll be learning how to make friends quickly, just as they will. After a while, it wont seem strange to strike up a conversation with a stranger and your kids will adapt too. Ultimately, should you travel with your kids and homeschool them? I think its a very important decision that you should make as a family. I would never presume to give a pat answer for everyone. But to me, there are several benefits that might make it a smart choice for you:

1. An opportunity for your child to pursue subjects they are interested in more depth. In a traditional school, its not possible to create a custom curriculum for every student. Would it be better? Yes. An engaged, interested student will learn so much more than one thats bored. For instance, you can purchase a well-rounded base curriculum, but then allot more time for their favorite subjects like reading science fiction books (and writing reports about them) or categorizing the bugs they see on your travels or learning more about each city you visit. 2. A chance for your kids to be around adults and children of different ages. Some people argue that the age-level grouping of children slows their development. Its necessary in schools because they are forced to become more efficient and to streamline education. But kids learn from the people theyre around. At home, exposure to older kids or adults is a positive message in expectations. Their world-view isnt limited to their current age level. 3. Character! Confidence! Courage! The only way to gain these positive traits is to have the opportunity to test yourself. Buying something with foreign money. Making friends with people who dont speak your language. Being stumped on an academic problem, but with hard work, figuring it out for yourself. Being afraid of a new food, but trying it anyways (oh, and its pretty good). Every day is an object lesson. 4. Time to think. In this over-scheduled world, kids dont have time anymore to just absorb the world. This constant stimulus bounces them from one activity to the next, but they dont have time to reflect. Id argue that these little one-day adults need to start practicing thinking for themselves and figuring out how they feel about the world, well before they actually reach adulthood. Parents who are considering homeschooling have a lot going for them. Even if you feel the school system would do a better job, your kids teacher is out numbered 30-1. The materials available to parents are as

good or better than youd find in the school system (especially with budget cuts and outdated textbooks). Youre able to provide your kids with a state of the art learning experience: a laptop, access to audio/video materials, world class online resources and the time and flexibility to learn how to use these materials independently (something youd never see in a public school). Also, its more accepted than ever as people are dropping out of public education not because of religious reasons or because theyre crunchy but because they feel they its possible to get a better education inside of the home. So if you want to travel, take the family.


THE NOT-SO-SECRET TRICK TO FINDING CHEAP AIRFARE

Ive seen two eBooks published on the subject this year alone. How can you find those super-cheap airfares? There is no secret. Its all about flexibility. Youll pay more for: Flights on Monday/Friday/Sunday Flying the morning or at night Flying non-stop Traveling in certain seasons (for example to Europe during the summer or to Hawaii during the winter) Buying too early (more than 5 months before your flight) Buying too late (less two weeks before flight) Certain Destinations (NY to London is cheaper than NY to Dublin, yet almost same distance) The day you happen to buy who knows the next day the airline may adjust prices
So how do you find cheap flights without spending hours running multiple searches? Passive Search Im personally a big fan of Kayak (apparently so is Microsoft) for its flexible, anywhere-in-the-world, anytime-frame searches. You can search by a continent say EUROPE, and theyll give you the cheapest flights by country. So instead of checking each country trying to find a good deal they give you all of them at once. You pick where to fly based on whats cheapest.

I recommend setting and leaving a few of these fare alerts so that they will send you weekly email updates and keep you passively aware of the marketplace. Steps: Go to http://www.kayak.com/buzz Pick your home airport, a destination continent and a timeframe (by the month or leave it as is for anytime) I picked NYC to EUROPE for NOV 09 and had some surprising results: The cheapest three flights are: $481 to Moscow, $497 to Dublin, $509 to Geneva. This tells me that a flight to Europe for under $500 is probably a pretty good deal. Click the Get this by email link to schedule a fare alert direct to your inbox. Repeat with other areas of the world as needed. I set one for Asia and found deals in India on the top of the list at about $720. South America had a flight to Peru at $347. Im starting to get a sense of the relative costs. Pounce When a good deal comes, dont wait. Cheap prices in one market usually means that the other airlines will rush in the next few days meet the price. Even if youre not flying that exact day, its worth doing a quick price check across a few sites. Steps Search the airlines site and make sure they are in fact offering that price. (And if youre flying oneway to make sure their one-way price isnt wildly expensive).

Do a quick search on Kayak for the same flight, and then check the second and third cheapest options websites to see if they are offering cheaper deals. If its a long haul flight, youre done. If its a short flight, say Madrid to Paris, youll want to check local carriers, like Ryan Air, who might not be listed in the search sites. A Google search for your flight area will usually bring up a few local search engines you can double check. Dont Worry Too Much Spending hours trying to figure how to save $20 on a flight will drive you crazy and waste your time. The truth is that the pricing mechanisms are complex and dont always follow the so-called rules. If you can get a good price, lock it in.


TRAVELING HOMESCHOOLERS SPEAK - HOW THEY DO IT

Im very excited to share this section, which includes interviews from three very interesting families. If youre thinking of homeschooling, Id definitely take a look through some of the links theyve provided and read more about it on their blogs. Big thanks to Jeanne Dee, Brenna and Nancy for their help!
Jeanne Dee, Soultravelers3 Currently traveling around Europe Homeschooling since: always Age(s): 9

Whats homeschooling like? It truly is the best possible education and much easier than most people realize. It is a perfect combination with travel. We find we that we can get much more education out of much less time put into it. How do you make it work? Our child is an advanced learner so can go at her own pace which is many years above her grade level. We homeschool a small amount daily at her level in English all year round and also use the local school in Spain for 4/5 months out of the year for deep immersion into her 2nd language, literature & culture. We plan to also immerse her into a 3rd language-Mandarin Chinese in the same way when we get to Asia. Much of her homeschooling is done through her reading (geared to our travels) & other ways where she just thinks she is having fun. We also do her piano lessons via Skype webcam from a teacher on another continent and do classes with John Hopkins University CTY program online and other online opportunities. Digital libraries and Brainpop are great fun for traveling homeschoolers too. Tips for getting started: Read John Taylor Gatto and John Holt (father of unschooling). Recommended Links: Why Schools Dont Educate Do Schools Kills Creativity? homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/ Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Families on the Road

College Without High School Did You Know? We are living in exponential times MayaFrost.com Articles youve written that youd like to share: Drawing in Lisbon, Portugal Venice Via Kids Books Swimming with Amazing Dolphins How to Travel the World as a Digital Nomad Family Education Resources Kids Lit Itinerary Homeschooling Books

Brenna Gibson Redpath, From Here To Uncertainty Currently in Scotland (this week anyway). Homeschooling since: always Age(s): 7 and 11 Tips for getting started: Find out the legal implications of homeschooling in your state or country. Legal homeschooling varies widely across the US, and is illegal unless you yourself are a certified teacher in some countries, like Germany. Read books about, and by, other homeschooling families. Knowing success stories, and pitfalls, is helpful in daily homeschool life. Follow your childrens interests. If they dont know what they are interested in, dont panic. They will soon. Having said this - we planned to travel Europe for a year, and once we got here my son fell in love with Japan, and is currently obsessed. Sigh

How do you incorporate travel into homeschooling? If you start homeschooling before youre traveling, find a homeschool group if its available, and go to park days and field trips that they offer. Listen to other parents and ask questions. Take advantage of on-line school websites. Decide your goals, and let those goals guide you. Do you plan to travel indefinitely - letting your traveling play a big part in your schooling life? Do you plan to be gone for a set amount of time, and want your children to be in-line with classmates when they come back? Does a regularly scheduled day feel best to you, or a looser see-what-the-day-brings vibe? There are so many different ways to successfully homeschool your children. You need to decide what feels like a good family schooling experience to you. Recommended resources: My son, who is in 6th grade, really loves a company called Time 4 Learning, which offers an on-line curriculum. He goes as quickly (or as slowly) through the material as he needs. I like the way the website documents progress for parents, promotes independent work, and allows for strengths and weaknesses in different areas of learning. My son is a whiz at Language Arts and higher math, but will never, I fear, be an accomplished speller. He feels successful with this program. Time 4 Learning has on-line quizzes, and worksheet print-outs. Its light on history and science in my opinion, but were living history every day. Another company is K12. It offers lots of choices in curriculum, all under the legal K12 umbrella. I brought along workbooks for my daughter by a company called Handwriting Without Tears, which is a wonderful curriculum that I used with both my kids for beginning reading and writing, as well as cursive. Articles youve written that youd like to share: So We Homeschool

