Ask the Readers: Save More or See the World?
Published on - July 3rd, 2009 (Modified on - July 27th, 2009) (by J.D. Roth) I’ve written a lot lately about finding balance. It’s important to save for the future, but how do you balance that with enjoying today? Each of us has to address that question in our own way. A reader named Max wrote to share his own dilemma:
I’ve been working as a web designer since I was 18. I made a few financial mistakes in my early days: leased a car for four years, bought a couple of motorcycles, spent money on Stuff that had no value. I’m 25 now and I’ve owned a condo for four years. I was lucky to buy it really cheap and only have $100,000 mortgage left to pay.
Things have changed in the last two years. I’ve traveled a lot. I’m constantly increasing my knowledge and working on new business ideas. But I don’t have the time to do anything about it because I’m always working…to for pay my condo.
Fortunately, I have no debts other than the condo. I have $5000 in savings. My total expenses are about $1700/month and I make about $2600/month. I made some calculations and I can easily bring my expenses down to $1000/month if I didn’t own the condo.
After working as a web designer for nearly seven years, I’m sick of it. I want out. I want to bartend a couple nights per month and travel the rest of the time. Actually I’d be happy just traveling and doing any kind of work outdoors: bartending by the beach, teaching motorcycle riding classes, gardening, surf instructor…
Would it be wrong to sell my condo (I could get $160,000), take the profits, and go travel the world? Do a few side gigs here and there and enjoy life while I’m still young? I don’t have kids. I’m not married, no girlfriend. No car, no debts other than mortgage. I’ve been wanting to live in Australia, California, Japan. I’m sick of cold winters in Maine.
I’m also scared to just “save money” eternally until I’m too dead to enjoy it. I don’t understand the point of saving my money and working to pay my bills when I can just cash in now, take as much time off as I want, and still get by on a small salary doing work that I really enjoy — outdoors, where the weather is great.
I need advice, and my parents keep telling me to keep my “good” job.
This is an interesting question, one that many GRS readers wrestle with. The good news is that Max is in fairly good shape financially for this stage in his life. He has $5000 cash and $60,000 in equity in his condo. He has no debt. He has no ties.
Based on this, I think there’s a balance to be found. I’m sure many folks would recommend simply finding another job, moving from Maine, and pushing forward with a sedate (but safe) life. And there’s value in that. At the very least, Max should stay away from debt.
But at the same time, I can’t help but remember my friend Sparky. Sparky didn’t have $60,000. His wealth was more like $6000. But when he was Max’s age, he packed up and traveled the world for five months. Sparky loved it.
Because he was not burdened by Stuff, Sparky returned to a financial position similar to the one he’d left. He didn’t have a mortgage or other debt. His core savings and investments were still intact. He lived for five months without an income, it’s true, but he spent exactly what he budgeted, and he had the experience of a lifetime.
Max has an opportunity that may never come again. How many of us at age 40 can simply pack up and travel the world? 
How many wish we could? (I do!) Knowing what I know now, if I were in his position I would sell the condo, put half of the money in savings, and then use the rest to travel on the cheap. I might even take a job in another country and live there for a while.
When I returned to Maine (or to Texas, or wherever), I’d start again from scratch, either as a web designer or as something else entirely. Maybe go to school. I’d use the remaining condo money to jump-start my life, to stay away from debt.
Along the way, I’d read The Razor’s Edge, Vagabonding, and The Art of Non-Conformity.
This advice may be counter to what you’d expect from me. I’m a huge advocate of saving and investing early. But I think Max already has a good start, and he has a chance to pick up something even more valuable than home equity: He has a chance to build life equity.
What would you do in Max’s situation? Would you travel the world, too? Or would you parlay the good financial start into a stronger foundation for the future? What advice can you offer Max?
Programmer photo by evhead. Photo of Japanese garden by One man’s perspective.
