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 
Amazing post, just wow that you put your dreams to action. Further showing how anything in life is possible. Happy for you, thanks for the inspiration x
Poorly written article with a clickbait title. This is nothing new or revolutionary. You mean I will have more money working while I travel than if I don’t? Mind= Blown.
what kind of job did you have? Were there options in your field? (PR/Communications)?
Pingback: I refuse to waste my youth while I’m young… | Meg Noble
Can i ask what kind of jobs you got? I’d like to know what to look for.
I think I just fell in love a little bit
I stumbled on to this post through a link on Facebook – so glad! You’ve got your priorities straight, girl. Hope more people start to follow this advice :)
Kate, this was such a great read. Congratulations!! I have the same dream. I want to travel the world and experience different cultures and meet people from all walks of life. I want to really live. I work a job in the music industry right now. I went to school for it. I worked hard to get where I am, but like you said, I’m working overtime plus another job on the side and barely getting by. I want to just drop everything and go travel so badly but I’m so terrified. I’m afraid to go alone. I’m afraid because I don’t really know what I’m doing. Ive barely even been off the North Ameican continent.
Whoops, hit send too soon. Anyways. Do you ever wish you had someone to travel with? Or have any desire to mentor someone? I want to do what you’re doing so badly but just have too much fear.
Your blog is so inspiring. I studied abroad for 6 months in Sydney a few years ago and have been itching to see Europe ever since. I love the feeling traveling and being in a different culture gives me. Sitting at my desk 8 hours a days in slowing killing me. I hope I can put some of your tips to use in 2015. THANK YOU! Best of luck in your future travels. I look forward to future posts.
I’d love to keep in touch through FB if you are online during your travels.
http://www.THEURBANFLAMINGO.blogspot.com
Kaitlyn
The next time I’m a young, pretty female bartender, I will totally follow this advice. For pretty much everyone else, this is pretty terrible advice. Yes, you’re probably not going to get into too much trouble doing a working holiday in Australia, it is a first world country and the wages are great. Having a credit card for most people is a terrible temptation: most people have a problem with credit card debt in the States, and the temptation of having some awesome adventure even if you don’t have the money for it is irresistible, as you readily admit. I have seen many people do this exact same thing, and they leave with a maxed credit card a month before they had planned to.
Better advice: don’t have a credit card, or use it only for emergencies. Have an employable skill. Have a backup plan and a return flight. Having tons of money is not as important as having income. If at all possible, get a job that you can take with you; telecommuting from a cabana on the playa is fucking wonderful. Working freelance and being able to take any day off that you please is even better. Learn the local language, before you get there. Learn as much about the local culture as possible, before you get there. Spend far less than you think you can afford.
And if all else fails, be a young, pretty, female bartender with supportive parents.
Wow. What an inspirational read. I think I just fell in love with you, jk. But seriously. I’ve been talking about doing this for three years, but always come up with an excuse not to or basically just bitch out. I think this was the push I needed. I don’t know how to tell my my boss that this is what I want to do with my life right now. Honestly I think I’m just going to forward her this post. Thank you!
Hey, thank you so much for writing this article! As a soon to be graduate, everyone is asking me what I want to do and when I tell them I want to travel, well their disapproving faces tell the story. You are such an inspiration! You make me believe that this is a real possibility! :D
Welp. Just applied for the Slate first since I figured it would be silly to have the other without it . . . and they gave me the ‘you’re not approved, but we’re saying we need more time’ message. Maybe my dream will just take a bit longer :)
Reblogged this on chaimodeens and commented:
Great thoughts. Don’t waste your life away by working. Live your life.
i love this so much because I work 3 jobs just to leave everytime I have just the right amount off I go. It’s not smart it’s not normal I have to save for grad school (aka abroad) but money isn’t as important as the experience you get from being in these places!! And I come back and do it again but now I’m going to look into the work abroad thing so I can chill on saving for my grad school living
I call BS. What kind of job did you land in 3 days making that much money? This is a credit card ad targeting unsuspecting post grads at best
Reblogged this on Starry Nights. And a Cup of Tea. and commented:
This is what I would love to do with my life. She knows what is up.
one word – inspired.
This would have been a really great and helpful article if you mentioned what kind of work you did in Australia and Thailand, and how you were so successful in securing a job so quickly. Without that, it just reads like an ego piece of a person that thinks they’re better than the rest of us in debt lowly workers.
totally inspiring…never seem to read through these lengthy posts from Facebook but I read every word. Thank you!! So inspiring and painfully true
This is exactly how I traveled in my 20s. Your stories are so similar to mine :) When I first got to London I would take the little packets of jelly and a few pieces of bread from the free breakfast my hostel offered, bought a tub of peanut butter, and PB&J’s became my lunch and dinner. I love when people say to me that they would love to do what I did, but they don’t have the money. I didn’t have the money, but like you, I had a drive and passion to see the world!
Yes what type of work were you doing? Please tell! :)
Pingback: Life, Goals, and Travel | norrischase
Reblogged this on Travel-spired Nation and commented:
“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.”
