Ecuadorian Amazon Red-Lored Parrot (photo by Crispin Swan via Flickr)
This is it! We are now one year exactly from our departure date to Ecuador, the first stop on the big trip. It is hard to believe that it is so close, and we still have so much to do.
At the end of each year I like to take an inventory of what has been accomplished and what I want more of in my life going forward. Since we are now on a one-year countdown for the trip, it seems appropriate to do the same thing here.
What we’ve accomplished:
- Saved enough money for at least one year on the road
- Donated many clothes and household items to Goodwill
- Sold golf clubs, electronics, and extra furniture on Craigslist
- Creatively maintained a great social life while living within our budget
- Told our friends, family, and Warren’s boss about the trip – no more secrets!
- Built a quality readership on the blog of intelligent, thoughtful people
- Started increasing our skills for blogging, web design, consulting and writing so we can earn money on the road long-term
What we need to do next:
- Increase our schedule of selling/donating items (even as minimalists, there is still a lot of stuff)
- Reach out to more travelers and bloggers to strengthen our network
- Prepare the house to be listed in the spring and build a website for it
- Find temporary furnished housing after the house sells
- Take our cat and some personal belongings to New Mexico to live with my mom
- Get our shots and physicals
- Kick up our exercise/healthy eating plan to lose another 20 pounds each before we go
- Update our passports
- Buy our trip clothes (fast-drying underwear and socks!)
- Figure out what to do with our mail
- Plan our going away party!
This year has been eye-opening, and I’m surprised at how much we’ve already experienced before even leaving home. Getting rid of all your stuff and knowing you will be saying goodbye to your friends and lifestyle has a profound effect on the way you live your day-to-day life, and I highly recommend the experience.
We have more joy, satisfaction, and excitement in our lives than ever before, and it costs us a fraction of what our old life did. I can’t wait to see what it will be like when we hit the road.
Thank you, dear readers, for following along as we remake our lives to live our dream. I wish the same for you, whether your adventure lies halfway around the world or in your own backyard.
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Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of the life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready for a year of travel with her husband Warren.
About Betsy
i recently found your blog and enjoy it. my husband and i have been creating a plan for me to do travel nursing around the country while we live in an RV once i get out of nursing school. it started with just going to hawaii but has become an entire lifestyle change. we are so excited! we are combing through your blog to take whatever help and ideas that may help us on our adventure. we have no kids. married 1.5 yrs. my husband is 45 and looking forward to relaxing and traveling while i pursue my passion in nursing at the same time! it’s perfect!
Congratulations on following your dream, Olivia! We have never been happier than we are now, and that’s with a pretty tight budget, no cable TV, and just one car. When you start living your life to make your dreams possible, good things start to happen!
Please keep us posted on your progress. An RV trip of work and play sounds like a grand adventure!
On the Need To Do Next List:
Seriously, Earthclassmail.com has worked really quite well for us onboard with no deliverable postal address. The scan feature has meant that I haven’t needed to go to the mailbox for three months now. At first, Brock and I went there a lot, as we were used to having “paper in our hands.” More and more, the things we need become fewer and fewer. The cool part is having an actual “street address” so that UPS can deliver, then Earth Class Mail can forward to wherever you happen to be at that time. We are pretty much entirely paperless!
Jamie, thank you so much! That sounds like a perfect solution to our problem.
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