This article is about Ask the Readers, Choices, Planning, Savings, Travel
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I tend to agree. Life experiences can be rather limited if you always play it safe. Like the cliche line goes “You can’t take it with you” – but you CAN take memories of experiences with you. You can pretty much always come back to the “standard” employed-life, but you may not always have the ability to travel so freely, or at all depending on the situation.
With a decent monetary safety net, why not see what opportunities there might be on the other side of the world?
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Now is a bad time to sell the condo. Why not live frugally for one more year for your travel fund, and rent out the condo while you are gone. It pays the mortgage, and you can travel. With an initial 7-8000 dollar to travel, and some work on the road, you can travel for quite a while. You also have a skill that is valuable and transferable: You let me stay in you B&B for 3 nights and provide me with some meals, and I will build you a relatively basic website for your B&B. etc.
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JD suggested exactly what I would have said. Sell the house, save half the money. And then travel the world!
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Well, what’s the worst that can happen? Running out of money? If that happens, return to Maine, become a web designer again and *you’ll be in the exact same situation* you’re in now, except that you’ve got $65.000 less in the bank but have a one in a lifetime experience that many can only dream of. I think J.D.’s advice is perfect.
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Sure. Travel. Teach ESL classes. You can see quite a bit if you do that. Or just travel the world FIRST and then settle down for a year at a time in different parts of the world teaching. If that sounds appealing to you. Of course, you’d make a lot more doing websites or IT work than teaching English.
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JD, I know Sparky’s death was a profound moment of reflection for you, but I’m starting to wonder if maybe it’s coloured your perception a little too far in one direction. Yes, Sparky’s early death was certainly tragic. But it’s equally tragic to be old, penniless, and perfectly healthy. I think if you were to spend some quality time around some relatively destitute elderly folks, it might help round out your perspective a little. I hope you don’t take offense to these comments.
Of course, the letter writer could die young. But statistically, he’s likely to live well into his 70′s. Personally, I believe it’s best to play the odds, and the odds say this 25-year-old should be prepared to handle at least a decade of retirement.
That said, I agree with your underlying advice – that he take advantage of opportunities he has that he might not have later, provided he STAYS AWAY FROM DEBT. If it were me, I’d still make some provision for saving for the future on top of that, but he’s young enough that that’s not imperative yet, in my opinion.
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There is a whole world of people out there who “travel slow” and work to pay their way and take it one day at a time — lots of resources for people looking to travel indefinitely. It’s not necessarily about having the money saved up, but putting yourself out there and being open to opportunities that open up: volunteering your time in exchange for accommodations; knowing where to look for the best rates on flights, etc.
Check out a “professional traveler”,
http://theprofessionalhobo.com
…who left the rat race when she was 30 and is still traveling three years later. Her posts and links on her site will lead you to all sorts of resources and people who are leaving it all behind and following their hearts to seize the day.
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Given the state of the real estate market these days, it may be a difficult prospect to sell this condo, depending on local conditions.
Why not rent the condo out? That way, you keep the asset, it produces income, and should you need to return, it’s there.
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Go for it, you’ll not regret it. If you’re scared to sell your home, is it possible to rent it out on a long term lease sufficient to cover the mortgage payments so that you’ll have a home to come back to or you can decide to sell it in a year or so? I appreciate that you’l need to save more to travel or work your way around the world. Good luck, enjoy life!
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My advice, sell condo, keep 1/3 for new abode albiet small and homely, 1/3 travel for 1-2 years, 1/3 survival, when returning from travelling…go back to whatever employment…otherwise rent condo, have a good travelling holiday…on return..rent cheaper accomodation for yourself and enjoy the returns on the condo, whilst you prepare for your next overseas jaunt after working solidly for 6-12mths and repeat this process whilst renting your condo indefinately for 3-5 years long-term.
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@Betsy – exactly what i was going to suggest! Instead of cashing out on the condo, rent it to make the payments. If the market turns up later, you can still sell it and get more for it than in today’s market.
