1. How are we funding this?!
This is the question that most people are wondering, even if they're too shy to ask. I mean, hell, we wonder this about other people we meet backpacking even though we are doing it ourselves!
The short answer is that we worked for 5 years to save as much as we could. We did not have a big wedding (in fact, we just went to the courthouse), and Sara didn't get an expensive engagement ring (not that she won't in the future!). We also sold our cars, furniture, and anything else we could before we left on this adventure. Additionally, we each got some money from vacation payouts when we left our jobs.
With money coming in from many directions, you don't need to save 100% of the money in cash. You have to count the assets you can convert to cash (like cars), and plan ahead for any payout you could get from your employer when you leave. In the end, for us, it ended up being about 1/3 cash saved, 1/3 money from selling our assets, and 1/3 in vacation payouts.
We travel in a backpacker / budget style, so we are stretching our savings to see all that we can see around the world. We'll come back to the USA with just enough in the bank to get us started again, but for the most part, this is where all of our money (other than our retirement accounts) is going!
The short answer is that we worked for 5 years to save as much as we could. We did not have a big wedding (in fact, we just went to the courthouse), and Sara didn't get an expensive engagement ring (not that she won't in the future!). We also sold our cars, furniture, and anything else we could before we left on this adventure. Additionally, we each got some money from vacation payouts when we left our jobs.
With money coming in from many directions, you don't need to save 100% of the money in cash. You have to count the assets you can convert to cash (like cars), and plan ahead for any payout you could get from your employer when you leave. In the end, for us, it ended up being about 1/3 cash saved, 1/3 money from selling our assets, and 1/3 in vacation payouts.
We travel in a backpacker / budget style, so we are stretching our savings to see all that we can see around the world. We'll come back to the USA with just enough in the bank to get us started again, but for the most part, this is where all of our money (other than our retirement accounts) is going!
2. What has been our favorite place so far?
One of the most interesting countries we've seen that is off the beaten path is Bolivia. La Paz has such an interesting background, and the Bolivian Salt Flats are so uniquely beautiful. We think Bolivia should be on everyone's must-see list!
Click here for Sara's blog on the Bolivian Salt Flats.
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Click here for Sara's blog on La Paz, Bolivia.
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Click here for Colin's blog on La Paz + the Bolivian Salt Flats.
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3. What were our careers before we started traveling?
Sara's bachelor and masters degrees were in tax accounting (from the University of Florida... Go Gators!). She worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 3 years as a tax accountant, and then she moved into HR for 2 years at the same company.
Colin went to Colgate University for his undergrad and Emory University for his MBA. He worked at McMaster Carr in various operational management roles throughout the warehousing company (think Amazon and Home Depot combined).
Colin went to Colgate University for his undergrad and Emory University for his MBA. He worked at McMaster Carr in various operational management roles throughout the warehousing company (think Amazon and Home Depot combined).
