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How We Save Extra Money to Travel

11/25/2013

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By John Roberts

These trips take time and money. To fully immerse ourselves in a life of travel, we committed ourselves years ago to a strict spending diet. We plow as much as we can into our savings, so that we can retire and jump into almost full-time travel at a relatively young age.

You can't buy more time, so we aim to free up as much as we could at as young an age as possible so we can do what we love and get to see friends and family more often.

A sample of our cost-cutting and investment strategies. 

We:

  • Dropped cable TV (Hulu and Netflix is more than we can keep up with anyways)
  • Eat out rarely and typically are able to select spots where we can take advantage of a coupon or Restaurant.com offer (We also share one soda when eating out)
  • Always carry-on luggage only
  • Rarely go to the movies, concerts or sporting events 
  • Live close to work and downsize to one car (the reduction in gas costs by being able to walk to work perhaps saved us more money than anything)
  • Put the max into our 401(k)s at work and also save as much as we can elsewhere (IRAs, savings, CDs)
  • Bought two investment homes in a stable market in Texas, and when we weren't able to sell our primary residence in Colorado, rented that out, too
  • Refinanced those properties into 15-year mortgages when rates hit historic lows

The little things also add up when you think about them with your ultimate goals in mind. (Take the extra soaps, shampoo and conditioners from your hotel room, a few extra napkins when you eat out, etc.)  

Sounds a little crazy, and it has been difficult at times to sacrifice the "now" for the "later." 

However, I still have to find a way to sell off by massive, now seemingly regrettable, sports card collection.        

We aim to travel frugally, as well. This will include trips with some couch-surfing, house-sitting, car-camping, etc.


While we haven't stopped working yet, we both have jobs that afford us many chances to enjoy adventures together, and right now, things are a blast. I have my freelance writing and travel blog to maintain, and Colleen also works in travel in the cruise industry. 

Someday, we will decide to hit the road in a life of full-time travel, and when that time comes, we'll be ready because of the savings plan we have enforced.

Until then, we are still able to Travel Happy and Travel Often!

Thanks for reading,
JR

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I Want a Life of Full-Time Travel and Writing

11/20/2013

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St. Thomas USVI beach
By John Roberts


My journey as a journeyer (yeah, I made up a word) began officially less than a year ago. In my mind, however, it started years ago.

Colleen and I fell in love with travel not too long after we fell in love with each other. Our first big trip together was simply a vacation, something everyone does. We knew it would be fun, a way to get away together alone for the first extended period of time. 

We went on a Carnival Cruise out of New Orleans to Jamaica, Mexico and Grand Cayman. We had a blast, got drunk (I got too drunk in Cozumel and missed dinner, actually), saw some sting rays, got a bunch of cool pictures and had a genuinely great time. 

This wasn't an "Ah ha!" vacation that set the course for our life as travelers, but it let us know we were good together and shared the same laid-back attitude about meeting new people and discovering new places.

This led to more trips (we got engaged during a trip to Vegas) and eventually a second cruise with a group of friends. My Syracuse University classmate and great buddy Brandon's 30th birthday party trip on the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas brought us back to Cozumel and also stops to the Bahamas, Costa Maya and Belize. 
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Welcome to Miami. We're fortunate that our travels often allow us to work side by side.
Spontaneity struck after a glorious day of cave tubing in Belize and we went ahead and bought the engagement ring mere minutes before the last ferry was due to tender us back to the ship. Another great week of fun, food and frolicking had us eagerly planning and dreaming of our next trip as soon as we 
got home. 

So, that's how it began, I suppose. Since those first trips together, we now exist in either of two life states: traveling or planning travels. 

But it was our Mediterranean cruise, with side trips throughout Europe, that altered our outlook on what we want out of life.

With our friend Kelly working in the Netherlands on a long-term assignment, we took advantage of the chance to enjoy Europe with her and my best friend Matt. During our time there -- visiting Amsterdam (yes, I spent time in a cafe -- no coffee, though), Belgium and Luxembourg -- we also planned a Mediterranean cruise. The Carnival Liberty took us from Rome to Naples, Florence, Venice, Sicily, Croatia, Monte Carlo and . . . Well, I think that was all the spots, but holy cow, what a jaw-dropping experience for a kid who grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and thought going to Niagara Falls, Canada, counted as a big cultural exchange.

It's been about eight years since that trip, and we still can't stop talking about it. After returning stateside, we almost immediately decided to make travel a constant part of our lives. 

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We also got married in Vegas. Why? Because it was a great excuse to have a weeklong trip there. We later honeymooned in Scottsdale. This helped keep our trips spread out evenly throughout the year amid the work calendar. Ah, that pesky work. Always getting in the way. What to do about that?

Our goal was to experience as many of the amazing spots and interact with as many interesting people as possible before our lives slip away. I think life is too short to not make sure that you visit with friends and family and do what you love as often as possible. To make that happen, we knew we would have to undertake an ambitious fiscal plan that targeted an early retirement, while sacrificing a few (or a lot, I suppose, depending on what you’re used to) comforts or immediate "wants."

Well, we have accomplished much of that plan, so far. I'll write more about some of the exact methods we've used and some of the good luck we've had with our work in future posts.

The main thrust of what I wanted to say here is that I feel very lucky to be able to travel and see all the things I can. It truly has been a mixture of good fortune and hard work. As I get older, I know time waits for no one, so I plan to keep a smile on my face and enjoy every minute as it comes.

Hope to see your smiling faces soon.
 
Happy travels,

 JR
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5 Things We Learned on Our Trip to Cancun

11/7/2013

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By John Roberts

We knew it would be a fun get-together. The sun and sunsets . . . the ocean and sand.
Of course our weeklong getaway in Cancun at the Westin Lagunamar Resort was going to be a great trip.

There were, however, a few things we learned that we might not have anticipated.

1. No matter how enticing that glorious infinity pool looks as its vista stretches from the resort property, past the beach and straight into the Caribbean Sea, do not jump in face first without knowing the depth. That first cool splash will quickly be spoiled by your inevitable face plant! (Right, Ryan?)

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Ryan's nose
2. When it comes to food spices, Mexican "hot" is different than American "hot." After a great dinner, the morning after spent suffering in the bathroom attests, but sometimes that delicious spicy food is just worth it. 
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Season to taste, but be careful!
3. We know you fancy yourself an avid runner. But even you, Mr. Runner Man, will not be able to simply shed your Reeboks and merrily dash through the sand barefoot every day without consequences. Purply, bruisey consequences. 
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JR's foot.
4. Those ruins sure look high. Trust me, they are! You might think "This ain't so bad" as you scramble nimbly to the top while navigating the well-worn, slippery uneven steps. But, remember, you have to turn around and go back down, too. When I glanced back halfway up the Coba ruin, I'll admit my stomach sank a bit and my breathing started to quicken.
The ruins of Nohoch Mul in Coba in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.
What goes up ...
The ruins of Nohoch Mul in Coba in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.
Scaling the imposing ruins.
5. You never know what kind of art you're going to find at a funky old beachside hotel that serves up great beer, tacos and smiles. Garrafon de Castilla on Isla Mujeres presents . . . Utensil Jesus!
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Check out our video recap below of our full week of active adventures on the Yucatan Peninsula.

And we have many more Loop Videos on our YouTube channel.

As always, thanks for reading and happy travels.
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