Too many folks in America have NOT seen the world and their insular views color their thinking on poverty and hunger and just about everything that goes on outside this country. The US has pretty small portion of the world’s population, taking far more than our share of the scarce resources. Expand your horizons, get some empathy, get your news from something other than talk radio, meet some people who’ve never had the opportunities most of us simply take for granted!
But don’t blow your whole wad on travel. Go and come back. Plan for your future self, too. Figure out how to make travel part of your lifestyle, because once you’ve seen the world, it will be hard to come back to Maine (or *anywhere*) and simply stay there.
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Run do not walk to the nearest airport.
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Sell it and hit the road. When you get back (if you get back), downscale to the point where you can support yourself on a basic job. Repeat as desired until you desire a change.
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My solution is to get my condo paid off, then alternate between coming home and working for a while, then taking off to travel for a while, and so on. I’m not ready to be homeless.
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I’m inclined to agree with everyone who said “do both”: put aside some money, then travel with the rest. He could travel and do those travel-y things to supplement his travel budget. That way, he gets the experience of a lifetime, but he’s not stuck eating dogfood and trying to make up for lost time when he’s 60.
I also like Betsy’s idea of renting out the condo. Have someone else pay his mortgage for him, and he’ll still have it to come home to when he’s done travelling.
Alternately, something my (rich) relatives do is go travelling my staying in random other people’s houses. I don’t remember what it’s called, but it’s sort of along the lines out couchsurfing, except you stay in someone’s whole house (and while you are gone, someone else stays in yours). I know there are whole online communities out there for this, but I can’t remember what it’s called to look it up. I know my relatives enjoy it a whole lot, and they’ve travelled all over like this.
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In 2000, I flew to New Zealand and spent 7 months backpacking up through Australia and South East Asia. I was careful with my money, but I didn’t deny myself the occasional luxury either (learning to scuba dive off a tropical island in Indonesia for example). I also had a great exchange rate on my side, but still with all airfare included, I spent 7 months in 9 countries for less than $10,000. I did spend a week picking apples and peacherines in Wagga Wagga, Australia, but otherwise didn’t work. (I had a work visa while in Australia, but with only a backpack I hadn’t thought to pack the right clothes to wait tables or temp with. If you are under 30 you could get a work visa too, with some restrictions.)
I came back almost broke, but debt free. And it was, by far, the best thing I’ve done in my life. I was constantly amazed by the amazing people I met along the way, seeing life unfold in cultures that were so different…and yet so much the same. I camped in the Outback of Australia, I went to the National Opera in Thailand, I got chased by wild Komodo Dragons in Indonesia, I ate cobra in Vietnam. And I wouldn’t trade the experience for any amount of money.
Go travel. (I’d of course recommend Asia, it is well-traveled by backpackers, easy to navigate and also easy to get off the beaten path for some solitude, and far cheaper than almost anywhere else. Whatever you do, don’t miss Angkor Wat in Cambodia.) Like the great Mark Twain said, you will regret the things you don’t do far more than the things you do. Saving for the future is important, absolutely. But so is having a life worth living. Pick your destination, give yourself a budget, and have an adventure to tell your kids about.
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Max should also read “The Joy of Not Working.” It should be available at his local library.
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I found myself in a similar situation recently. Some cheap tickets to Japan came up, do I knuckle down and build my fortune, or do I make a trip to Japan? I said “pfft, plenty of time to earn money, let’s go!” and I had a wonderful time.
You’ve got your whole life ahead of you to make money, but the experiences are what gives you the juice of life. Travel the world!
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However, I did NOT get the foothold in “regular society” that many other people did. When I returned to the USA, I felt out of touch with ‘the rat race’ and the culture of regular life (which is not always beneficial). It took me a long time to get settled again.
My recommendation is do it now, if you want to do it. You will never know what you find out there: an interesting new career, the love of your life, your future. If you truly want to be unfettered, sell your condo for what you can (don’t bother trying to get top dollar, but do fix it to get the best possible price in a ‘sell-it-fast’ manner), and put your money in an accessible but safe place, like an online high savings. Do NOT rent it out unless you want to care for tenants’ every whim. Just sell. I do recommend that you start traveling but go to a first destination where you can get interesting experience: perhaps being a river guide or working on an Australian sheep farm (as an example).
