The honest truth – I never have the money I need to travel, but I buy the ticket anyway. I’ve realized that money comes and goes, but the more I make, the harder it is to part with it and weirdly, the less I have, the easier it becomes to budget.
I don’t do that saving account, checking account, travel account thing either. I am not rational. I am extreme. I want to travel and so I do. There is no in between. While I was working my first career job in public relations, I realized early on that it was going to take me forever to save all the money I would need to see the world. I come from a middle class family, I’m the middle child of five and I live in one of the most expensive places in America – Long Island, New York. I don’t have rich family members or know people that know people and I certainly can’t rely on inheritance to someday boost my dreams. So I focused on what I did have – a roof over my head, and the attitude that I can and will do anything I want.
… And I want to live around the world.
REWIND TO THAT PLACE IN TIME
I’m working seven days a week and I can’t even afford my own place yet. Five days at the PR firm and Saturdays and Sundays bar tending. For what? So I can slave away my 20s. Work 7 days a week to buy clothes for work and a $400 monthly train pass to get to work. I was literally working to afford working. And don’t get me wrong. I absolutely loved my job. I loved my clients, I loved my boss and I loved my interns. I was proud of where I was and where I was going, yet I still had something inside of me telling me that if I wanted to go all out for my career, I needed to give up that living around the world dream… and if I wanted to live somewhere else, I was going to need to give up my career.
And so the google search began. I have no money. But I want to travel for long periods of time. How do I do that?!
I’m going to need to work abroad.
Working while you travel is literally the smartest thing a person can do.
But you can’t do it forever. It’s only for the young. Sorry people. Not my rule. There are countries who will give you a year working visa but you have to be under 30. (Australia and New Zealand)
So with this information. It was now or never.
I mean, lets face it – If I moved into New York City when I was 24 years old, I’d be working to pay for my apartment. Once you leave the nest – rent till you die. Travel for me would not be likely for a very long time.
And even if I stayed home and kept working like I was – I wasn’t saving what I needed to get ahead. I was getting ahead in my career but financially, I was just getting by and some.
It was only when I thought about the life I was setting myself up for that I realized I was just fitting the mold, and the scariest part was that I liked it because I was used to it – it was the only life I had ever known.
If you tell people you work 7 days a week, they don’t see anything wrong with it. I didn’t. I was a champion. I was going places. If you tell them you work two jobs in one day, well then, you are a hard worker, a hustler, a person who is determined to succeed.
I hate that mindset now. Unless you know exactly what it is you are working for.
What’s up with our society that people are so proud to work so much just to get by? No. You are an adult. Working 40 hours should be enough to provide for your family and your home and everything you need. Especially if you are not working for your dreams. Working more should be an option. (You know for that iPad or pocketbook.) Not a must-do or you cant afford the rent. Or at least that’s how it should be. Kate for President, just saying.
Okay, but really – I understand that there are instances where you work a lot because you have a goal. Mine (at the time) was to afford an apartment in New York City so I could be closer to my job and break out of the nest. It was really exciting to think about – until I starting becoming excited thinking about where I would work on the weekends to afford this new life. Fall back. YOUR GOALS SHOULD NOT BE MATERIALISTIC. They should be focused on personal growth and just because your bank account is growing, it doesn’t mean you are. My mindset was all about money. Money for this, money for that. Bills, bills, bills, throw some money in the savings every month, go for drinks with friends, look for a husband – hey, everyone’s doing it – It’s called being responsible and having your head on straight. I can almost hear my parents sigh of relief when they thought I had lined myself up a successful future… but then I quit my career and crushed their dreams and I didn’t care because where was the room for my dreams? I had to break that mold.
Someone really tell me WHAT THE FUCK life is about? My generations economy sucks. Yet for some reason, everyone has nice things. A lot of us have two jobs, or are working overtime at our one job or even have three gigs going on – And if you don’t fill those categories – get off my page. (Just kidding, but really.)
SO I looked into it. PEOPLE DON’T HAVE MONEY FOR THE LIVES THEY ARE LIVING.
We finance almost everything. Your car, your house, your new big screen TV. OMG I am going to be poor for the rest of my life. But I won’t look poor. Because I’ll have credit cards.
LIGHT BULB.
Have you heard of 0% APR? Of course you have. Well it’s literally the only reason I can travel.
No I don’t have a rich family who funds my travels. Sorry to ruin your day.
