I’m not what you would consider a “usual travel blogger” who’s quit their job to travel the world. Im just a regular Joe (girl version of Joe) and like most people I have a full time job, a mortgage, 2 cats and a dog. Every time I get back from a trip friends always ask me what’s my secret to travelling all the time is or they ask what are the winning lotto numbers are as they don’t understand how I can afford to travel all the time… the fact is there is no secret and certainly no lotto winnings (sadly!)….
For me, it’s all about priorities. I’m 28 years old and therefore, personally I’m not ready to settle with working full time, popping out 4 kids and dealing with the same routine day in and day out for the next 50 years. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with this lifestyle, but here’s a shocker, there is more to life than waking up, working, looking after the kids, cooking dinner, going to bed and repeating this same process everyday of your life.
The earth is 6,371km (radius), with 192 countries and over 2.5 millions cities in the world, why on earth would you want to be chained to a desk! I have been lucky enough to travel to 22 different countries in the last 4-5 years which in the scale of things isn’t much but hey better than zero!
I am luckily and unluckily growing up in the generation which relies on living credit to pay for things, which is both good and bad. I have massive amounts of debt from a home loan, personal loan and a credit card but at the end of the day I just don’t care! I pay my bills and my mortgage as they come in and the rest of my “free money” goes straight toward travel. I’m not a party animal so I don’t waste my money on drinking every weekend, I’d much rather stay home and relax (and saving that money I would have otherwise peed out…gross I know but fairly accurate!).
In recent times B and I have been lucky enough to find a great VIP travel club that provides us with great discounts and organized travel. Funnily enough if you had asked me 5 years ago if I would go on group tours/travel, I would have laughed but it’s not the typical Contiki style groups, you feel like you’re travelling with your friends and family, its great! And the extras provided for just being apart of the group are just ridiculously good!
So my question you to is, what is stopping you from travelling, what are the self objections and road blocks you put up?
Is it time? Is it money? Is it laziness? Is it fear? Do you have kids? You have not one to travel with? you can travel later in life? All of these problems can be solved:
Time:
Guess what…. Everyone has the exact same amount of time everyday (24 hours per day for those following at home), I know some people might think everyone else has more time than they do but facts are facts and there are 24 hours in 1 days regardless of who you are.
Everyone gets annual leave (or vacation time), I haven’t met a soul who doesn’t, so guess what… this is your time to travel, take a 2 week trip or 2 x 1 week trips. You can also take advantage of weekend for short trips in your own back yard or to the next state over eg: Adelaide to Melbourne or Sydney (2 hour max flight), leave Friday night after work and come home Sunday evening. There are also long weekends throughout the year – so why is this still your excuse?
If you work full time or part time, you can ask to take annual leave or make an arrangement with your boss, if you are good at your job you’re boss is likely to be fairly accommodating (I am lucky to have a fantastic boss!), is it going to physically harm you to ask the question? (No, its not…)
If you’re worried about not having time to spend with the family….. plan a trip with them! Family bonding on a holiday is a great was to spend time together and make memories together!
Money:
Money doesn’t grow on trees that’s for sure and yes travel can be expensive but come on people, open your eyes, there are ways to tavel cheaply, look into travel groups or keep an eye out for specials. They are all over the place, each travel company is trying to compete with one another so take advantage of this! Maybe even try putting $50 away a week or just use your damn credit card – you live once! (Disclaimer: I work in finance and I don’t recommend going overboard on your credit card as interest rates are high, but live a little! Credit cards are there to help you live life).
Travelling on a budget has become easier and easier over the years, now a days you can house sit for free on a tropical beach in the Caribbean’s or you can book very cheap rental apartments on Air B&B or couchsurf and god forbid, you could sleep in a hostel (personally not an option I have ever taken, I’m probably missing out on a major travel experience, its just never interested me) but the option is there , you can travel via cheaper options, it doesn’t have to be business class flights and 5 star hotels.
What else are you going to waste your money on? Smoking, drinking, gambling, Netflix, knitting, buying $300 shoes or a $500 handbag? Why not spend it on an experience you might not usually have!
Laziness:
Im really not going to glorify this with much of a response other than to say its simple, get off your ass! Problem fixed.
Lazy like this cat….Dont be like this cat …(lol)
Fear:
Fear is one of the biggest de-motivators of all time; this goes for everything in life, not just travel. The media doesn’t help either by over hyping certain situations and terrifying people.
Someone once said to be that they will avoid travelling to Europe for a few years due to some of the political issues and current situation with refugees… my question is why the heck would you let something like this stop you from travelling to an entire continent? Do you think when something happens in a country that tourism just stops… ummm no! Don’t get me wrong im not encouraging you to travel to the heart of a war torn country like Iraq or Syria but I would like to encourage you to re-evaluate your fear, it is reasonable or is it just an excuse? Do your research into what precautions you can take to ensure your safety.