Being a web designer is valuable. Take a small but fast laptop with you, (12″ Mac is perfect) in case you need to pick up web jobs. Use a SMALL narrow backpack so you can get through narrow train-car doors. Pack light. Keep your money in a body pack around your waist. Remember that no possession is precious except your life, your wallet, and that computer.
You are in the perfect position to do this. Do it now, if you want to do it at all. The people who get “midlife crises” are the ones who regret doing the experiences they wanted when they were 25. Just BE SMART at every step, notice every opportunity, and take them every time you can.
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Wow, at 25, I would have considered that year’s equivalent of $65,000 to be a fortune. Nicely done.
From the tied-down age of 41 (2 kids/spouse), I regret the adventures I haven’t had (yet).
I think that as long as you:
– set up a good and accessible safety net ($$$) for yourself
– have a good handle on what you want to do and learn on your adventures, so that you can choose the right opportunities when you see them
– keep your options open for when you get back, without tying yourself down. Don’t end up broke, completely starting over.
– keep the idea of doing web design as a freelancer in the back of your mind. Sounds like something you could do on the road. No point in throwing out any money-making skills you have.
IMHO, now is a good time to take a career break if you can afford to. The job market is tight, and jobs that exist are becoming less lucrative and life-friendly. Hopefully, you can enjoy yourself in the casual jobs until things start coming back.
I say go!
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As a web designer Max can sell the condo, save most of the money, and buy the round the world ticket, but still maintain his network by doing some freelance web designing. Doing some freelance work will provide enough income to live in most parts of the world and maintain his skills and network. If he decides to return to the US down the road, that network will give him a leg up in starting his new life.
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As long as you really do stash half, go for the traveling. Try to travel responsibly, and by that I mean keep your ears and mind open to ways you can earn money as you go.
Maybe instead of working at the surf shack you can create a new website for them and take your time doing it so you can have play time and a home base for weekend trips. That sort of thing. The famous Mike’s Bikes tours in Munich started b/c a guy was traveling and decided to start his own business. That said, any kind of hard skill, like being able to work in a bike shop, will find you some kind of employment.
If you do Europe, try to get a visa that will let you do odd jobs in Schengen countries. (google that)
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You have the perfect skills to do this. While I do not do it during my day job, I’ve made a lot of money doing web development (different from design work, as the dev work pays more but it is harder to find the ‘quick’ hit jobs) over the past 5 years. You have a perfect opportunity to continue doing web design on your own terms, under your own employ, and travel any damn where you want to go to! You’re crazy not to do it.
I see these guys who work for the design houses as web designers and I see no future for them. The design houses usually are small, not very stable, no real growth opportunities, and they pay like crap.
If I were in your situation, with some savings, no family to feed, and living somewhere I didn’t want to live, I’d spend a month researching and planning:
1. Get your mobility in order – bank access online, grab that 12″ macbook as the other commenter said and load it up with all the data/software you’ll need, etc.
2. Set yourself up some marketing materials so that you can grab freelance work doing web design, if in fact you want to continue on with that work (or if you *have* to from time to time).
3. Figure out where you want to go and how you’re going to get there, and how you’re going to get back if you get there and decide you prefer to quiet lifestyle of Maine : )
You should really have this thing well thought-out. I’m *not* speaking from experience (few can for this scenario), but I’ve travelled extensively and I can tell you the last thing you want to do is show up in a Japanese train station not knowing where you’re going or how to speak any Japanese.
If it were me, I’d go to Australia. SUPER friendly people who generally don’t exhibit the anger (I think jealousy) towards Americans, and since you speak the language you’ll be able to find work. Heck, you should be able to find a job as a bartender there if that’s really what you want to do. But keep in mind, as someone who did that while working through college (in my mid 20′s) – that’s not exactly a career. You can’t do that forever. Well, you can, but I wouldn’t advise it.