When I moved to Australia on a Work and Holiday Visa I had $800 in my bank account. Crazy I know. I literally told my parents, ‘Okay I’m going to Australia. I only have $800 so if I don’t get a job in the first week, I’ll see you next Sunday.”
BLANK STARES
I was taking a risk I know. But what did I have to lose? Money? My whopping $800. Which is why having less money makes it easier to take chances. I was prepared and willing to fail for a dream I wasn’t sure would work. But lets be honest, I was NOT going to lose. I was on a goddamn mission and I don’t understand the word “no”.
SO
UNITED MILEAGE PLUS EXPLORER CARD – They gave me 50,000 miles for signing up and 5000 for adding someone to the account (which I did) and miles after spending $1000 in the first month (which I did because I put my plane flight on the card.)
This means, I basically racked up enough points (and by basically I mean, I had enough points) for a free flight home. I’m A GENIUS — And yes, I planned that out.
[NOTE: They have slightly changed the card. Look for deals and offers.]
THEN
CITI THANK YOU PREFERRED CARD – Boom! 0% APR on balance transfers for the first 12 months and a fee of 3% of my transfer. (Which sucks but I needed to.)
ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?
I transferred all of my credit card balances to the THANK YOU CARD and set up the minimum monthly payment to automatically come out of my checking account every month.
I also set up my student loan to automatically be deducted every month as well.
NO WORRIES MATE – remember, it’s just money. (And it’s for my dream – Not a sweater and shoes.)
FROM THERE… I put a weeks stay at World Square Hostel, in an 18 bed dorm room (the cheapest bed they had) on my credit card.
WHAT ABOUT FOOD?
PB and J my friends. Not even J, just PB and the cheapest loaf of bread I could find in Sydney (which was $1, SCORE).
AND REALLY THE REST IS HISTORY
I found a job within the first three days. Applied for a tax file number. Set up an Australian bank account and after my first Australian paycheck I never had to touch my American credit card ever again. I was making about $1000 a week in Australia and working 35 hours a week. My rent was $150 a week. Eventually I transferred some money over to my American account just to keep paying the minimum payment on my THANK YOU card. But that was the last I had to worry about my American bills. I ended up SAVING $10,000 in six months working in Australia. And I used that money to travel Australia with. Never having to touch an American dollar.
I used this same strategy when I moved to Thailand. Except I started with $2000 as my backup if I didn’t get a job. (But I did.)
I may just be a master budgeter but I’m pretty positive this tactic can work for anyone who is as ambitious and money savvy as me. Don’t just go get a credit card and put everything on there. And don’t spend more than you can make. The most I ever put on the card was $3000. The point is to use it as a little loan to help you pursue a dream you may not have the money for right now, while keeping some money in your bank account for emergencies.
Good luck and be smart. (but not too smart – leave some space for risks!)
OH! AND AS FOR MY DREAM – In case it’s unclear… I want to live and work around the world. I want to experience culture. I want to be a local. See what it’s like to be someone from somewhere else. It’s not just about money anymore. It’s about life and challenges and doing things I never thought were possible for me.
I don’t know why I was so lucky to have been born in America – to have all these opportunities – to not even be close to being the richest person in my town but to still have so frikken much. I don’t know why I got to be born here and not somewhere else, but I know I won’t take it for granted.
If you are in a country where you can read this – Please don’t take it for granted. xx
Next read: Australian Work and Holiday Visa: Do It Yourself Guide
Related: How to Make Over $18/hr Backpacking Australia
Kate from the States 
Amen. Totally dangerous and irresponsible advice.
Reblogged this on Untitled Blog and commented:
Great read!
You are awesome, I absolutely love this. So refreshing to come across someone who understands my dreams! You’re an inspiration and I appreciate you!
