In a world full of us "work less and play more", participation trophy loving, expect-everything-given-to-us millennials, it's hard to believe that some of us work a "nine to five". In addition, many of us like to travel, which works well with our lack of motivation and downright blatant entitlement. But I mean come on, why work hard, when the world already owes us?
Oh the sweet sound of sarcasm (baby boomers and gen Xers can stop high fiving now). Just like any generation before us, we have a diverse workforce, with varying ambitions, motivations and personalities. The difference is the environment in which we work as we shift from manual based work, to knowledge based work. Our world is changing, and this allows our young people to change with it. Thanks to technology, there is a rise in both workplace flexibility, working from home and other employee benefits. This gives our workforce, as a whole, the opportunity to get creative with their lifestyles.
I can't count the number of times that we have been asked "Do you ever work?", or "it seems like you are always traveling somewhere!".
The truth of the matter is that Kailah and I hold 9-5 jobs just like everyone else. It's hard work trying to balance our passion for travel with the part of our life that finances it. The difference is how we approach our lifestyle design and priorities, but also the discipline we apply to both. In order to demystify what may look like "no work, all play", we want to share a few of our strategies, in hopes it may help others do the same.
Travel as a priority:
First and foremost, travel is a priority for us. It's our passion, so naturally it is where we spend our money. Would Kailah rather save up for that Italian Dolce and Gabbana handbag or actually go to Italy? As a rule, we spend our money on experiences and not things.
Secondly, we treat our paid time off from work, just like we do our money. We use it for going places. We do not take days off, unless we absolutely have to. There are generally no "mental health" days, or "just because" days. We don't even take a "rest" day at the end of a trip. This is probably not for everyone, but it is extremely helpful in giving us more trips per year. With that being said, we use almost all of our allotted time every year. Gone are the days where it was cool to have eight weeks of paid vacation in your FTO bank. Use that hard earned time!
Personal Finance: We spend time every month reviewing our monthly expenses and financial health. This allows us to evaluate our strategy and look for areas to save money for travel. Over time, we've reduced our monthly financial obligation significantly, in order to afford to spend more on our passion. Similar to our time off, we've taken this to the extreme at times. Who else sells their house to pay off student debt, has a baby and then moves into a one bed, one bath apartment in their in-laws basement? Keep an eye out for future posts on our personal financial model and travel budgeting.
Time: It is the most important asset we have in life. This goes for traveling as well. Simply put, we save time whenever possible. If we can buy a direct flight, shorter layover, or red eye, then we do it. In order to leverage these time saving techniques, we take advantage of our highly valuable paid time off and flexible work arrangements. Kailah and I are both fortunate to work in positions that offer flexible start and end hours, and also an option to work from home. With that being said, this is part of our lifestyle design because we look for these benefits when factoring in professional opportunities.
Experience Over Relaxation: We've found that traveling for authentic experience is more refreshing than traveling to relax. This may sound fake, or unrealistic, but we literally feel rejuvenated and motivated after returning back to work from a new experience. While we love a good beach vacation, full of sun, sand, eating and drinking, we generally don't return feeling like we have gained anything (Except for maybe a few pounds and a week long, job loathing hangover). However, after a trip of hopping destinations abroad, we come back with a fresh perspective and exciting thoughts of our next adventure. This isn't something we expected when we began traveling, but it is certainly a welcome advantage, which makes our "nine-to-fives" much easier to return to.
I hope the above article gave a glimpse into some of the strategies and sacrifices that we make in order to do what we love. Please reach out to us if you want to chat in more detail. We want to continue to learn and help others do the same.
Cheers!
Kyle