Good luck! If you do it – start a blog and tell JD so he can tell us! : )
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Agreed that it would be good to look at all the options.
Selling the condo and planning will take a few months anyways. Save as much as you can for that time, so you’re nest egg outside the condo sale is $10k+ (work a second job, whatever). It can be kind of fun bc you’re working to a goal.
Sell the condo and you could initially put that money in something like a vanguard bond fund (vbmfx). If you have $60k, you’ll be making about $300 a month from it. That could help steady you for a long time with just a little bit of side work and your $10k. If you want to dip into it later, you can. But then you could gauge how much you need. It would be pretty sweet to pull it off and still have cash when you get back.
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This is a great question and I’m glad you brought it up J.D. I’ve been struggling with a similar situation. I’m 27 years old, been traveling as much as possible (while having a 9-5 job) over the past 5 years and and it’s my love.
I started a travel blog on budget and independent travel that’s gaining some success but hardly enough to make a living on (yet?).
Thanks to GRS and Dave Ramsey’s teachings, my goal is to get out of debt in the next year and hopefully gain some equity in my condo and do a similar thing to Max shortly afterward. I’m hoping I can travel and keep my site going to earn enough income to live lightly. It’ll be hard but we’ll see how it goes
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I’m in the process of doing a similar thing. Since the housing market is crappy, I’m planning on renting out my house, and moving abroad. From the sale of all my other belongings/Stuff, I aim to have 6 months’ living expenses in the bank, and will aim to get a job abroad ASAP. I don’t know how long I’ll stay overseas, or where I’ll end up, but whether I sell my house here or continue to rent it out for several years, I should be in pretty decent financial shape when I return.
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@Kevin (#6)
Your comment made me smile, Kevin. I appreciate the concern, but I actually worry that Sparky’s death didn’t have enough of an effect on me. I haven’t actually changed much about my life in the past six months. I’m talking the talk, but not walking the walk. I think I’ll get there, but so far I’ve been afraid to change drastically. Like you, I worry about the future.
That said, I think Max is in a great position, and that it’s possible here to do both: save for the future while obtaining life experience that will serve him in good stead. I’d be willing to wager that the money he spends on travel will provide better investment returns than he could get by putting it in a mutual fund. (Provided he travels frugally, of course.)
Still, your point is well-taken. And you’re right: I think Max should avoid debt at all costs.
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I’ve got a totally left of field comment here.
What makes you think that you can work in someone else’s country just by showing up. When Mexicans illegally cross the border and take work, they’re routinely condemned.
But when you want to work in someone else’s country (albeit just to get by and not to send money home), that’s ok? In all probability, if you can’t get a work visa, you’re going to work illegally for less than minimum wage and with no taxes paid. How is that fair to the locals who need the jobs (especially in this economy) as well as the tax revenues?
Seems like a bit of a double standard here.
I’m all for travelling and expanding horizons but assuming that you have the right to work in someone else’s country without getting the paper work is just wrong.
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I just found this paperback book in my library, The Best Things in Life Are Free by Glen Shay.
A very good read.
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Rent the Condo, convert the loan to Interest only and longest time period available (30 yrs?) – to make the rent cover the interest payment.
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Just rereading the post: you make 2600, and spend 1700 including mortgage. That means you are able to save 10000$ this year. Combined with the other savings, you can travel several months, and even longer in SE Asia. With a little work on top of that, you’ll get far. If you like the new life, you can still sell the condo. If you’ve had enough after 6 months, you can come back.
