Now that the holidays have passed and I'm not working everyday, I'll be writing a bit more. For my first post of the new year, I figured it'd be appropriate to share and talk about new years resolutions. Also, I want to make good on a promise to go through my trip financials.
To start with, I'm not huge on resolutions. They always seem to me to be promising to make up for some default in character, something that you don't like about yourself or change something that you are doing wrong in life. Here's a few typical resolutions - get in shape, lose weight, get a better paying job, give to charity, etc. Those to me seem to be focusing on the negatives that exist in your life. While they may be steps towards positive improvements, the resolution and improvements will constantly remind you of what the negative thing was to begin with and so you never quite rid yourself of the negative feelings associated with the pre-resolution. Plus, we should aim to let go of attachments and aim to be happy with the now. I know that is harder said than done and that sometimes it takes effort (and therefore resolution) to bring oneself to that point.
So, instead of trying to change stuff you don't like, why not focus on positive things like your dreams and try making a "Dreamline". A dreamline is a document that Tim Ferris made popular in his book 4HWW. The point of it is to write down your dreams, of course, but the difference is that it is only for 6 to 12 months (depending on the timing you feel works better). Reducing the time frame to a year or less makes it more "real" or tangible. It gives the dreams a sense of urgency and purpose. When filling out your dreamline, you'll later prioritize all the dreams down to about 4 that, "if you accomplished them, would change your life today". The document makes them even more realistic by requiring you to put the steps you will take to making those dreams become a reality today, tomorrow, etc. If you follow the steps required by Tim, you'll also put in your expenses on another linked sheet and requires you to make an educated guess at how much accomplishing each dream will cost, which, when you take both, will give you the income you need daily and monthly to see those dreams become reality.
Here is mine, Dreamline 2012. One thing I particularly like about the dreamline is that it doesn't try to get preachy about your dreams being these grandiose, moral dreams. Look at mine. One of mine that I put on there was a motorcycle. Pretty materialistic, but that's something I really really want. Some are pretty simple, like learning Reiki. That's the beauty, it's whatever your dreams are without judgment just as long as you are actually willing to make an effort at making them come true.
Anyway, I highly recommend switching away from the negative idea of resolutions and switch to the positive idea of making your dreams come true.
Now, for what many have asked for, the Trip Financials.
To begin with, as I was planning the trip, I estimated that it would cost around $25,000. That number was to include lodging, transportation, food, and fun. I knew that this was probably not going to be totally accurate because it becomes extremely difficult to predict changes in exchange rates and flight costs a whole year out. A good example of this was Australia, which hit it's highest ever (and is lower now) exchange to the dollar while I was there and ended up costing about $500 or more extra because of it. Also, I had an excellent discount travel agent who was getting me excellent deals on airfare (my first 6 months cost about $2k and included flights from Seattle to Belize, Belize to Costa Rica, Panama to Colombia, Chile to New Zealand, and New Zealand to Australia). Then, she up and quit her job and I couldn't find one as good as her and had to rely on internet deals, which are usually at least 30% more than she could get and had more restrictions.
I want to make this really clear - I didn't have a really clear schedule of what I was doing. I knew some major spots I was going to hit up, but I certainly did not plan the trip like one does on vacation. In other words, there was must sees and general guidelines, such as stay in the summer the whole year, which dictated what region (or continent) I'd be in and loose timing, or see machu pichu, but that was about it. The rest I left up to chance and how I felt about the place I was in. This makes estimating a little bit harder cause it's up in the air. How I came to the $25k number was using blogs, books, and guides that dealt with daily living expenses, then added in a bit more to cover other stuff.
As it turns out, here is what I spent -
$5,500, Air tickets (plus a $500 ticket that I used from credit card points), includes domestic flights too
$1,000, Travelers checks (probably would not get these again. They are a pain in the ass)
$21,200, in capital for food, buses, board, and fun (sorry, I can't break it out into each of those)
$400, in clothes (full wardrobe replacement, including footware)
This comes out to about $28k. I was actually gone 54 weeks. Since the last 2 weeks were in Scotland (muy expensivo), I had to spend an extra $1k. Plus, I got about $400 in interest from my bank over the year that I used. When all was said and done I spent about $30k.
There were a few things that made it more expensive than it should have been. I was robbed for $250, I missed a flight for $300, I splurged in some places because friends were visiting, and a few minor misjudgments along the way that threw me back a hundred here and there. Since I left with more money (about $27k), I was only about 15% over budget and less than 20% over on my original estimation.
I had also taken into account that I would need some money for home, and I never touched that till I got home. While I set aside about $3k for not having a job, I ended up spending about $1k before I found some income. It helped that Ivy let me stay with her rent free until I found an income.
The big question that you should be asking is, "how much is my trip going to cost me?" There are several things to take into account when judging my expenses vs. what yours may be.