Nancy Sathre-Vogel, Family on Bikes Biking across the Americas. Homeschooling since: 2006/07 and 2008 - present Age(s): 11 year old twins Your Experience: Classroom teacher in Special Ed, elementary, and middle school math & science for 21 years Tips for getting started: Just do it and trust in your kids. Take them out to every place you can think of museums, parks, mountains, and lakes. Enjoy your surroundings and help the kids see the magic of what is around them! But mostly - never doubt your child. Never, ever, doubt your child. Recommended Links:

familiesontheroad.com homeschooling.gomilpitas.com Articles youve written that youd like to share: Family travel: a life-changing event Living your dream with your children Homeschooling Your Children on the Road Roadschooling: Are health care concerns holding you back? Roadschooling 101: What is roadschooling? __ Additional Resources (thanks to Soultravelers3) Advice for Older Kids (contains dozens of links to resources) Books for Kids that Travel

GETTING READY TO GO


SELLING YOUR HOUSE IN THE DOWNTURN

Two years ago when we sold our home, we were in a depressed market. Since then, not much has changed. We sold our house in about 3 months at a $2000 loss after living in it for less than 3 years. Considering how little we paid down the mortgage, plus all the closing costs, this was about as close to break even as we could have hoped (the final sale price was $20,000 more than we paid for it). If youre trying to plan for a trip around the world, one of the first questions you might have is: what about the house? The bad news is that right now you may be facing similar or worse numbers. The flood of uber-cheap foreclosed homes in your area may not help either. That doesnt mean its impossible to sell your home, but it does mean doing everything that you can to be competitive. Here are some things you can try to get that house sold faster. 1. Comparison shop. Pretend to be in the market and look at houses in your price range and neighborhood. You may find that the foreclosed homes are a bit stripped down (before the bank kicks them out many people take everything that isnt nailed down, and sometimes those things too). Your meticulously maintained home has a huge leg up on these bare-bones models. But what else? How does your home compare as far as square feet, special features, lot size, cosmetically (paint, rugs, cleanliness, style) and location? This will give you an idea of what potential buyers will be grading your home against and ideas of what you can improve in order to better compete. 2. Price your home well. Now is not the time to test out the market to see if you can get more. Appropriately priced homes sell faster, thats just a fact. The key is to find a good agent that will be able to set a price that is most likely to move your home.

3. Stage your home. You dont need to buy anything to do this. If you already have a home full of stuff youll just need to strip out a good portion of your belongings. Its not too early for a yard sale! Setting up your house so that its just minimal furniture and a few decorations will get rid of that cluttered look, make the space seem larger and leave a better impression on potential buyers. If you have anything bulky or broken that needs to go, dont be afraid to use the free section on craigslist.org or even the curb with a big sign. We had a broken hot tub removed within an hour by someone who was sure they could fix it. 4. Clean, clean, clean. As a buyer, nothing is worse than walking into a dirty home (unless its a real fixer upper and thats what youre looking for). An unclean home sends the signal that you dont take pride in your house and begs the question about what else youve been neglecting maintenancewise. Putting up fresh flowers or baking cookies (nothing better than that smell) are some small touches you can add. While it wont sell your home alone, positive impressions can make a big difference. 5. Be flexible on financing options. First time home buyers especially may ask that you cover the closing costs for them or help them with the down payment. You can roll these expenses (plus charge a bit more than you would otherwise) into the price of the home and youll re-coop the cost once all the checks clear. Now is a good time to borrow a money from family and friends (if you get such an offer) if it means closing your house and being able to reimburse everyone in short order (usually 30 days). 6. If you have time There are so many projects you could start to fix up your house, but be careful in bogging yourself down in further expense (youll see only a fraction of the cost in added value to your home) and delaying putting your house on the market. Aim for things with the biggest visual appeal: cleaning up the front yard and planting some flowers or filling in gaps in the landscaping, painting the

inside using neutral tones, getting the carpets cleaned, or completing (or covering up) unfinished home improvement projects. And then, be patient. What if my house wont sell? First, Id caution you from assuming that it wont sell. If you have put it on the market, cleaned it up, taken away the clutter, made any easy fixes that you could and priced it correctly and it hasnt sold in 6 months, then yes, its time to move on to plan B. Other scenarios might include being upside down on your mortgage (owing more than its worth), having lived it for under two years (capital gains tax will apply) or just not wanting to sell it. Can you still travel? Yes. Here are some options: 1. Get help. If youre upside down on your loan, facing a huge ARM interest rate hike or have missed any payments on your loan, now is the time to call your lender. From all accounts they are severely behind in their account departments, but the sooner you can get on their radar the better. Also check out some of the federal programs in your country, (like the Making Home Affordable program in the US). 2. Rent instead of sell. If your goal is to avoid the monthly mortgage payment while you travel, renting may be an option. If you have someone you trust to manage the property and make sure your investment is safe, then perfect. Otherwise, youll be looking at hiring a property manager to oversee things for a cut of the monthly rent. Property managers are often realtors and their real estate site will have a section on their management services. Some ask for a flat fee, others take a percentage of the rent (like 15%) and still others ask for both. If your mortgage is higher than what the average rental goes for, you may end up paying the management fee out of pocket. The question is, can you swing a few hundred dollars a month to travel and if so, is it worth it to you?

3. Home swap! Youll still have to cover your mortgage, but youll have all of your housing expenses overseas covered. HomeExchange.com is a good place to start. 4. Eat the cost. If youre looking at travel for a finite period of time, it is always possible to start paying ahead on your mortgage now, and over time, bank up enough time to take 6 months or a year off. It may take you longer, but the upside is that youll return to your home and things without having to start from scratch. 5. Wait it out. When will the downturn end? It depends greatly on where you live. Right now southern Florida has more people leaving than entering and foreclosed properties litter the classifieds. High priced/high demand areas may have been hit less hard and you could see an improvement next year. Who knows! Give your local realtor a call for the local insight. They see hundreds of listings and have the experience to better predict where youll be in a year.


THE TROUBLE WITH SAVING

Some people have no problem saving for long term travel or a round-the-world trip. This section isnt for you. Every year, millions of people set out to save money and fail. In recent years, Americans saved in the negative numbers meaning they not only didnt save a penny, but they came out more in debt. The Saving Myth The way we think of saving is misleading. Its like losing weight, you dont just lose weight, you eat less or exercise more, but there is no specific action called losing weight. Its an expression that describes the end result, not the process. For saving its the same way, its not what you do as much as what you dont do. Saving is actually inaction; were stopping ourselves from spending. Like losing weight, saving is hard. You dont just eat less once, you have to make the decision dozens of times a day. Same with saving if you save $5 by not buying a magazine, that money sits in your pocket for the next temptation. All it takes is one digression. At the time you might say, its worth it or I need it but even if you had said no 100 times, if you say yes once and spend that $5 its still spent. Changing the game We all know this, and yet at the end of the month you might be wondering where it all went. Spreadsheets and money management software might reveal to you that you spend $200 in this category or $1000 in that but it doesnt change the behavior. Does knowing that you didnt lose any weight last week make it suddenly easier to exercise every morning? You may be more motivated, but the challenge is the same.

What if we changed the game? What if instead of trying to not-do-something, you just eliminate that choice. Think of it this way most people manage to spend about what they make. If they make $30,000 one year, its spent. They get a raise to $50,000 and its gone. They get the big promotion to $100,000 and still, they live paycheck to paycheck. You swear it wont happen to you. You imagine how much money youll have if you just made X amount. And then you get there and your expenses magically expand to fit your new salary. Flipping the problem Instead of trying to save, which doesnt seem to work for most people, what if you just made less money? What if your paycheck when down by 25% tomorrow? Youd cut back, right? When your checking got down to $100 youd skip eating out and figure out what to do with the 5 lbs of lentils you have sitting in your pantry. To me this is the easiest way to save. Not having money reduces all kinds of temptations and you can continue to live and spend like you normally do not really thinking about it, keeping an eye on your total in the bank and cutting back only when it gets too low. How to give yourself a pay cut Most banks let you link a checking and savings account and schedule automatic transfers online (if not, youll want to switch now, because this feature is important when youre on the road). Youll want to figure out your pain point, the least amount of money you can live on. For instance, add together your fixed, unavoidable expenses like rent/mortgage, utilities, car payments, gas, food and student loans. Gym membership is not an unavoidable expense. Neither is Netflix, magazine subscriptions, clothing, going out, or beer money. Next find your salary deduction amount:

Total salary - unavoidable expenses = salary deduction amount (i.e. savings) Set a transfer that is scheduled for the day after you get paid for that exact amount. It moves the money into savings before you ever have a chance to spend it. Does this work? I used this for about a year before quitting my job. My husband and I put away my entire paycheck. Yes, we had to majorly cut back. We moved into a smaller apartment, we didnt pay for internet or cable, we didnt use the heat (in Boston) until December 1st, and I got really creative with whole foods like rice, beans, lentils, homemade bread and so on. But we made it work. Since weve been traveling, I still put away everything I make, and we live on 25% as much as we did two years ago. These days, its easy. Were not saving, we rarely even think of money. Weve just been able to reset our spending so it allows us the freedoms to work less, travel more and live anywhere. Why its worth it After a few weeks, you find something amazing happening youre living on less than you thought possible. You might have more free time because you shop less (seriously). Youll begin looking at everything with a critical eye. Is it worth it? Can I do without it? Is there something cheaper I can get? When you reach this point, congratulations, youve broken the cycle. Welcome to Saving.