As a fellow American I relate to mass materialism and the rat race inherent in capitalism. Here is a brave young woman who said f*ck it, I want to travel. And she did. Sometimes you just have to break-away, and worry about the money later folks.
Safe Travels
this has been such an inspirational read. I have always wanted to travel since, well as long as I can remember, but as you say the thought of money got in the way. All I have to say is good on you for following your dream, this post may be the answers to my prayers❤️
Reblogged this on How to Live Abroad and commented:
A pretty inspiring post!
Awesome inspiration! How were you able to find jobs so fast in foreign places? What was your experience with that? Any tips?
Great job at doing life :)
amazing article, the chase card is everything
Wow, this is exactly my dream. After spending 6 months in Australia studying abroad during my time at Pace University in Manhattan, all I’ve been dreaming about is going back to travel. You took that leap of faith that I haven’t yet! Amazing story, thanks for the inspiration!
Marry me.
THIS is our moment right now. Money will come down the road. Travel while you’re young and able. This was a phenomenal read and more people need to break out from behind the desk. We weren’t meant to be sitting around all day, working to pay for work. It’s different when you have a family and you’re ready to settle down. But as long as you have SOME college degree, and a good idea of what you’re passionate about, you’ll find work when the time comes and to make a comfortable life for your family. Travel provides 50x the riches any basic apartment and routine life will. Travel grows you, and that growth will lead to better opportunities you might otherwise have not known existed if you didn’t travel. Whether you believe in God or not, thank him or the universe for protecting you from what you and I thought we wanted.
-Greig
Great read! “Working to afford working” what is the point? I’m heading to Australia next year on a work holiday visa. Can not wait . :)
youre a baller
Hey Kate,
What you have said is spot on. Travel and live your dreams first. Glad my wife did. She came from Germany to this beautiful country (Australia) on working visa for 12 months. She loved it so much she stayed. Now we are married and have two beautiful children and life couldnt be better. Thats why Australia is the lucky country. But yes, travel and soak it all up first and have an adventure so when you do end up back in the rat race you can put it all into perspective.
This was a good read Kate. One paragraph that really jumped out at me was this one:
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”.
I consider myself very fortunate and have grown up without the struggles you’ve mentioned and I 100% agree when you already have enough money to live a comfortable life making decisions on what to do with it can make things challenging sometimes. It can also make you not want to take a big risk even when you believe in the idea because you have a lot to lose.
Good job for figuring out how to go about making yourself happy.
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”.
I consider myself very fortunate and have grown up without the struggles you’ve mentioned and I 100% agree when you already have enough money to live a comfortable life making decisions on what to do with it can make things challenging sometimes. It can also make you not want to take a big risk even when you believe in the idea because you have a lot to lose.
Good job for figuring out how to go about making yourself happy.
http://www.30isthenew20.com/
What jobs did you get?
Reblogged this on Living My Life.
Hi Kate,
I liked your post. I am 23 and quit my office job after one year because I hated the thought of having people I don’t respect telling me what to do and climbing up the corporate ladder whenever they allow me to do so. I wish I was the kind of person who liked predictability because it is easy and comfortable, but I am not. In addition to being an online grad student which allows my schedule to be flexible and is a back up plan, I am also a personal trainer in the mornings and am left to do whatever I please during the day. I am investing in myself by taking this time to explore my interests and hopefully know what I want to do by the time I’m done with grad school because I am never going back to a 9 to 5. It’s a struggle to live in uncertainty but preferred over sitting in a desk chair for the majority of my life until I realize it’s not what I want at 40 years old with a family and it’s much harder to change then. Cheers for breaking the societal mold!
I love this post and I believe everything you have to say! This is my motto and it took a brain injury to get me there! Good for you and thank you for inspiring the world and saying what the rest of us all want to say but haven’t yet!!!
Reblogged this on georgiastefos and commented:
HUGE eye-opener. Post grad can not come soon enough! 2016 is my year!
Ive had all of the same thoughts recently. I live in New York too and you described it best, working to afford working! I recently traveled for 2 months in europe to different countries and want to make the move soon. Was it hard to get a working visa, papers, etc.?
Yes, curious to see not only what your position was? But how you landed the job. Was it through online job postings or walk ins?
This is so inspirational. I’m under thirty, and trying to see the world. I don’t have credit cards, but I am saving up to start seeing the world. Next year my first destination will be a week in Dominica ;D Good luck
Oh my goodness! This is exactly how I feel about traveling, jobs and chasing my dreams. I’ve been thinking about teaching abroad and this article might have pushed me even more! Thanks so much! Do you have a Twitter account?
What kinds of jobs did you get?
Kate, I am actually in this predicament myself and I already left my job to pursue my aspirations. I thought I was the only crazy one to think this way, but you have made clear. Croatia here I come! p.s will you marry me?
Inspiring. Definitely seems like a venture to look into. Just really hoping it wasn’t native advertising for United and Chase, but it sure seems like it is.
Woah, congratulations on following your dream! And thanks for the breakdown.
Were you already paying off student loans to have that sweet of credit to get the card?
What did you have that landed you jobs with so much so quickly?
Not everyone has the luxury to live with their parents if things don’t work out. Risk? Give me a break, you sound like just another spoiled brat.