And I second the comment on converting the loan to interest only
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When I was 24, I was living in VA and was working in the 2nd largest lawfirm in Washington, D.C. It wasn’t my job that I didn’t like, but the place. I just wanted to get out of the snow and the cold and the commute, and while VA was a place that my father chose to raise a family, for the culture of D.C., it wasn’t for me and I was afraid that if I didn’t leave there, then I would live out the rest of my life there and be buried there, and I don’t know, I just left! I always wanted to go to CA, so I quit my job, but had a good reference with it, and drove cross-country with my car filled w/my only possessions remember feeling like you do when you are on a roller-coaster — excited and scared at the same time. When that fear kicked in — like how are you going to make it in CA when you know no one there? I told myself, that no matter what it took I was willing to work as hard as I needed to to make sure I wouldn’t have to return to VA. When you have that kind of drive and determination, and willingness to work two full-time jobs if you have to, you just have to follow your instincts or you’ll wind up being miserable, or regretting it for the rest of your life.
I got a room and rented it weekly, then interviewed and the law firm was so impressed that I had worked at that other place, the name they knew, they hired me instantly. I met a co-worker there, and her and I got together and got an apartment together, and I did make it. If you come to CA, you might never leave. Beautiful year-round weather here. Eventually some family and friends, who visited me, relocated here too.
When you mentioned bartending, I thought about this: I was working for an attorney who was sitting behind his desk w/his head in his hands. He was 29. I asked him what was wrong. He said, I don’t want to be here. I asked him what he meant. He motioned with his arms and said this isn’t me. I would give it up in an instant if I could. He said that all he wanted to do was be a full-time bartender. Why are you an attorney then?? He said because it’s what his parents wanted him to do, but it’s not what he wants to do. When I saw his pain and anquish, I thought, wow this guy sold his soul for someone else. I don’t know whatever happened to him because I had a job transfer, but for his sake, I sure hope that he followed his heart. I’m glad I followed mine.
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I think taking a year off while also doing some freelance work is okay, but I would be worried about no health insurance for that time period, and I would be careful about embracing the lifestyle for more than a year or so.
Good luck and safe travels.
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Go, go, go. The world offers opportunities that can’t be imagined until you do it. Sell it, save half, and go unburdened into discovery.
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Do it. You have nothing to lose but regret.
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yes… sell the condo, pack your bags and hit the road
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Interesting discussion, especially in light of recent discussions about happiness and financial freedom
I agree it’s an amazing opportunity, but go with a plan — and get the necessary visas, etc to work if necessary and a kick-ass travel insurance/health insurance policy (from World Nomads or International SOS).
Good luck
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You don’t say how much you’ve already paid off on your condo already. You also have $900 a month that you can put towards a traveling fund!
Like other people have said you could try cutting your living expenses right down and save even more. If after a year you end up with say $20,000 ask yourself – is that not more than enough to go traveling for at least six months.
There are plenty of other options that might be available to you.
Find someone to rent it for a year and pay off your mortgage whilst you are traveling.
Switch to an interest only mortgage and work out what you need to pay that off for 6 months (or do it with also renting it out and fund your travels for even longer!)
I.e. have the best of both worlds – at least for a while!
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Go, Max, go! See the world!
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Save half your savings and see the world, we live only once.
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I recommend letting go of his current situation and taking the opportunity to experience some adventure. I’ve been very lucky to have traveled all over the world – 23 countries, 7 continents (including a trip to Antarctica) and I’ve lived in Atlanta, Paris, Manhattan (NYC), Chicago and Seattle. All of my moves were for school or work (Project Manager for construction projects), but other than living in Europe for school with the help of student loans, all of my other travels were done on personal time and with money I had saved. Over the course of about 7 years I tried to take at least one international trip every year.
I pretty much hated my job, so in 2006 I quit and took the whole year off. It was one of the best years of my life and I traveled in the US and Asia, took some classes – photography, writing, etc. and basically just enjoyed my life. I bought an independent health insurance policy to cover emergencies, and fortunately never had to use it. At the end of the year I still had over $10,000 saved up to help me transition back into the working life.
My financial situation has NOT been negatively affected by those decisions. It was just a matter of managing my money effectively. I still have over $10,000 in an emergency fund, decent retirement accounts and no debt. I don’t own a home, but I find that the trade off of having fewer expenses is more appealing to me at this time in my life. I like having the freedom and flexibility to pick up and go if I need to. In the past I’ve owned condos in two different cities and from the time I either wanted or needed to move, waiting for each home to sell delayed my plans to move by many months.