EXTREME DEBT - PAY OR STAY

As I was preparing this series, a surprisingly large number of people emailed me with their stories of extreme personal debt. The question is always the same: what should I do, its essentially hopeless, I dont want to stay but I cant afford to go? On the surface, its easy to blame the borrower, but not always. But what if youre debt was for a noble cause? A business plan that didnt work out. Medical expenses you couldnt avoid. Or a $100,000 graduate-level education? Should you be stuck for the next 5, 10 years working a job you dont like, putting your life on hold? I think the sternest of advisers would say: Travel? Ha! You have to pay off your debt first! If I was to advise against paying it off first, someone would say: Oh Please. What are they are they going to do, file bankruptcy and pass on their bad judgments to consumers who actually pay their bills? I know this because last year I wrote a post called, 8 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 22, wherein I suggested that young people fresh out of college could defer their student loans in order to travel for a year or more (among other things). Of the 150+ comments it received, there was a number of people who practically spat on such an idea. How Irresponsible! How dare I even suggest it? The truth is if I was indeed 22 again, I would do just that. Id defer my loans ($12,000 of them at the time, not much I know) and travel as long and as hard as I could. If I had $100,000 in loans, Id probably do the same thing. But thats just me. Its knowing that I would be able to make six figures if I wanted after I returned and the hindsight to know that I would have missed less in those first few years of work than I would have gained traveling. It comes down to a judgment call. Obviously its best to pay off your debt first. But with extreme debt $100,000 or more, even the most frugal saver could take up to five years to get caught up.

Formulating Your Own Personal Gut Check I wont presume to tell anyone whats best, thats up to you to figure out. Despite all the varying advice out there, there really is no right way. Will you tell the guy who left his massive debt behind, scrounged up $5,000 to start a business in Central America and ended up paying everything off faster than if he had stayed that he was wrong? Or will you look the other way at the post-doc who wanted to follow her passion and ended up living overseas, working her dream job, but unable to afford a house, to get married, or to have kids, when the time came? 1. You have to know what youre dealing with. If you dont already, you should know what your total debt is and what it costs you per month. So if that $100,000 law school degree is a monthly payment of $1200, then $500 of that is interest. The second part is as important as the first. You need to calculate what it costs you to travel. 2. What will this cost you? If youre planning to travel, say for one year, then the cost to you is your interest ($500 from the case above) per month. In this case, thats $6,000 for one year. Thats how much more debt youll have in a year if you defer payment. 3. Is this too much? You dont need a fancy table to tell you. If you see the number $6,000 and you say, ah well that puts it into perspective, I can deal with that then you have your answer. If you see $6,000 and you say, heck no, travel for one measly year is definitely not worth a $6,000 increase in debt then you too have your answer. How to Pay Off Debt

First, get professional help, if you can. I used the methods below when I was cleaning up my credit report post college recklessness and as I paid off my debt before travel (thats right, we took a year to pay off everything, including some old expenses from a short-lived business before we started traveling). 1. Get your credit reports from all three bureaus. 2. Call everyone you owe money to, tell them you are struggling to pay and see if you can make some arrangement. (Just do it!) 3. If your credit report is a big fat mess, sit down and write a letter and contest everything on your report. Debts are bundled and sold. You could be getting dinged from one $100 doctors fee you never knew about, not once but three times. From the doctor, from the collection agency he sold it to when you didnt pay, and finally from the next collection agency who bought your debt from the first. 4. Start paying everything with the lowest monthly rates you get from your creditors, so that you avoid no payment fees or more dings to your credit. If you have extra, pay down the smallest balances first. 5. Saving money comes last. Even if you invest your savings, chances are you wont out earn the interest on your debt. Pay everything off and then save. 6. Work the pyramid. I dont know where I first heard about this method, but every debt-guru seems to use it these days. Pay as much as you can across your debt. When a bill gets paid off, apply that amount to the next smallest bill. Keep working through your debt until youve paid everything off. Options for the Debt Weary So yes, paying everything off is ideal, but in the back of your mind, you just know that you are not going to do it. Thats okay; its not the end of the world to be in debt. Sure it sucks and sure its better and

cheaper to pay it off first, but its not a zero-sum game. Its not pay it off or die. Here are some interim steps you can take if travel is priority now: 1. Just pay the interest. Assuming you are living within your means now (if not, now is the time to start), then planning to pay just the interest on your debt will allow you to travel without putting you further behind. (From our example above, that would mean saving or earning an extra $6,000 during your year of travel). 2. Try to negotiate lower rates for what you can and pay off some of your debt. For instance, one reader wrote to me and mentioned her $130,000 student loans, but she also had $12,000 in credit card debt. For her, maybe it makes sense to eliminate the high interest credit card debt before traveling, but leaving her student loans in deferment. 3. If your deal is high student loans, you may be able to alleviate some of your responsibility and still travel at the same time (depending on the type are they Stafford or Perkins loans? Are they private loans?). I would check with your alumni office for programs, but you might also consider the Peace Corps and other volunteer positions abroad that help pay down debt and let you see another country. 4. If you have a large mortgage, its better to sell at a loss, than to go into foreclosure. If you are in the process of foreclosing, you might want to demand to see the original loan documents. This has worked for many homeowners to delay or stall completely the foreclosure process as its required by law that they have the original signed documents in order to collect on your loan. With the way home mortgages were packaged, sold, bundled into securities and resold, theres a fair chance that youre current mortgage company bought your loan as a part of a large bucket of loans and the paper work has long been lost. If I Didnt Say This Before

The best thing to do is to become debt free. Sure there are options, but its postponing the inevitable. If you can, pay it down.


STAYING FOREVER - LIVING IN ANOTHER COUNTRY

You want to travel, but youre not satisfied with spending the 30, 60, 90 or 180 days allotted to tourists by your country of choice. What should you do? Whatever you do, dont believe everything you read. I was doing some research for this piece, and I found a post that I find to be emblematic of some of the advice available online (but not all). The #1 search result for a certain visa topic suggests that getting a legal visa to stay longer than 90 days is too much hassle. The author begins, Lots of travelers in Europe do not abide by that stupid 90 day in 90 day out restriction, and most countries that are supposedly a part of the Schengen region do not seem to acknowledge it. He gives an example of one non-EU traveler who overstayed for a year, left, had a layover in the UK, they noticed that he had overstayed, sent him back to the EU for punishment and when nothing happened, he then spent another year there illegally. One story and hes advising people to not bother dealing with the hassle of getting a residency permit. I wont link to the site, but if you had read through the 46 comments, youd find that about 5 months later, the author does a complete 180 on his position. Why? Because he was talking out of his butt! And because people who had taken his advice were getting caught. They were given fines or banned from returning. By the end he says in response to a traveler who overstayed her student visa by 4 months and was worried about being fined or banned (Id like to point out that 5 months prior when she was still legal he would have advised her to stay), I dont understand why you think you did nothing wrong: You overstayed your visa by four months. I am sorry but I have nothing positive to tell you. Complete 180. Unfortunately a little too late for the reader.

Lesson #1: Dont take advice from people online. Even folks billing themselves as experts are often dead wrong. Forums? Fact, gossip and rumor (which one will you get?). Or worse, things that sound correct but are outdated. You may even be able to confirm these details with other sites (incorrect information tends to flourish). Ultimately, take everything with a thick grain of kosher salt. In the vein of bad advice, here are some other cringe worthy suggestions (all from various threads of Lonely Planets Thorntree forums): If you overstay your visa, try to leave the country via boat and avoid border control. Or, if you overstay, pretend like you lost your passport and get a new one from your embassy. Without a stamp theyll never know. If you get caught, just pretend like you dont have the money to pay the fee. If you get caught and they ban you, just go home, change your last name and get a new passport issued. The main reason why all of these things are a bad idea? You cant predict the outcome. Even if you hear 100 stories about people who got away with these or any number of schemesyou will still only probably be okay. Why? A certain number of people get busted but theres no way to know percentages. Anecdotal information is largely skewed towards positive results everyone loves telling and spreading a good story. The Im an idiot and can never go back to Indonesia story just doesnt play as well at parties. Times change. Policies can become more strict starting today. Theres no way to tell when it will become unsafe to break the law until enough people get busted and rumors spread, and word gets back to you possibly too late.

