How I Didn’t Quit My Job To Travel The World!
I recently posted this on Boredpanda.com and I wanted to share this with my readers.
If you love to travel as much as I do, you often hear the story about the traveler who quit their 9 to 5 or daytime job to travel full time. Well that isn’t what I did and I am not here to bash on those who have, more power to them, but this post is for the wanderlust who still want to travel and work!
How I didn’t quit my job to travel the world
I am a part-time travel blogger and I write because I want to help out as many people as I can. I like to write about the destinations and tips I have knowledge about from traveling. My blog is used as a diary to reflect and how to improve as a traveler. Currently, I work a 9 to 5 job, although I have thought about quitting my job and moving to South Korea to teach English to be closer to my family who lives in Incheon, South Korea. Unfortunately, I didn’t really see myself as the teaching type even though I have my TESOL and could up and leave and use that as a backup plan.
As someone who works a 9 to 5 job, I still manage to visit about 3-5 countries a year and here I will list some guidelines for the full-time career driven person to fit travel into their lifestyles.
1. Quit making excuses and make it happen!
I am not sure if this is you, but there are a lot of people I know who want to make excuses for why they don’t travel whether that is money, kids, responsibilities, etc. The thing is all of those things will still be there when you get back from your travels, but you only have this life to do what you can.
Honestly, I could be in a car accident tomorrow and my life would be over, but did I do what I want in my life? Did I get to do the things I said I would? Do I have any regrets? This is why so many people now are so in tune with getting things they can afford and rather pay to have experiences rather than materialistic things. We would rather see the world rather than buy the newest and greatest thing, expensive furniture, houses we can’t afford or go into debt for things that will be out of style in less than a year.
TIPS FOR THE PARENT: Bring your kids, it could start out with a smaller shorter trip, just make it happen! As a military brat, I can’t thank my parents enough for letting me travel with them as often as I have.
2. Okay so money is your problem, guess what? Try these tips and you will be traveling in no time!
As the 9 to 5 worker, I cut money in areas that I can, I don’t pay for cable, instead I have Hulu and Netflix, I cut my internet and use a coffee shop instead, I choose to keep my old paid off car and avoid buying a new one, I pay for a studio apartment instead of a 1 bedroom apartment only to save money and cut back on things that I don’t necessarily need.
As an alternative, I started out with taking $50 per paycheck which is about $25 per week to save $1300 a year!! $25 a week isn’t missing much, that is missing a meal or two. I saved $1300, most tickets if you look to see when it is cheapest to fly (I use www.skyscanner.com for all my flights, I swear they are the cheapest and tons of people swear by them) can be as cheap as $500 round trip to Spain, to Italy, to name your destination! They also have an awesome button where you can see the cheapest month or see what the deals are in the month you want to look at. I now currently, save about $100 per paycheck which saves me about $2600 a year. I have so many more tips but these are great starting points for your plan to travel.
3. Make travel your priority
If you want to travel, you will and can make it happen. I am not rich, I don’t have a lot of people to lean on since all of my family lives overseas, but it will happen if you truly want to travel. It doesn’t start with quitting your job and selling your car to travel the world, it starts with setting goals and making those goals come to life. *mic drop* That’s right, I said it, it does not start with selling off your valuables (although if you want to then that is fine too), but it starts with you and your choice to make it happen. You can live just like those who quit their jobs to travel the world, at the pace of your choice but remember it is YOUR choice to make it happen.
4. The 9 to 5 job doesn’t have to be your prison
I like to point this out because most people will think, taking that 9 to 5 job will keep you tied down, in a permanent position and prevent you from the flexibility of a wanderlust lifestyle. But honestly, my wanderlust lifestyle is what gets me through my workday. I work harder and stronger because I know I have something to look forward to at the end of the day no matter how tough my work or personal life may be.
I look forward to my next adventure and I know that I don’t have to struggle to make it happen. It helps me appreciate my adventure that much more because I only have a short amount of time to experience what I want in the time frame I can. Once my trip is over, I immediately plan my next adventure and save. My boss jokes about taking 19 trips a year, but honestly, I know he is happy to have someone who loves coming into work and works hard because my job allows me to travel.
5. Don’t be afraid.
People will always tell someone that traveling is dangerous or that location is dangerous you shouldn’t go….Pardon my language but “Fuck those people!” Like I stated above, you could die tomorrow from any freak accident that happens anywhere in the world. People who want to tell you that could be jealous could be holding you back from living life, or genuinely worried. But, the thing is, you have this one life to make things possible.
I lost my mother to Ovarian Cancer when I was 17; she traveled so much and yet died young. If she had waited until she retired to travel the world, she would be missing out on so much in her life. Losing her broadened my life to where it is right now. I will not let anyone prevent me from traveling. I hope that people will use some of these tips to make travel happen in their life.
Just remember that you don’t have to quit your job to be a world traveler. YOU can have both, a career and travel, it just a matter of balance. Do you work full time? What tips and tricks do you have to prepare or save for your travels?
DISCLAIMER: Oftentimes you will find that I’ve included links to certain hotels/tours/products/services. If you purchase anything through these links, I’ll receive a commission. It won’t cost you anything extra, but it will help keep this blog up and running.