1. I did a ton of movement. I traveled the globe. I was on 4 continents and 27 countries. The longest I spent in one spot was 10 days. If you stay longer in one region, less countries, and longer per place, you will reduce costs significantly, esp in the airfare department.
2. I traveled alone. In many areas, traveling with someone will help not only reduce costs, but get you nicer rooms for what you'd spend by yourself.
3. I avoided long periods in big cities. They are expensive and are fun only for a few days.
4. I spent about 5 of the 12 months in "1st world" countries. For some this is a comfort thing cause they are scarred of the "3rd world" even though they've never been to it. Most people who go to 3rd world countries end up loving them. Why? They aren't scary, they're cheap, they're beautiful, and the people are usually way cool. If you stay in a 3rd world region for a year, you'll spend less than half what I did. I estimate that when I go to Argentina for a year (several years in the future), the total expenses will be about $12k for 1 person for a year (roughly double that since I plan on taking Ivy with me and maybe a kid).
5. I didn't work at all.
6. I stayed in hostels. Obviously, hotels will be more. That's not to say that you can't get a nice room for two in a hostel, esp in 3rd world countries, cause many have nice options. People are just scarred of the things they aren't used to. I also didn't book in advance. If you can book it over the internet in advance, it's usually more expensive than finding a place that you can't.
7. I cooked a lot. With the exception of SE Asia and certain parts of SA, I did a lot of my own cooking. This will reduce costs, esp if you are in the 1st world and don't want to eat healthier - and by healthier, I mean paleo. It will also help if you are traveling with someone.
Those considerations will vary the price a lot. Just remember that you can make it cheaper and still have a great time. In SE Asia, I had to rent a whole room to myself cause they didn't have hostels in most areas. Go around and bargain, and if you have someone to travel with, you can lower your daily expenses to about $15-20 a day. That's MUCH cheaper than home - that's $7k a YEAR, living like a king. If you are able to have a mobile income, you'll make way more real income than you did at home and live somewhere exotic.
Many people are baffled by how cheap travel can be and in the end don't believe it cause they are stuck in the binge vacation paradigm. Mine was more than it could have been due to inexperience. Everyone who has ever dreamed of traveling needs to get this into their head - there are truly amazing places out there that are dirt cheap. Yes, Europe is cool, but there are lots of places out there just as cool for 1/10 the cost. Stop making excuses about costs cause most places you can get work (if you can deal with bartending or other service jobs, gasp!) and actually live somewhere for awhile. GO! Seriously. Save enough for tickets and a couple months in the region and you can make the rest work out if you really want to.
Dream. Dreamline. Live it.
D
To start with, I'm not huge on resolutions. They always seem to me to be promising to make up for some default in character, something that you don't like about yourself or change something that you are doing wrong in life. Here's a few typical resolutions - get in shape, lose weight, get a better paying job, give to charity, etc. Those to me seem to be focusing on the negatives that exist in your life. While they may be steps towards positive improvements, the resolution and improvements will constantly remind you of what the negative thing was to begin with and so you never quite rid yourself of the negative feelings associated with the pre-resolution. Plus, we should aim to let go of attachments and aim to be happy with the now. I know that is harder said than done and that sometimes it takes effort (and therefore resolution) to bring oneself to that point.
So, instead of trying to change stuff you don't like, why not focus on positive things like your dreams and try making a "Dreamline". A dreamline is a document that Tim Ferris made popular in his book 4HWW. The point of it is to write down your dreams, of course, but the difference is that it is only for 6 to 12 months (depending on the timing you feel works better). Reducing the time frame to a year or less makes it more "real" or tangible. It gives the dreams a sense of urgency and purpose. When filling out your dreamline, you'll later prioritize all the dreams down to about 4 that, "if you accomplished them, would change your life today". The document makes them even more realistic by requiring you to put the steps you will take to making those dreams become a reality today, tomorrow, etc. If you follow the steps required by Tim, you'll also put in your expenses on another linked sheet and requires you to make an educated guess at how much accomplishing each dream will cost, which, when you take both, will give you the income you need daily and monthly to see those dreams become reality.
Here is mine, Dreamline 2012. One thing I particularly like about the dreamline is that it doesn't try to get preachy about your dreams being these grandiose, moral dreams. Look at mine. One of mine that I put on there was a motorcycle. Pretty materialistic, but that's something I really really want. Some are pretty simple, like learning Reiki. That's the beauty, it's whatever your dreams are without judgment just as long as you are actually willing to make an effort at making them come true.
Anyway, I highly recommend switching away from the negative idea of resolutions and switch to the positive idea of making your dreams come true.
Now, for what many have asked for, the Trip Financials.