Computer systems change. Even if they dont look at your stamps and do the math, does scanning it tell them? What if that changes? Can they link your old passport number to your new one? How would you know, until its too late? Trying to get out of trouble by skipping the border or lying could massively backfire and compound your problems. What can happen if you overstay? Probably nothing Youll pay the guy a bribe and hell stamp your passport and let you go Big fines and theyll hold you until you pay them A black mark that will prevent you from ever getting a residency or work permit Jail until youre deported or pay fines Banned from the country until you pay fines Banned from the country for a set period of time (think years) Banned permanently A combination of any number of the above depending on where you are (not all apply everywhere)
Maybe everything will be fine, but depending on where you are or your luck, you could have a lot of problems. If youre serious about staying somewhere long term, wouldnt it be horrible to be locked out of the country as you take a short trip back home, all of your things left behind and unable to come back for 5 years? Do it if you must, just be aware of the consequences (and realize one positive story doesnt mean youll be all set).

How to really stay in a another country long term There are no short cuts. Asking how to get a residency visa or work permit is like asking how to get into college. It depends on where youre from, where you want to go, what qualifications you have and how much money you have. And like college its a pain in the butt but lots of people make it work. It takes time. Money. Patience. Lots of forms. Creativity. My husband and I are going through this process now. Some of it seems downright draconian (give a police report for every town you lived in for the past 5 years um what! for us, we cant even remember everywhere, never mind track those places down.) Every year people manage to get the legal permission needed to move abroad you can too. Here are some things to be aware of: There are multiple ways to qualify: being a student, having independent means, being self-employed, having family in country, having a grandparent or parent born in that country, making a substantial investment in the country, being a researcher, having an employer sponsor you and many more. The options vary widely from country to country and I only offer these items to illustrate that there is often more than one way to find your way into the country long term. Some countries wont let you stay or theyll make the qualifying criteria very narrow (like being married to a citizen or investing huge amounts of money). The general rule of thumb is to get your paperwork dealt with before you leave. There may be countries that allow you to extend your stay once youre there, but its always better to at least research before you go. For example, many places in Europe require you to get your residency visa from your home countrys embassy, a task that requires you be in your home country.

Getting permission to live somewhere and work somewhere are often very different things. The latter will often require (but not always!) an employer to sponsor you. It is possible to get the residency permit first, move abroad and get the work permit after you arrive depending on where you are. Keep that in mind as you research and plan. It could take a year or longer in some cases to get approved. You could also be denied. You know that saying about eggs and baskets? It applies here. Where to start researching? I would look for the embassy website in your country for that country. For example, if I wanted to move to Spain, Id Google Spain Embassy New York. There will be a million of websites that offer visa submission services something youll want to avoid. Sometimes they get a little clever and make their site look like an official website, so be careful. The official embassy will never charge you to download forms or to read the rules. When it is a good idea to read forums and take online advice? After youve found the official application and guidelines for your country, its not a bad idea to talk to other expats who have gone through this process about specific steps you have questions on. Good questions get better answers for example, How do I get a residency permit for France isnt very good, but I have a question about the bank statement requirement, does it have to be on official letterhead? much, much better. I would always double check their advice with someone official, but they may be able to give you ideas on how to satisfy certain requirements. Youll want to try to find an expatspecific website/forum since general travel forums can be chock full of really misleading information.


GETTING HEALTH INSURANCE WHEN YOU TRAVEL

Most of this section is directed at Americans. I know that some people are reading this from other countries, but heres the deal healthcare in the US is tough. Its more expensive than where you live and we have very smart people working full time to try to cancel our insurance the moment we get seriously sick. If you live somewhere other than the US, you may want to look into additional travel insurance that specifically covers medical expenses. Bootsnall has a great break down of the plans and what they cover and there is someone you can call if you have questions. (Not all of these cover international non-US travelers, so be sure to read the fine print). For Americans (be sure to read all the way through): Employer-based coverage (the plan offered by your work, like Cigna, Blue Cross, Aetna and so on): Will they cover you overseas? Maybe. It will vary from plan to plan. There is no way to predict the level of coverage, until you drill down into your companys policy. If you get stuck, ask HR for help. Things to look for: Will they cover emergency evacuation? ER visits? Routine care? Is there a copay? Deductible (for instance youre responsible for the first $1000 of care)? Will you just pay out-of network fees? Is there a cap on coverage? Medicare: Will they cover you overseas? Probably not. It varies from state to state, but unless youre on the border of Mexico or Canada and their hospital is closer than the nearest US one in an emergency or youre on a cruise ship docked in US waters, then youre not getting reimbursed.

CHAMPVA/TriCare (Veterans ins): Will they cover you overseas? For Champva, probably not. They follow the same reimbursement rules as Medicare. For TriCare, probably yes. There are multiple plans, but more information is here. Privately purchase insurance: It depends. The same as your employer based coverage; this will be specific to your policy. Before purchasing, be sure to look for the same things as employer based coverage: Will they cover emergency evacuation? ER visits? Routine care? Is there a copay? Deductible (for instance youre responsible for the first $1000 of care)? Will you just pay out-of network fees? Is there a cap on coverage? So you dont have overseas coverage or youre under insured. Now what? The cheapest option is to buy something called Medical Travel Insurance. Bootsnall has a great roundup of options that I mentioned above for our non-US readers. Depending on your age, length of travel and which plan you choose you could pay between $40/mo for the under 30 set to over $200/mo for over 65. These plans are typically for up to one or two years. (Most of these plans dont pay for pre-existing conditions, so routine care for a known medical condition will not be covered. See below for more on pre-existing conditions). However, there are risks of not carrying traditional insurance like pre-existing conditions rules and gaps in coverage. Pre-existing condition is a term used in the insurance industry that basically means you got sick before you they started insuring you. Even if you dont detect the sickness, for example breast cancer, if they can reasonably prove that your breast cancer started before they covered you and you should have detected it with routine exams (which you skipped because you were traveling) they can refuse to pay your claims (sometimes effectively stopping your treatment). The only way to get around being excluded for a pre-existing condition is to have continuous coverage. That means having no more

than a 63 day gap in health insurance. Travel Medical Insurance is probably not going to be considered insurance for these purposes. And since its in the insurance companys best interest to not approve you, they will not give you slack. This isnt to scare you. Im mentioning this because some people asked me about it and you should know what your worst-case-scenario is. The good news is that if you did get denied for pre-existing condition. you do have other options. First, its not forever. Every state has a limit on how long they can deny you, so eventually can get care (12 months for some, 24+ months for others) so if its something minor, you may be able to put it off. Otherwise, you may qualify for a high-risk pool in your state, which will allow you to buy insurance at a very high rate, but will cover you for expensive illnesses. By the way, pregnancy is never a pre-existing condition, so if you (or your partner) get pregnant, and then get insurance youll always be covered. Preventing a gap in coverage: Obviously if you have a medical condition, like diabetes, that you receive regular medical treatment for or you are of the age that you would be concerned about having gaps in coverage, then there are options for buying coverage. Even if it doesnt cover you overseas fully, you can supplement with travel insurance for any emergencies and pay routine medical costs out of pocket (Im making some assumptions here that were talking about insulin shots, not chemotherapy). The cheapest option is to get something through an employer. Nows the time to double check and see if being a digital nomad working remotely for a US based employer as you travel, is a good fit. If so, you can get coverage and finance your trip at the same time.

If this is not an option many professional and trade organizations offer their members insurance at a discounted rate. This is cheaper than buying on the open market, because they can buy in bulk, like your employer does. If youre a lawyer, work in the medical profession, have a trade group for design, acting, writing, boat making anything, be sure to check out the member benefits. You could save a few hundred bucks just for signing up. For the writers out there, Media Bistro has an insurance plan for its members. Finally, if youre not able to find an employer or organization to get affordable insurance, you can begin looking on the open market. If youre high risk, you may have a hard time getting coverage or be quoted extremely high rates. Some states in the US have a high-risk pool that makes it cheaper. For those seeking permanent residency: Be sure to check the rules for your specific country, because its not uncommon for them to require health insurance (often quoting specific coverage amounts) before giving you a residency visa or permit. Summary What Should I Get? Medical travel insurance is always a good idea, because even if your health plan covers overseas ER visits, they may not cover everything (like medical evacuation). For most people under 30, gaps in coverage arent a big deal. If you decide to pay out of pocket for normal hospital bills (as they come up) and given that youre a normal healthy 20-year-old, youll probably be okay as long as you have some medical travel insurance in case something major happens. For folks over 30 and more so every year, I would have both traditional medical insurance plus travel insurance to cover those gaps. Until things change in the US, I would personally be really scared about having my life-saving treatment postponed because its considered a pre-existing condition.

For those with medical conditions, you have a big expense. It really may be worth it to look seriously into finding an employer who you can manipulate/bribe/beg to let you work overseas, because high-risk insurance can be extremely expensive. On the other hand, if you save for it, its similar to paying off the mortgage for a year. Whats the healthcare like overseas? I cant speak to most places, but I found the ER in Madrid to be very nice. Hopefully you wont have to find out. If you want research in advance, the Expat Forum as an excellent round up by country.