And what if you don’t believe in God? Is life not worth living? Just a thought to ponder! I am an avid traveller – always seeking new culture, new people and experiences. We seek out the relationships and thus life we think is worth living. What you might think is plausible may not for everyone else, xx
Leave now, don’t wait until you graduate. When you graduate there will be a new responsibilities, or commitments that will force you to give the same excuse of “next year”. Traveling is part of education. It’s the part where you find out what you want to do in this world, and it’s the only way to find it out. I promise school will be there next year, loans will be there next year, and money will be there next year, but traveling is only valuable when you’re young. On my first flight ever out of the country I sat next to this very cute old couple from Australia who told me something that still resonates quite strongly with me now. They told me they lived above a very famous touristic area in Australia. Many people come from all over the world just to soak in the view that they are fortunate enough to wake up to every morning. They said to me, “Do you know what phrase we hear more than anything else from tourists who stop to look at the view? ‘This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, I wish I would have done this X years ago.'” I asked her what she meant by “X years ago”. She said, “Well, if it’s an older couple, say 60 years old, and they come they’ll say something like, ‘We should have done this 40 years ago when we could walk up these stair on our own’. If there is couple of adults they usually say something like, ‘We should have done this 20 years ago before we had our children ‘. And even if they are young, say 28 years old, even they would say, ‘we should have done this 5 years ago when we could of stayed, danced, and drank until the sun went down’. The point they were trying to stress to me was that there is no better time to follow your heart than today. With each year there are more responsibilities, less money, and less health.
You have the same chance at succeeding or failing at something you love as you have at something you hate. Seems like a simple choice. Choose what you love =)
As for you wanting to leave school sooo badly. Do it. You are experiencing the sunk cost fallacy where you feel “well i’ve come this far, I might as well finish it”. For example, say you paid to watch a 3 hour movie at the theatre. An hour in, you cant stand it. it’s not for you and you know you won’t enjoy the rest of it. The sunk cost fallacy makes you think “well I paid for it so i might as well finish it.” If you do, you will loose the next 2 hours of your life not enjoying yourself. If you choose to just leave (the money is already long gone cant do anything about that either way) you can CHOOSE to have a BLAST for the next 2 hours of your life doing something you’ll really enjoy instead :)
Hope this helps you in some way!! :) i know it can be scary, but you can’t risk being ordinary if you crave the extraordinary.
I got the above from the book The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli :)
Really great comment Nick! This is one of the truly valid arguments against traveling. I tend to say if you have children then you should not be considering traveling because you have a responsibility to building that relationship and creating a solid foundation with security for that child which is virtually impossible if you’re not living in one place.
However, I will have to disagree with you on the building depth in relationships. While I do think it is important to attempt to build strong relationships in people, I would caution on the side of sacrificing your own happiness for it.
My parents would say you will only really have 2 or 3 really close friends as you grow older. A concept I didn’t realize until the idea of children and marriage came into play. You can put all the time, effort, and presence into a relationship that you can and it will always be trumped by a new child or a new spouse.
Eventually the time you would like to spend with that person is more and more limited, to the point where it wouldn’t matter if you were traveling the world and only back for a few weeks a year because that is about the same amount of time you would have been spending with them had you of never let.
If you’re argument is in regards to building a relationship with a spouse than I might agree with you. However, we are humans, and as nomads we tend to “love” someone simply because it’s convenient; he lives close, she works the same hours as me, we both have Sundays off. Eventually, you want a relationship with someone who compliments you and not just someone who has a common routine with you.
I commend you in your quest to investing in the next generation. I do not understand how not traveling helps the next generation, or why sacrificing YOUR “dreams” is necessary?
Personally, I do feel like the secret to life is finding what you love to do and figuring out how to do it as much as possible. Once you have found what it is that you are passionate about then fighting for it is easy. It’s the finding it part that is difficult, and in my opinion, requires travel. You might find what you enjoy doing by staying in the same place but you can not test that love without traveling; without trying it somewhere else, or with different people.
It’s kinda of something you learn from traveling a lot. At first you pack your bag with all these things you think you need, and want. Then after a few times packing you decide to leave certain items home because you know you will barely need them. Finally, you only bring the things you can’t live without, everything else you realize you can get anywhere.
For me that’s what life is like. You go off traveling with your mind open to new experience, and one-by-one, destination-by-destination, you start to find what are the things you want to get out of your trip (i.e. seeing places, meeting people, trying food). Then eventually you choose places specifically because they are prominent in what you love, and your trip becomes more of a way to heighten what you love then just exploring the city.
With each trip, you narrow what/who it is that you really love, hopefully finding that niche that you can pin point in yourself and in everything around you. It might start with just wanting to see a sun set in Fiji, but then it turns into being in the clear water, then snorkeling, then scuba diving. Suddenly, you found your niche, your passion, and you now know what you love. And it all started from a feeling in your heart that you NEED to see a sunset in Fiji.
There’s a quote from Even Carmichael which I wish every person would just try for 1 year, “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” I think this would change a lot of people’s perception of what life is all about.