Despite getting laid off a few months ago (the building industry has been hit hard), I have never regretted any of my decisions to experience life to the fullest. I’m now 38 years old and I am going back to school in the fall to start a new career. My life has become so much richer – I have met many great people and I appreciate what I have so much more than I did before my travels. It is amazing how much I took for granted and realizing that some of the comforts we have in the US are true luxuries in other parts of the world is a blessing that has truly put my desire to buy “stuff” in check.
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Go for it, Max! you will only regret if you don’t go.
You have nothing to lose except you might not get the same web designer job. But you can always restart a new career after you back to “real life”. It’s good opportunity to do it given your financial and family situation. It would be a lot harder after you marrie/have kids then you are also have the responsiblilty for the kids/family.
I had the same dream when I was on my 20+. As a new immigrant in Canada with a IT job (good pay), I couldn’t pull the trigger at that time as my financial is not ready. Now I am on my early 30, with two younger kids it’s a lot more harder to pull the trigger even though I could afford it now (debt free including mortgage, saving for 2 years expense).
Good luck and all the best!
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Definitely do it.
Only thing I would say is instead of bartender jobs, create a blog for yourself where you can showcase your web design work and ability.
That will help you pick up a customer or two here and there, and will leave you with more money and more time compared to having a bartender jobs.
Being able to do web design is a perfect opportunity to work from anywhere in the world.
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You’re only 25 – it’s possible (likely?) the romance of bartending or outdoors work will wear off after you’ve been doing it for a while, but that’s okay. You can go back to web design or whatever if that happens, ideally with a better sense of what will make you happy in your off hours.
However if I were you I’d keep the condo and rent it out if possible. I would sock away as much of that $1,000/mo buffer as you can between now and, say, next september – by taking a room-mate, being frugal, selling things, whatever. Having a target date will help a lot in keeping you focused on the goal and removing the stress of your current workload.
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I speak from experience. After college, I moved straight to Spain where I taught English for two years. (I had a visa, but many of my friends did not. Teaching is generally a great option for work abroad. Especially in conjunction with your freelance skills, you should be able to scrape by. Also check out WOOFing where you can work on farms and get room/board covered) I planned it this way because I knew life/career/marriage/mortgage etc would tie me down eventually. I knew I wanted all those things, but I also wanted to travel. You can have both, but generally only if you do the travel while you’re unfettered. And it’s worth every bit of potentially lost income, especially if you can either rent the condo, save for a year to cover mortgage AND travel (really, $10K is all you need for a year, depending on where you go and what odd jobs you can pick up) or sell the condo and put $50K aside for a nest egg. Those choices are yours, and are all reasonable financially sound choices.
On $1000 euros a month, I made enough to scrape by, go out every weekend, pay for travels throughout Europe, and get to know myself and the world (Europe and the United States) from a completely new perspective. It was harder than I ever imagined it would be, but also more valuable and exciting than I could have ever imagined. I would NOT trade those two years in Spain for an extra $30,000 in in 401K, including the lost benefit from any compounding interest. Period.
Even with minimal income abroad, I moved back to my parents house with $1000 and with no debt at age 24. I had no job connections whatsoever or skills such as freelance web design to fall back on. I was scared about starting over, but wealthy with life experience. I found a temp job, worked hard, and forged a new life path. Although I started with nothing, I’m 29 now and have more in savings than most of my friends and I’m on a secure and interesting career path. In other words, my experience did not set me back financially. In fact, my travels and teaching experience have opened doors I can’t quantify in dollars – language skills, public speaking skills, people skills, and something interesting on the resume to discuss in interviews, even if I didn’t have the initial connections to get jobs back in the United States.
You’re starting from a more stable position than I am, and you have any number of options that can help you travel, secure yourself financially, and keep open job opportunities here in the US, when or IF you decide to come back. Other commenters above offered great ideas on saving, freelancing and selling or renting out the condo. Pick what works for you, and GO. Happy travels.