PAYING BILLS WHILE AWAY AND OTHER SUNDRY TASKS

Ah yes, the little details that threaten to upend any good plan. How will you get your mail? Deposit checks? Pay your cell phone bill? Vote? Renew your license? Short answer: online. Getting Your Mail I currently use a product called Earth Class Mail, which is one of about six online companies that offer a mail scanning service. Heres how it works: they assign you a mailing address (mine is 93 S. Jackson St. #7363 in Seattle, WA) you forward your mail there, they receive it, scan it and when you log onto their website, you can see each piece of mail you received. All online. Its genius. Then if you want to open it, theyll scan every page for you. Or you can have them shred it. ECM will also deposit checks or ship your mail to you, wherever you are (for a fee). My experience with ECM over the last year has been flawless and they have hands down the best customer support. But Ill probably be changing companies this year, since they doubled their price ($10/mo to $20/mo). Be sure to search around for the best deal, because there are some cheaper alternatives. Paying Taxes This can be done 100% online and in combination with a tax program like Turbo Tax and your online mail service you should have no problems filing. I get my W2s and 1099s mailed to me, I have my mail service scan them in and online I take a look at the numbers. I enter all the data into Turbo Tax, get a pdf copy for my records and electronically submit. If I have a refund, it is deposited directly into my bank account.

Paying Bills There are three ways Ive had to pay bills back home. Calling the company directly (using Skype) to make a payment with my debit card, using the online pay feature (if supported) with my bank or setting an automatic EFT. Id suggest getting 100% online with your bill paying before you leave. This means going through each bill and figuring out what theyll accept. Sometimes there are forms to sign (in the case of EFT) and its just easier to handle before you go. Id also set up a PayPal account and have your bank account verified with them, just in case you need to transfer money on the road (its cheaper and easier than Western Union if you need someone to send you emergency funds although it can take 3-5 days to land in your bank account) Vote! First, are you registered? Yeah, youll want to do that. Then its easy to vote from overseas and online. When the time comes go to http://www.fvap.gov/ Renewing Your Driving License Yes, you should probably do this before you go, but it is possible to do it online for many states. First, change your address to your new online mail box, so the license gets sent to the correct place. Next follow your states DMV steps for online renewal. Finally when the license hits your online mail box, you can pay to have it shipped overnight to your current location. The shipping may cost you but its cheaper than flying back home to renew. (You can probably only do this once, they typically want to update your picture for the next renewal). Depositing Checks

As I mentioned above, Earth Class Mail (and other services) offer check depositing services, if you get mailed a check. Personally I prefer to avoid that and try to get all of my payments either through PayPal (convenient even if the payer doesnt have an account, they can still use their credit card to send you money) or through direct deposit. Making and Receiving Phone Calls If you havent heard of Skype, go check it out. I use their paid service so that I have a permanent phone number people can call no matter where I am in the world. Skype also allows you to have those incoming calls forwarded to your local cell phone, so even if youre offline, you can still connect. However, it has some problems. Its perfect for calling back home, but a little shaky for business calls. To be fair, its not all Skypes fault your internet speed is going to be a big factor. But what if youre traveling through a country that has slow internet everywhere? If you need to make work related calls, I highly suggest getting a cheap local pay-as-you-go phone as you travel. Ive also tried to use my Blackberry overseas, but the fees are just too high, even with AT&Ts socalled world travelers program. Getting Prescriptions Overseas This one is tricky. If anyone knows a better way, please let me know. We have struggled with this as my husband takes meds for ADD. The amazing thing is, its so easy to get a prescription in many parts of the world (walk into a pharmacy and tell the doctor on call what you want). The cost to pay out of pocket was often cheaper than our copay back home. The big problem? Getting the drugs. He uses a specific brand and it works. But it wasnt available in many places. Or if it was, they wouldnt have very

much. Or theyd only give us 10mg instead of his prescribed 30mg. Wed go to half a dozen pharmacies in each city trying to track it down not fun. Now, we get a three month supply in advance (the most our insurance will allow) and have them delivered to a family member back home, who then mails them to us overseas. Its not the most elegant solution, but it will guarantee you have the exact prescription you need. Seeing Your Mom (or other loved one) Yes, travel rocks, but youll probably have family just dying to see your face. There are a lot of programs out there for video chat (Skype has it, so does Microsoft Live Messenger), so it might behoove you to make sure that: a) your mom has a web cam and knows how to use it (before you go) and b) that you have a web cam that youve tested. My laptop has one built in and I use it like crazy with my husband when were apart. He was able to get a cheap $10 web cam attachment for his PC that works just fine. There will be a lag, and depending on your internet speed it could be significant, but chatting via video is a very nice way to keep in touch.


HOW TO MAKE MORE MONEY

Im writing about it today not because I have some secret advice to share with everyone, but because no one does. Ive received a lot of emails and comments about this, along the lines of, Traveling sounds great, Christine, but first, how do I make more money? Because thats the only thing I need right now. The problem is, as far as goals go, its almost impossible to achieve unless youre willing to compromise something else. Ill get to that in a minute. First, let me quickly tell you why more money and travel dont necessarily go hand in hand. More Money = Less Time = No Travel Dont believe me? Ask anyone with a lot of money how much they travel. Then ask anyone who travels how much money they have. Retirees dont count. Neither do lottery winners. How many hours per week do the people who make double your annual salary work? Ah, but youve figured it out, youre going to make more money in less time. Youre going to earn income passively. Passive income is the result of active work I love Tim Ferriss. I love what the 4-Hour Workweek has done for so many people: its made the idea of redesigning your life possible. But the whole passive income thing is kind of a joke. Being more efficient is one thing. Sitting back and watching a healthy wage roll in on literally four hours a week, well come on. Not even Tim Ferriss pulls that off. Yes, I could set up a website to sell something, but first you have to test (straight from the book). You run with your idea- you buy a little advertising to make sure people will click through, you monitor results, you

make a decision on whether or not to proceed. One idea fails, another succeeds. Forget for a moment that you have to figure out how to use Google adwords or build a website or how to set up a buy now button or a dummy sales page or save enough money to pay someone else to do it or learn what click through rate is good enough to start your business. Youre really smart, that will only take you, what, 30 minutes? But then, what if your idea doesnt work? How many ideas will it take? Eventually you will find a business that is profitable and requires no hand holding. But when? In a year? In two? Are you really earning passive income if its the result of slowly building up your business over a few years? I dont think so. And Tim Ferriss, the wonderful marketer that he is, knows this too. Hes built his brand with hard work and lots of hours. He loves it, so he doesnt count that time (as he says on his own blog). Will you love your passive business? Ok, fine, lets get to it. How to make more money Transition from your day job to self employment. In most careers there is a limit to how much can make. If you truly want to increase your earning potential, you have to cut out the middle man: your boss. As long as the company makes money off of you, youll always be making less than youre worth on the open market. The added benefit of starting a business is that you can also outsource your responsibilities for less and by building efficiencies you can profit off of other peoples work. This all takes time, a learning curve and a bit of luck. Dont spend as much. I know spending feels like a reward for all that hard work, but unless you get control of it, youll outspend your earnings, no matter what you make. Cut your spending in half and you just gave yourself a 50% raise. Calculate your per hour rate. If youre working a full-time job, calculate the hours you spend, from getting into your car in the morning, to getting out at the end of the day. Ill guess its about 10 hours a

day or more. Then divide your take home pay by the number of hours you spend working. I did this once when I was a manager at a small publishing firm and came up with $13/hr. It was my first big job of college, but it wasnt until after I did the math, that I realized my new 80+ hour job wasnt actually paying me that well. If youre a freelancer, this number is your cost to your client minus your overhead. Cut loose those activities that arent moving you forward. Were not just talking about low paying clients, but also those networking events that havent resulted in a promotion in five years or spending a few extra hours at work each week with no raise. Ask yourself, is this helping me move forward or is it giving me the illusion of action? Am I spinning my wheels and seeing very little movement forward? Its time to treat your income like the big experiment that it is. Try something, monitor the results, then move on. Keep what works, ditch what doesnt. Dont just turn your hobby into your business. Its tempting, but dont do it. Instead use the skills you have, even the boring ones, as your base. So instead of starting an ill-advised career writing about high school football, use that accounting degree to start your business. It doesnt have to be an on-the-nose interpretation of it, for instance, you might combine football and accounting (having a website with exhaustive stats and performance predictions) to give you an edge over other folks. The first question should always be: what is my competitive edge? Dont wait for the big idea. This always kills me, because I know people in my life who have been talking about starting their own business for ever. Have they started? Nope. They are waiting for the big idea. The problem is it doesnt work like that. The way to figure things out is to get in there. Youre not informed enough to know which ideas are big, and which ones stink until you take some time playing with the real-world applications. Test the idea on some people. Do a sample run. Try it out as a side

project for a few months. You will learn so much and then it will come to you the big idea that changes everything. First, you have to get your hands dirty. Oh, and Its Not the Money Preventing You From Traveling I used to think like that too. Thats why I waited until I was over 30 to do something about it. I finally hit all my financial goals and I was left thinking, Huh? Thats it? I still had to go through the same process as everyone else having money didnt change a thing. No one ever has enough, but the truth is you already have plenty. It doesnt take more than a minimum wage job and a year to save. Youll get that next raise or promotion or big bonus check and it doesnt mean a thing. Its you. You have to want to travel. You have to commit to doing it. The money thing, its just a thing, no more and no less than getting your passport or booking a flight. Its a detail to be handled. Its not going to give you permission to travel. Its not going to change your life for you. Put it on the list, but keep it there. Make more money if you want, but dont let it become more than it is a means of exchange so you can buy your life back.