Either way, I really did enjoy you’re comment and was happy to debate the different ideas regarding traveling and building relationships.
Been in Australia 5 months and unemployed, blew £5000 on just living here (rent and food). It’s been hard finding work on this visa. I wish I had your story of better luck. Now I have decisided to give this place up and find somewhere cheaper to live. Save as much as possible and get on travelling. Any advise on my situation?
It’s worth noting that the airline points will give you a “free” flight, BUT you will have to still pay the tax that would apply. To Australia, that can easily be $500-$800 just in tax.
Wow this is inspiring! Thanks for leading the way! – Greg
Nice.
Keep doing what you’re doing. Somewhere new includes people, people are part of your experience. That is easy to understand for many of us.
Kate, wonderful stories. I look forward to following your progress. Have to sign off now, on a plane home from my own travels. Harold, Marie uncle.
This is awesome and so inspiring! Where you at now? Need a roommate?! LOL I have this crazy itch to do the same and want to do it so much more now after reading this!! Life is short and living with no regrets is great! Keep living the dream girl!!
Let’s get married.
What a vibe. Landed a job a couple of years ago in Australia as an unskilled person that paid well (>100k a year). I was 22yo and I guess people figured I’d make a career of it but the way I see it there’s zero point in working for money I don’t need. Why should I fake a smile and pretend to be happy, living in an artificial society, working everyday of my life. And for what? So I can live in a house with a white picket fence that is in a nice, neat line of other houses. After only a couple of months at the new job I took 6 weeks off to travel europe and a few months after that I left on what could be described as not the best of terms. Fast forward 15months and I’m dirt broke working in a pub on a ski resort for $11 an hour. Over the previous summer I mostly worked in a hostel and even agreed to pose naked for an art class. Never been happier and living the dream.
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You don’t lose relationships by traveling, you gain relationships.
You become connected with more than just the accessible
You also meet others with similar passions for travel and adventure. I’m sure countless couples have met each other while both were abroad. If you’re in a place for months or even a year or more, you’re bound to make relationships of meaning in each place you stay. Especially due to the commonalities you already share!
Fantastic lifestyle choices Kate! Congratulations. As someone who spent 2 years living in Thailand I would very much like to spend the rest of my life there. Can you share a little about how you found employment in the land of smiles and what the nature of that employ is? It would be much appreciated. Thank you!
This is a fantastic post! Great read! Thank you for sharing! I have a quick question. You write about looking for jobs in other countries. What kinds of jobs do you look for? Is it always teaching English? And if I was interested in teaching English overseas how does one get into that? Do I need special certification? Thanks!!
I just graduated college an landed my first job. I keep worrying that i need to start saving for the future, but I’m also trying to travel every few months. I’m really glad I read this article! It definitely puts things into perspective. I’m 22, and I’m allowed to make mistakes, so if anything let traveling be my mistake. I’ll eventually need to start really saving for my future, but hell, while I’m single and young I’m going to take my chances.
Well done, Kate! Your story made me smile as we (boyfriend, now hubby and I) did the same sort of thing back in 1985. We let out our tiny London flat to pay the costs of what we borrowed and travelled for a year. It was so amazing, we did it again in the mid-90’s. We will never have a fortune as our careers got cut short, but our wealth is based on the places we saw and the people we met.
There are openings in public schools in Andalusia Spain that offers teaching assistant positions for native English speakers as they are trying to increase literacy in English. Check Junta de Andalusia website.
omg calm ur tits. she is living the life she wants, why would u try to fill her with regret aimed from ur fears and biblical propaganda
African. No such luck.
Maybe you’re going to include this in your next post….
What were the jobs you got and did you learn the language beforehand when you lived in Thailand?
Also, so awesome that you took charge of your life and pulled yourself out of the cookie cutter mold. You’re an inspiration! :)
……how the shit did you get a PR job in Australia in 3 days?
Unless it was another bar tending job.
In which case, I appriciate this fulfilled your dreams of travel, but what about your career? Can’t get the same satisfaction out of bar tending if you loved your PR gig so much…
I’m also looking at travelling to Australia and getting a working holiday visa but when I’ve looked it says I must have a minimum of £2000 in my bank account?? How did you get in with only $800??
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This was a great article! But question, what job did you have that made $1000 a week? Very interesting. Wish I would have thought of this in my 20s.