To begin with, as I was planning the trip, I estimated that it would cost around $25,000. That number was to include lodging, transportation, food, and fun. I knew that this was probably not going to be totally accurate because it becomes extremely difficult to predict changes in exchange rates and flight costs a whole year out. A good example of this was Australia, which hit it's highest ever (and is lower now) exchange to the dollar while I was there and ended up costing about $500 or more extra because of it. Also, I had an excellent discount travel agent who was getting me excellent deals on airfare (my first 6 months cost about $2k and included flights from Seattle to Belize, Belize to Costa Rica, Panama to Colombia, Chile to New Zealand, and New Zealand to Australia). Then, she up and quit her job and I couldn't find one as good as her and had to rely on internet deals, which are usually at least 30% more than she could get and had more restrictions.
I want to make this really clear - I didn't have a really clear schedule of what I was doing. I knew some major spots I was going to hit up, but I certainly did not plan the trip like one does on vacation. In other words, there was must sees and general guidelines, such as stay in the summer the whole year, which dictated what region (or continent) I'd be in and loose timing, or see machu pichu, but that was about it. The rest I left up to chance and how I felt about the place I was in. This makes estimating a little bit harder cause it's up in the air. How I came to the $25k number was using blogs, books, and guides that dealt with daily living expenses, then added in a bit more to cover other stuff.
As it turns out, here is what I spent -
$5,500, Air tickets (plus a $500 ticket that I used from credit card points), includes domestic flights too
$1,000, Travelers checks (probably would not get these again. They are a pain in the ass)
$21,200, in capital for food, buses, board, and fun (sorry, I can't break it out into each of those)
$400, in clothes (full wardrobe replacement, including footware)
This comes out to about $28k. I was actually gone 54 weeks. Since the last 2 weeks were in Scotland (muy expensivo), I had to spend an extra $1k. Plus, I got about $400 in interest from my bank over the year that I used. When all was said and done I spent about $30k.
There were a few things that made it more expensive than it should have been. I was robbed for $250, I missed a flight for $300, I splurged in some places because friends were visiting, and a few minor misjudgments along the way that threw me back a hundred here and there. Since I left with more money (about $27k), I was only about 15% over budget and less than 20% over on my original estimation.
I had also taken into account that I would need some money for home, and I never touched that till I got home. While I set aside about $3k for not having a job, I ended up spending about $1k before I found some income. It helped that Ivy let me stay with her rent free until I found an income.
The big question that you should be asking is, "how much is my trip going to cost me?" There are several things to take into account when judging my expenses vs. what yours may be.
1. I did a ton of movement. I traveled the globe. I was on 4 continents and 27 countries. The longest I spent in one spot was 10 days. If you stay longer in one region, less countries, and longer per place, you will reduce costs significantly, esp in the airfare department.
2. I traveled alone. In many areas, traveling with someone will help not only reduce costs, but get you nicer rooms for what you'd spend by yourself.
3. I avoided long periods in big cities. They are expensive and are fun only for a few days.
4. I spent about 5 of the 12 months in "1st world" countries. For some this is a comfort thing cause they are scarred of the "3rd world" even though they've never been to it. Most people who go to 3rd world countries end up loving them. Why? They aren't scary, they're cheap, they're beautiful, and the people are usually way cool. If you stay in a 3rd world region for a year, you'll spend less than half what I did. I estimate that when I go to Argentina for a year (several years in the future), the total expenses will be about $12k for 1 person for a year (roughly double that since I plan on taking Ivy with me and maybe a kid).
5. I didn't work at all.
6. I stayed in hostels. Obviously, hotels will be more. That's not to say that you can't get a nice room for two in a hostel, esp in 3rd world countries, cause many have nice options. People are just scarred of the things they aren't used to. I also didn't book in advance. If you can book it over the internet in advance, it's usually more expensive than finding a place that you can't.
7. I cooked a lot. With the exception of SE Asia and certain parts of SA, I did a lot of my own cooking. This will reduce costs, esp if you are in the 1st world and don't want to eat healthier - and by healthier, I mean paleo. It will also help if you are traveling with someone.
Those considerations will vary the price a lot. Just remember that you can make it cheaper and still have a great time. In SE Asia, I had to rent a whole room to myself cause they didn't have hostels in most areas. Go around and bargain, and if you have someone to travel with, you can lower your daily expenses to about $15-20 a day. That's MUCH cheaper than home - that's $7k a YEAR, living like a king. If you are able to have a mobile income, you'll make way more real income than you did at home and live somewhere exotic.
Many people are baffled by how cheap travel can be and in the end don't believe it cause they are stuck in the binge vacation paradigm. Mine was more than it could have been due to inexperience. Everyone who has ever dreamed of traveling needs to get this into their head - there are truly amazing places out there that are dirt cheap. Yes, Europe is cool, but there are lots of places out there just as cool for 1/10 the cost. Stop making excuses about costs cause most places you can get work (if you can deal with bartending or other service jobs, gasp!) and actually live somewhere for awhile. GO! Seriously. Save enough for tickets and a couple months in the region and you can make the rest work out if you really want to.
Dream. Dreamline. Live it.
D
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