I was also speaking to a lady the other day who said her daughter wants to go to Egypt alone but she has heard so many stories coming out of Egypt about pick pocketing and raping and other generally bad things happening toward tourists especially women travelling alone, she said that her daughter booked an organized group tour to ensure her safety and put her mothers mind at ease.
The world is a big scary place but its also a big wonderful, beautiful place! Please, I beg you don’t let fear stop you from following your dreams or stepping out of your comfort zone! Through all things in life. Once you can overcome fear you can overcome anything you set your mind to doing.
Kids:
You have kids, so what, hundreds of thousands of people with children travel every single day. “oh but my baby will cry on the plane and annoy everyone” … who cares! The plane is filled with 300+ people you don’t know, if you are that concerned about it make everyone little “sorry packs” with earplugs and a lollipop or just suck it up and deal with it, they are children.
What would be more educational for your kids than travelling! Check out Y Travel blog, this couple home schooled their kids while travelling around Australia (trying not to kill one another) in a campervan and they are currently planning a trip to the USA. You don’t necessarily have to go to this extent however you can certainly travel with kids. Most hotels now a days have kids clubs and things for kids to do if you want to just sit by the pool alone for a few hours and there are kid friendly tours and activities. There is really no excuse not to provided your kids with such an amazing experience!
Don’t have anyone to travel with:
Since when did travelling having to be a joint effort, although yes it is much nicer to travel with someone however I have found travelling solo can provide freedom that travelling with others doesn’t, eg; you are able to do what you want when you want, eat what you want and when you want, sleep in or get up early without having to wait around for someone else.
Travelling solo can be very scary but again don’t let fear stop you from getting out of your comfort zone. Make sure you have a map, a phone with data connection and a plan of what you want to do while you are travelling around your destination, don’t be afraid to ask hotel staff or people online for help or suggestions. Use your common sense, don’t go walking down dark alleys at 3am and if someone mugs you, give up your stuff, don’t fight back your life is not worth your mobile phone and $50 in your wallet. Travelling solo is totally worth a little fear – YOU can do it! I believe in you 🙂
(Check out an article I wrote about Pros and cons of Solo Travel from a really needy scaredy cat)
I can travel later on in life when I have more time:
This is similar to the excuse that you don’t have enough time… What are you waiting for? Why are you waiting? Why waiting til you are 53 to travel and wish you had started earlier? Get out and enjoy every moment of your (free) life you have! Im not going to be unrealistic and tell you to quit your job and travel because that doesn’t work for everyone and can cause unnecessary stress when you have bills to pay etc but you do get free time now so use it! People on their deathbed don’t wish they had more money or worked harder, they wished they had more time or had travelled more.
You don’t know what tomorrow will bring, let alone next year for 5 years time, what if you woke up tomorrow and had a terminal illness? We get one life, stop wishing for tomorrow and do something about it today, plan your next holiday or do something exciting next weekend. Live your damn life!
What’s so exciting about travel anyway?!
Why have I spent the last 2,000 words ranting and raving about travel because I have met some people who don’t actually have an interest to travel at all (I know its crazy isn’t it!) so why do I find travelling to bloody exciting?
- You gain a sense of freedom from your everyday drag.
- You can see the world from another perspective, learning about different cultures and different ways of doing things, gaining an appreciation for your life and the things you have and do to maintain your lifestyle
- You develop skills you didn’t know you had, especially around facing your own fears, whether it’s the fear of travelling alone or the fear of travelling full stop.
- You create meaningful, fun memories – lets face it you aren’t going to fondly look back on your morning drive to work but you will have fond memories of zip lining through the jungle or white water rafting in new Zealand or seeing the colosseum in Rome. These will be stories you tell your grandchildren.
- Experiencing something new by trying a new type of food (straight from the source rather than a badly made copy in your hometown), or taking a risk scuba diving or skydiving.
- You find peace and happiness (I was going to say find yourself but that’s just silly, you are who you are). Nothing is peaceful for relaxing about working 9-5 Monday to Friday, surrounded by chaos and busy lives, taking a trip (even just a weekend away) will provide you with some peace and relaxation. You don’t have to stress about budgets not being met or deadlines you are racing towards, you can let go and have fun. Travel is a natural anti-depressant, travelling does actually make you happier (there is scientific proof!). Does buying a new pair of shoes make you happy ( sure, for about for 15mins) but getting off a plane with the view of palm trees and a beach will provide longer term happiness and fond memories.
- A change of scenery, no doubt your current scenery is a computer screen or a view out of your car/bus window, to and from work. Imagine looking out of your window to see a white sand beach and palm trees, wouldn’t that be nicer?
- Travelling makes you appreciate what you have at home and who your family are, often if you are away for 2 weeks most people are happy to come home to see their loved ones or their pets, telling them about their adventures.
- Travelling refreshes you, while coming home and going back to work after a nice week away always sucks, I can guarantee you will come home refreshed and ready to take on whatever life had to throw at you, working harder to get closer to your next trip (hahah!)
Cheers!