GETTING A JOB WHEN YOU RETURN

For most travelers intending to return to the workforce, it wont be possible to secure future employment before you leave. However, thats not to say you should do nothing. If youre planning on rejoining the 95 there are some things you can do now, to make your job search easier when you return. Get personal with your coworkers. If you dont already, try to get as many of your coworkers personal emails (rather than just their work email). The benefit is that in a year or two when you return from traveling, those coworkers may have moved on too and you can still contact them. Keeping in touch with former coworkers is a great way to scope out potential jobs in your industry, especially as they move to new companies. Update your resume now. Chances are the last time you updated your resume was when you got your current job. Now is the time to get it absolutely up-to-date. In a year from now itll be tough (if not impossible) to remember all of the details of your current projects. If you typically go after several types of jobs and tweak your resume to fit for each one, you might want to create detailed notes so you can do that when you return or write a few versions before you go. For instance you may go for a senior staff position if the pay is right, but youd really like to be at the management level. Youll need versions of your resume that show off your staff skills as well as your management skills. Create or update your profile on the job boards. Should you have an active Monster account while youre away? Absolutely. If you work in a field or at a level where headhunters will contact you, its a good way to have a base of contacts for when you return. If they email you, its okay to say, Hey, Im not looking now, but check in with me again in X months. (If the emails are too much, you can set up a new Gmail account for your job search and leave the emails unread until you return).

Create or update your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a great tool for keeping in touch with everyone you know on the job front. Its particularly useful for job search networking, because you can see where former coworkers are working just by checking their profile. Go ahead and connect LinkedIn with your work email before you leave, so that you can link to those people who are currently using the site. Some people get recommendations, but I think this can wait until you return and itll be a way to let people know youre currently looking for work. Get recommendations and the little details now. Depending on your career level, a written recommendation may help you get your next job. Or they may want to speak directly with those people youve worked with before. Most people remember to get recommendations before they leave, but also email yourself the numbers of your HR department, your employers address, the general phone line at your company, and your references phone numbers (and personal emails in case they change jobs). It may seem obvious now, but in a year you may have completely forgotten some of the routine details you take for granted now. Say goodbye with grace and humility. Ive known a few people who have quit dramatically, and believe me, your coworkers will never forget you if you announce your departure with, See ya later, suckers! as you flip your desk and run screaming out the door. A quiet exit, performed professionally, will buy you goodwill when you need it most: in your future job hunt. Todays coworker could be tomorrows interviewing manager. Best to play nice.


HOLY CRAP, WHAT HAVE I DONE? (PRE-TRIP JITTERS)

If you havent reached this critical milestone in your planning dont worry it will come. A sudden realization of the weight of this life change will come crashing down on you like a bucket of cold water. You may become momentarily religious, Dear God Youll think some combination the following things: Am I crazy? Who am I to think I can do this? I am going to screw up my entire life. I am just being (pick your favorites) selfish/immature/irresponsible/unrealistic/foolish.
Then the real fun begins. Your imagination, sensing an opportunity to shine, will step in. Not only will you be traveling a world filled with danger, everything will go wrong and youll be powerless to fix any of it. Youll be homeless and penniless; ruing the day you ever decided to travel the world. You are freaking out. Dont worry it happens to everyone. You are not crazy. Crazy is never taking a chance on yourself, living a life based on fear. You can do this. Once you get out there, youll see its surprisingly easy to do. It only sounds hard. Youre not going to screw up your life. You made your life what it is and youll still have those same skills and qualities that got you where you are now. Give yourself some credit. Your life isnt as fragile as you

think. Let go. When you release something youre holding onto because of fear, you make room for a surprising number of positive things. About being selfish or immature it can be painful take something we really want. It feels like we havent earned it. We cant claim it for ourselves because were waiting for someone to give it to us. They arent coming. The difference between the people who live the life they want and everyone else? They just do it. They make the decision, come up with a game plan and make it reality. Just like youre doing now. This is the hardest part. Youre amazing. Youre almost there. You can do this. You may come back to this feeling several times during your planning. When you sell the house. When you sell your things. The day you quit your job. I stayed up late on many occasions, trying to convince my husband to let me cancel the whole thing. I can promise you one thing: I swear that you will feel completely different once you leave. Youll be amazed at how stressed you were before and how far away and distant that feels. Youll wonder why you didnt do this years ago. Everything will change, but you wont want to change a thing. The hardest part is the first step. Traveling? Thats cake.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS


CONVINCING YOUR LOVED ONE TO TRAVEL TOO

Some couples are naturals at sharing their love of travel. For others, it can be a source of tension when one person cant wait to go, and the other is perfectly happy to stay. Even if you both love traveling, you can have very different ideas of what that means. My husband and I worked through finding a travel balance that works for us, but it takes time and compromise on both sides. Before you throw in the towel on convincing your wander-averse partner, here are some things to try: Wet their appetite In this case, Flickr is your friend. Often when Im proposing a new destination, say Cypress, Ill dig up the best photos I can find. A photo is often much more powerful in conveying why you should visit than any travel guide. If you can toss in some details about the amazing food or nightlife or sites to be seen, (especially if they are related to your partners interests) this can help too. Give em a taste Planning a short vacation, traveling in the style you imagine your long term trip to be like, may help your partner better understand and appreciate what youre proposing. For my husband and I it was a week riding a Vespa around Bermuda. Unlike our previous trips, we had no plan, no maps, no set destination. We found hidden beaches, tiny restaurant shacks, met locals and just enjoyed the island breeze as we zipped around. A really great vacation that illustrates the beauty of spontaneous travel can get them craving more. Compromise on the mode of travel After I quit my job, we didnt just sling on our backpacks and head out the door. I had an apartment

rented and waiting for us in Madrid for the summer. While I took short trips out to Dublin, Paris, and Lisbon, he stayed behind and enjoyed easing into travel at his own pace. By the end of the summer, he couldnt wait to travel more with me. If your partner is balking at backpacking around, the idea of renting a villa in Italy for the summer might be more palatable. Be willing to handle all of the details In the beginning, this meant not only taking care of all the travel plans, but being willing to explain how it will all work. If your partner is hesitant, they may be feeling some anxiety about everything that could go wrong. Addressing this proactively will take some of the energy out of the resistance. The good news is that with travel experience, your partner will become more and more comfortable with the often ambiguous nature of travel my husband had no problem backpacking last spring with me through Central America with little more than a LP and a vague notion of heading north. Assuage their fears Are they concerned about safety? Getting sick from the water? The expenses being more than you can afford? This is where doing the research (with documentable, reliable sources) can help. Last summer, my husband was worried about me traveling to Croatia, but a couple of US travel advisories (there are no stay away warnings for Croatia) eliminated that concern. Give them the reliable information they need to be convinced. If they cant, you still can Last fall, my husband was helping his dad with his house, so he couldnt travel. Instead of sulking around the house, we decided to send me to Central America for Spanish lessons. If youre unable to convince your partner, or they just cant go with you, it is okay to travel alone. In fact, youll find it to be a completely different experience from traveling as a couple youll make tons more friends, locals are

more likely to approach you and theres a value to being able to travel 100% independently. Youre likely to learn a lot about yourself and return happier and refreshed. Finally, be patient Its a big decision to travel long term. Some folks take a while to warm up to the idea. That doesnt mean they wont ever travel or that youll be doing it solo forever. If you love it, your partner is bound to want to share that with you.