Yikes, I suspect that you speak from a position of not having traveled for long stints. Some of the deepest, most profound relationships I’ve ever had are with people I only knew in person for a few days. Depth of relationship isn’t dependent on time or proximity.
Glad to see others out there with the passion for exploration like myself. Keep on keeping on Kate!
i, too, travel a lot & i can honestly say that it does not “deprive me of important relationships”. i don’t know how you travel but i know, not just me, that we meet people that will change your life for the better & even though you don’t spend as much time with them, they stay with you. arguably, they influence me more & i value that relationship even more than some of the people at my “home”. i don’t understand why you would think that traveling makes you sacrifice people or prohibits you from experiencing “relational depth”. just like kate here who says she`s never felt like she`s sacrificed anything, i, too, feel the same. i have a profound relationship with some people i`ve met in my travels that i will forever be grateful for. i think people who truly travel & make the best out of these travels know that you only gain from this experience – you only grow as a person & you learn as you see more of the world & of people. since you made a normative claim about we are “made to have depth in our relationships”, i`m going to stand by my claim that travelling does not limit this is any way. if anything, it encourages it. traveling is not selfish. you should try it & be more open to all the possibilities.
Live love love. But what about health insurance?
It’s a balancing act. I’ve bounced around the world for the past few years teaching English. It does get lonely having to make new relationships every year however the sacrifice is worth it because I get to experience the world.
As a sidenote: not everyone qualifies for those credit cards. Many people have a lot of debt (due to school loans or whatever) and can’t get them, so the startup fees have to come out of pocket. However, many of your points are spot on. I also quit an awful job to start my nomadic life and haven’t looked back :)
Teaching English abroad is a great option for people who are willing and able to teach and opens many doors all across the globe.
I love you.
Im inspired Kate! Growing up in the south and having the same ideals thrust upon me since i was a kid and now im doing everything i can to travel and live, i believe to be a full life! Im srarting up my own blog and would love any advice or input you could give me! Kacemacecorner.wordpress.com
Reblogged this on hypheNation and commented:
So many people have started to do things like this. I think it’s an excellent way to travel, but to be honest, it sort of reeks of privilege. Obviously not too much economic privilege, that’s the point. Maybe not even White privilege, although a bit of that. But the idea that it’s ok to just hop into another country for a year, steal a job (because really, that’s what you’re doing. Isn’t that what so many people say “others” are doing to jobs in America?), and make sure you save as much as humanly possible, which means not putting too much of that income you’re drawing from an economy back into it, and you’re taking up some low-income housing and possibly other benefits for a year… I think this is a good framework to start from, and traveling and trying to immerse yourself in another culture is a wonderful thing, but you’ve really got to include thoughts of the impact you’ll have wherever you’re traveling as well.
what you really did right was understanding and respecting the point of a credit card. It’s a little short term loan. Not a gift from banks to keep up with the neighbors on newest products. Great job!
Reblogged this on redesigning49 and commented:
A kindred spirit for sure. Thanks for sharing Harriet.
YES! I’m so happy you get that too :)
You just made a scenario up in your head. Australia gives you the visa to WORK in the country LEGALLY. They want us there. And they only give out a certain number of visa’s per year. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS steal jobs… and the Australia government has made a law where businesses actually have to hire Australian residents before people on a work and holiday visa.The whole point of this opportunity is cultural exchange. And to make money and then spend it back in the country. There economy is booming from tourism. And if you didn’t get it the first time – WORK AND HOLIDAY VISA… It SAYS IT IN THE NAME LOL
I love you more
Yes totally agree. Balancing and living in your means :) And financially it’s different for everyone. I’m just sharing how I’ve been able to do it. I realize others may have to find there owns ways. Thanks for reading :)
Terrible to say but I have been traveling without it. I know, I know :o… This is the first year I’m getting travel insurance. :)
Waitressing! Blog post to come :)
HAHAH LOVE THIS!
They didn’t check :o …. and right before I was going to go one of my relatives found out that I may get denied at immigration so they gave me $5000 because they were afraid for me. I screen shotted the amount in my bank account just incase immigration asked me for proof but they didn’t. I mean, I don’t recommend doing what I was about to do but yeahhhh. I know
Funny you say– I really wanted to do the backpacker thing so I got a waitressing job right away. When my boss in Manhattan found out I was in Australia she connected me to a PR firm so I did do a little career stuff there too. Don’t you worry, I’m not a lost soul.. :)
Maybe look it up! You never know.