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My sister was about 25 when she realized that she was spending all her time working, so she’d have money to travel, whenever she scraped up enough money to do it.
That realization changed her life.
She took a second job, so she could enroll in an intensive program to learn to teach English as as second language–and in a few months, left the States for Barcelona, and the beginning of her teaching course.
My sister’s now 33. She’s traveled the world on a shoestring budget. She’s lived in New Zealand, Spain, South America, and a five star resort in the Maldives, teaching. And in between jobs, she continues to travel all over the world…and she loves every minute of it.
One day, she’ll be old, and she won’t have gazillions of dollars–but she’ll have led a far more fulfilling life than most.
Conventional wisdom is perfect for conventional people. If you’re not–then take the good from it–and pursue your own path. Youth is a GREAT time to do unconventional things–to test your wings and figure out what you want out of life. It might not be what everyone else thinks you should do, but then, it’s not their life.
Go for it!
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If I were 25 again I would put bags on a good bicycle and ride it across/around the U.S. Like Max, I enjoy a nice motorcycle ride, but there’s no simpler way to travel than by bicycle. I’d choose the U.S. because I could work if I needed some cash, and there’s no language barrier. I also enjoy working outdoors (so why do I do accounting work??) especially agricultural-type work. My advice to Max is to do what others have suggested and make a plan. Plan to find someplace else to go for an extended vacation and maybe a direction will present itself. I’ve been in a frame of mind where I just wanted to get outa Dodge, but my fear of the unknown has held me back. There’s no better time like the present. J.D.’s suggestion of reading the Art of Nonconformity is a good one. Max may find he is able to work and travel and also make a life.
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If Max can really get $160k for the condo, I would say sell it and bank most of the money. Spend a year traveling frugally; then reassess his life, where he wants to live and how he wants to support himself.
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I lived in Romania as a volunteer who worked with orphans and taught English on $600-700 a month (which I got from sponsors in the US) from June of 2005 to June of 2006. While there, I flew back to the States once to visit my guy (now husband). The night before my flight I stayed at a hostel and got to talking with a guy who was traveling thru Europe. He was sitting there working on something on his laptop. I asked him what he was working on and he told me that he did some freelance work and had a few stocks…and he was traveling off the income from that. I thought it was a pretty cool idea for someone who wants to travel and has that freedom. Don’t really have any advice for the guy about the condo, but I just know that when you are young and don’t have a lot to tie you down that is the absolute BEST time to travel and see the world. As someone said in an earlier comment…it is a great thing when Americans can actually experience other cultures.
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I’m with everyone who says to GO NOW! REally…in 15-20 years, if you have a family, a (larger) mortgage, etc..it’s really hard to make a change. And you’ll feel doubly burdened at that stage for not having done this.
One thing to consider is the possibility of getting a “real” job overseas. Check with the employer that you have, to see if you can move abroad, and yet continue working for that firm. Get a cheap apt in Europe, set up an office corner, and start travelling on weekends or extended times to the places you want to see. It’s really not unheard of.
We’ve lived abroad 4 times, 3 times on a company’s dime, and once on ours during hubby’s grad school days. We were able to live well, but on our own dime, we were super frugal…very easy to live on the cheap, even in Europe.
I read that at any given point in time that there are 7 million Americans living, studying, or travelling outside the US…NOT including the military. It’s something that everyone should do at least once in a lifetime.
A comment on renting out the apt while you are gone. Do you have someone you can trust (family or close friend) that you can pay to find a desireable tenant, and oversee matters while you are away? You could offer to pay them a certain amount, and check in now and again. Real estate agents will do this for a fee, but not sure how much…but it might be worth it to find out and if that fits in with your agenda.
Just go…go to the library and check out a bunch of “Let’s Go Europe or Asia or India.” They are a wealth of info for cheap travel and can give you great ideas about where you’d like to go and what kinds of things you could experience.
Happy travelling!!!
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