TELLING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY

As you plan for your escape you might experience several emotions. You might feel exhilarated, then panicked. You might worry about money or safety. Youll do some research and reassure yourself. Youll read dozens of stories of others who have done this and loved it. Finally, youre prepared. Confident. Self-assured. Its time. You have dinner with family and you make the big announcement. You brace yourself for the cheers of congratulations. Dead silence. Your mothers fork clinks against her plate as she drops her hand, mouth still agape. Youre what? Craig from thewidewideworld.com shared this story, My wife and I told her parents over Christmas dinner that we were going to travel around the world for a year. Their response: Forty-five full seconds of silence. Then, Pass the potatoes. And they never mentioned it again for three full months. This is completely natural, albeit a bit unsettling if you werent expecting it. They might try to avoid talking about it. They might tell you its a bad idea or question your intentions. What, you just want to run away? They might bring up concerns about your career or money or responsibilities back home. They might guilt you or get angry. You are Zen Let all of this roll off of you. Try to remember that while youve been thinking and planning for this for months, maybe even years, they are just finding out now. Their first response is more about how they

respond to change than about you. Some people get angry, others laugh it off. It has very little to do about whether they will eventually come around. The first time you mention it, your only job is to answer their questions and ignore everything else. Now is not the time to accuse them of not supporting you or letting yourself participate in an argument. Its okay to address it, but try to do so diplomatically, I understand that this might take some time for you to get used to the idea. Timing the Conversation The best time to start telling people is when youre solid in your decision and have made major steps (like buying an airline ticket, setting a date or saving a good portion of money). Testing the idea on other people, before youre committed could work or it could establish you as a bit flaky and make more serious conversations difficult later. Or worse they could talk you out of it, before youve had a chance to work it out for yourself. If youre looking for a benchmark about three months before your departure date seems to be a good balance. It means that youre close to leaving, but with plenty of time for people to adjust to the idea and say their goodbyes. When They Dont Come Around You broach the subject, let their negative comments roll off your back, give them plenty of time to adjust, but sometimes, some people in your life will have a hard time supporting your decision. Inherent in the decision to travel long term is an implied judgment call. Youve decided something else would be better. Sometimes, to someone on the receiving end, that can feel like:

Youre not just leaving, youre leaving them. Youre not just changing your life, youre saying your old life was broken (which included them) Youre not just giving up material possessions, but saying they arent important. This might manifest itself as comments like, It must be nice or Id love to travel but Ive got to work or Not everyone can go jet-setting around the world or Once youre done with this phase. Dont drive yourself crazy over it. Have compassion for your loved ones. Even though they are being a bit hurtful, really what they are saying is dont go! Its possible they might not support it until you come back home. You cant force it. Let them feel and behave how they want, and hopefully theyll come around over time. Oh My Gosh, Were So Going to Visit You! For all the warnings Ive issued about the potential negative reactions, you could be one of the lucky ones with a super supportive and instantly understanding family. In fact, they may be so excited that you get multiple offers to meet you on your travels. This is great. Except well, you might not think so once youre on the road. Overstaying in a few locations can put you off schedule and force you to rush (when youd rather stay) or skip things in order to meet people on certain dates. In your excitement to see friends and family on the road, you might be creating a situation where youll later resent the imposition. And Yes You Have to Do It Its like taking off a band-aid, just rip it off. Say the words and its done. Im quitting my job/selling the house/starting a business and traveling the world.

WHEN YOU TRAVEL


THE ART OF UNPLANNING

The world is massive. Travel is a messy, glorious thing. Weve been talking about planning for travel, but now its time for a little chaos theory. Allowing kismet to pick your next destination. Following your instincts when picking where to stay. Giving chance complete control over that evenings dinner. Blindly heading into the night to see what finds you. Planning is a wonderful thing. It makes taking the leap possible. It makes you feel more comfortable. Its also a great for a backup plan. But we dont quit our jobs or become digital nomads to follow a schedule. We want something more than rigid itineraries and daily activity lists. Thats for vacationers. Were travelers. A Vague Notion is Enough A good travel plan knows where you start and generally the direction youre going in. No more and sometimes less. Until you get there, youll always be handicapped in your understanding. How long to stay in Paris? That depends, will you end up loving it or wanting to leave as soon as possible? Did you meet someone? Did they share their plans to bike southern France and invite you along? Is it hotter than you thought and you want to head north now and finish the southern route when its cooler? Are you running out of money and want to skip over to SE Asia ahead of schedule? Here you are two months before you leave knowing none of this and you wonder: should you book two days, one week, a month? Even if you read every travel guide, youll never be able to predict how youll feel, wholl youll meet or the chance encounters youll have. If you plan too tightly and cant ditch everything for the unexpected adventure, youll be traveling but stuck. You will have traded your hard earned freedom for an arbitrary schedule you created. Be careful.

You Are Not Looking for Sites, Youre Searching for Experiences If you dont plan, show up somewhere and wait for something to happen probably nothing will. As a former-vacationer, you might be used to the kind of travel that involved checking monuments and museums off a list. Your mindset needs to change. The most memorable times of your travels wont be at the foot of some attraction, snapping the same picture as a million other tourists. No, itll be the seaside fish stew you made with the local who rented you a bike that morning. Itll be the family you stayed with because of a chance encounter and helping the kids set the table and practicing their language. Or itll be a sun-drenched day, in a spot you only found because you got incurably lost, but discovered something more beautiful and rare than your intended destination. How do these things happen? You seek them. Like a tourist seeks items on their list you seek experiences. You smile at people and make eye contact. You start a conversation and let it naturally unfold. Say yes, even if youre not sure. Get lost. Do something on a whim. Youre open to anything. Plan, But Dont Commit A plan is what you follow when nothing else interesting happens. You might pick out a hotel for the first night, so you can collapse after a long day of travel, but the next day you might walk around town to see if theres somewhere better. You might make plans to take a certain train or bus to the next town, but only if something better doesnt occur to you. If youre not feeling a place, you leave. You dont feel bad that you didnt spend enough time somewhere. You dont compare yourself to other travelers. Maybe you may have countries on your list that you skip altogether in order to spend another month where you are. A plan is just a plan. Its not what happens. Let Go of Expectations

As you travel, you might find old expectations haunting you. You imagined this big trip for so long and now the phantom memories of those days cloud what youre really doing. You might have had big ideas about how many pictures you would take or how fluent youd become or how youd actually end up spending your day. More than likely you imagined squeezing every glorious drop out of this experience and that meant - at the time - doing as much as possible. Now on the road, things are slower. Youre perfectly happy skipping the 100th old church in order to play chess in the street. But still, you feel a little bad. Are you wasting it? No! Its okay to be disappointed. In fact youll likely feel all kinds of negative emotions at some point in your trip. Its not about not feeling those things. Its about feeling it, and then letting it go. Why? Because this isnt about what other people think, and especially not what a pre-trip you thought your travels would be. So be lazy one day and skip the big important thing. You wont die. You should do whatever you want. And in the end, itll be there for you later. The New You You walk out the door in search of breakfast, with no idea of where a place might be, what the menu actually says or what kind of food youll be eating. When people ask where youre going next, you offer an annoyingly vague (to the asker) response, like, I dont know, I was thinking south. You sign into your hostel, but you dont give an end date. You might leave that night or in a month. You always seem to be meeting people, making friends and bringing unlikely groups together. Someone asks you offhandedly if you want to hike the volcano tomorrow morning and you say yes, even though morning is only 4 hours away. You spend the first day in any new place, just walking around. You have that story or a few of them: the month on a strangers yacht in the south pacific, or living in a monastery with the sisters in

perfect silence or working at a vineyard just because. Its those things you remember, what youll consider the best times. Its the adventure you never planned.


COMMON SENSE SAFETY WHILE TRAVELING

Many people are concerned for me, when I tell them that I travel. Even family and friends living in Boston have concerns about me getting raped/murdered/robbed even though those things are more likely to happen to me in Boston than they are while traveling. In the last three years, there were 387 homicides of US citizens overseas. In 2008 alone there were over 14,000 in the US. In fact, when Im traveling, Im more likely to die from a car accident and Im almost equally likely to drown or commit suicide than being a target of a violent crime. I will admit that I occasionally harbor some of those irrational fears too. Sometimes, when a local is overly nice to me I wonder what they want. Other times, I become paranoid and imagine someone is following me, and for a flash I imagine an unlikely scenario: them grabbing me in broad daylight in a busy street and robbing me at gun point. However its important to still travel with confidence. These fears keep us sharp, but they arent meant to keep us locked up in our rooms at night or fearing the smile of every stranger. We cant control the outcome by being afraid. Also, theres no accounting for plain dumb luck. Minimizing your losses in case of being robbed Keep your money, passport and credit cards somewhere safe, like an interior pocket, a money belt or locked up in your hotel room. Youre always supposed to have a passport on you, but if Im going out for an evening, Ill bring a photocopy of my passport, so that I cant possibly have mine stolen.

Never put anything you dont want to lose in a pocket, backpack or purse, especially if the zippers face away from your body. Only carry as much cash as you need, stash the rest away. Avoiding getting robbed Ha. There is no way to completely avoid it. Everyone gets robbed, eventually, if you travel enough so stop blaming the victim. Besides, its just money. You can try these: Dont look like a tourist: too late you already do, even your trying looks like a tourist. Listen, I can tell if someone is from Revere, MA vs. Leominster, MA dont you think there are subtle cues that are going to be screaming Hey this guy is not from around here. So yes, maybe not wearing a t-shirt with the countrys name on it might help, but I kind of doubt that pickpockets are that discriminating. You are a foreigner and foreigners have money. Even the stinky hippie backpacker ones. Dont leave your stuff unattended: Yeah, this works great until you start traveling. If youre going anywhere, that means taking a flight, a bus or a train. Three perfectly good reasons to be separated from your luggage and three great times for the other travelers and/or the staff to rifle through your stuff. You have to trust and hope. Keep the most valuable things physically on you and if you go to sleep, sit on them. Most of the time they wont lift you up to steal your stuff, but dont be surprised if they do that too. Dont wear fancy clothes or otherwise look affluent. Yes, this makes sense if youre wearing diamond studded tiaras, but for the most part this falls under the same rule as looking like a tourist. So sure, leave the suit made out of 100 dollar bills at home, but otherwise dont worry about it. Affluence is affluence and trying to send socio-economic signals saying that youre not upper middle class, but more like usedcar-Target-shopping lower middle class to people who make $400 a year is kind of a waste of time.

Scams, Hot Girls, and Dumb Things We Do If you want to worry about something, there are some common ways to separate tourists from their money. Someone at your hostel got robbed! Or an American approaches you on the street they have been robbed and just need some money to get back home. Or they are having money Western Unioned to them but it wont get here until tomorrow can you loan them a few dollars? Probably they are lying. Help them if you want, but do they look like a regular traveler or are they a little rough around the edges? Maybe living on the street, doing drugs? Just saying. An incredibly hot girl wants to talk to you (youre a guy). She is smoking hot and just wants to hang out and get drunk. You wake up the next morning with a bad headache and empty wallet. Did she drug you? Maybe. Probably she just got you drunk then cleaned out your cash. Professional Con Artists. I met one of these in Cancun on my way to Cuba. He kept telling us stories of him as a musician, saying he opened for Bjork, but then later it was Red Hot Chile Peppers. Hmm. Then he invited us out for drinks and bought us all a round. Oops, his wallet was missing. Could we cover him? I left after a bit, but my friend got completely hosed on a huge drink bill and some other not-sonice-stuff. We saw him around the rest of the week working his circuit. As For Everything Else You already have the common sense you need, so dont buy a safety whistle or pepper spray just yet. If youre traveling with kids, keep them close in crowds. If youre going out drinking, take a cab home instead of walking the streets late at night. You know, common sense stuff youd probably do anyway. Sometimes it might feel like everyone just wants your money, but mostly theyre willing to just

overcharge you on knickknacks for it. World poverty is a serious issue but for the most part the people you meet will be more helpful and kind than you could possibly deserve. It will hurt and make you mad to have something stolen, but only for a bit. Youll get better at reading people. Youll sense when someone is trying to sell you, even when there is no product on the table. Youll spend more time fending off vendors than watching out for criminals. After a bit youll feel just as safe as you do at home.


WATCHING TV/MOVIES OVERSEAS

I like The Office. Or The Daily Show. Or the BBCs The IT Crowd. Sometimes when Im tired, Ill go back to the hostel, curl up with my laptop and just veg out. Now before you get all travel self righteous on me, let me tell you a little secret. I dont care. I havent owned a TV in years. I read at least 3 books a week. When I travel, Im out and about most of the day, very far away from a TV or any other kind of passive entertainment. But if I want to watch a little good old fashion tee vee, Im going to do it. Oh and you can too. (Disclaimer: this is for information purposes only. Im not suggesting anyone break any copyright laws or download anything illegally.) Assumption: you have a laptop and an internet connection. Direct Downloads NBC: hulu.com (Hulu also has programming from many other channels plus free movies) ABC: abc.com CBS: cbs.com PBS: pbs.org Comedy Central: comedycentral.com Pay per show: Netflix.com Pay/download: Amazon.com

Depending on the site, you may be blocked from accessing programming because of your location if its outside the US. How do they know where you are? When you connect to the internet you are assigned an IP address, which is just a series of numbers. These numbers are issued by location so its easy for a website programmer to write code to block people from certain countries. How to get around blocked sites You need to hide your location and make it look like youre in the US. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use a VPN, which connects you to a third party server and they connect to your destination website, making it look like youre coming from where ever that server is, not your actual location. There are sites that do this for free. Hotspot Shield is a good example. But, websites like hulu.com have gotten smart to this and have blocked people with IPs from Hotspot shield too. Other methods are TOR, which is a free download or Hidemynet.com which costs $5 per month. Since the technology changes so often, an easy search online can tell you the latest methods. How to watch Hulu overseas should give you lots of results. (Tip: look at the date of the post, then read the latest comments. What worked six months ago might not work now.) Indirect streaming People are constantly uploading the latest episodes to sites like Youtube.com but these days they tend to get pulled faster than you can even watch them. Project Free TV and Sidereel are two sites that collect the uploads from various sites and just post the links. You can find everything from movies to HBO series to last nights Glee. Torrent Download

So far weve talked about streaming, which means that it downloads as you watch, so you shouldnt have a significant wait to start watching. If your internet is very slow, or you want to watch it later offline (like on a plane or bus) then downloading the full program first as a torrent is the way to go. The way torrents work is that many people have a copy of the file and you download a little from each person. There is software that handles this: vuze.com. To find the torrent file, sites like thepiratebay.com, demonoid.com and limewire.com have lots of listings. Pay and watch Netflix, iTunes and Amazon offer video on-demand services. This means you can buy an episode or a movie and download it to watch immediately. Go local You can always get copies of movies locally, where ever you are. They are often cam versions of movies with subtitles. Oh and expect a 6 month to 1 year delay from US release to availability.


TAKE A BREATH, THIS IS HAPPENING

Everything is arranged. Youre ready to go. After so much planning, saving, compromise, research, and imaging what will be, its finally here. The big fat leap. Itll never be the same as the first time. Youll be giddy. Youll get sick from the change in food and schedule. Youll be frustrated and tired. Youll feel like youre floating above yourself, aware of the moment. Youll be overwhelmed and amazed. Youll be intimidated by customs you dont know and navigating a language you dont speak. Youll be freaking traveling the world. Holy crap. Later, you might look back at this as best time of your life. But as you travel, youll learn what most travelers conclude: the experience is almost as much about your attitude as where you are. Youll only change as much as you let yourself. Those things back home that made you a little shy or easily frustrated or quick to make friends you packed those with you too. Theres a lot of advice out there about how best to travel or how to blend in or get the most from each day. However Im a strong believer that there is no best way to travel. My best advice is to try everything, until you dont want to. Push yourself, but dont make it torture. Have fun. Laugh. Be yourself. If you dont love it, whats the point? If that means changing plans, skipping destinations, splurging on a bed with high-thread-count sheets from time to time dont worry that youre not doing it right. Sure there are travelers who live on $4 a day or spend six months learning a language spoken only by 200 people. There are travelers who have seen more or are better read or have a distinct ability to make everything theyve done sound way more

cool. But are they better travelers? I dont buy it. Were all out there. Any distinctions are the constructs of travelers trying to elevate themselves above the rabble. Were all tourists. Even the most experienced traveler is just another clumsy foreigner in a new land. The only thing you have to worry about right now is enjoying it. Sometimes that will be hard. Traveling can be exhausting. Getting lost annoying. Strange food disgusting. But if you can laugh it off and chalk it up as part of the big adventure, you can officially call yourself a traveler. Dont forget to send me a postcard.

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AlmostFearless.

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

INTRODUCTION ................................................. 5 GETTING STARTED .............................................. 6

PLANNING TRAVEL ............................................ 50

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

TRAVELING HOMESCHOOLERS SPEAK - HOW THEY DO IT ............................................................................ 77

GETTING READY TO GO ................................... 84

FAMILY AND FRIENDS ...................................... 128

WHEN YOU TRAVEL ......................................... 137

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

THE MENTAL SHIFT TO BEGIN THE REDESIGN

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

THE TRAVEL DIET

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

TURNING YOUR JOB DIGITAL

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

WHATEVER YOU DO, DONT BECOME A TRAVEL WRITER

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

BECOMING A DIGITAL NOMAD, FREELANCE EDITION

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

BECOMING A DIGITAL NOMAD - SMALL BUSINESS EDITION

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

ADVANCED DIGITAL NOMADING - THE TIME SHIFT

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

THE PART-TIME DIGITAL NOMAD

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

67 TRAVEL FRIENDLY JOBS TO CONSIDER

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

30 Ways in 30 Days to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World