I could probably write one post a day for the next year and not cover everything there is to know about saving money. Luckily, Dave Ramsey already did a rather good job (although he wrote a book) making money management easy to understand. Thus, if you have any questions about saving money, spending money and/or living debt free, you should just read his book.

What I want to discuss is how Natalie and I are going to save money for a trip of this nature. Now, as I am a bit squeamish about publishing details regarding our financial situation, I will be leaving specific numbers out of this discussion. (Those of you with a voyeuristic interest in our finances should probably stop reading: no juicy details will be forthcoming  )

Disclaimer

This post is designed to demonstrate the following.

1. Natalie and I are not independently wealthy
2. With some hard work and common sense (and a few sacrifices), it is possible to finance a trip around the world.

In making that claim, I feel that it is necessary to explain a few things about how we look at money and about our current financial situation.

What We are Starting With

To start, here is a brief summery of our financial picture (I feel like I am writing an article for Money Magazine).

• Natalie is currently employed by Starbucks as a part time barista and I work as a software tester and technical writer for a consulting company.
• We rent an apartment
• Outside of computer technology and typical home stuff (i.e. dishes, flatware, books etc.) we own the following assets
  • A 2001 Toyota 4Runner with 104,000 miles
  • A 12×7 Hallmark Cargo Trailer
• About one year ago we began investing money into various retirement funds (IRAs, Roth IRAs, etc)
• We have paid off our (translation: my) student loans and we have no credit card debt

Natalie and I live a very simple life. In part, this simplicity is a direct result of living as Nomads for about 9 months. In terms of stuff, if it does not fit into our 4Runner and our trailer we don’t have it. (If you want more details about the Nomad America lifestyle you can read our other blog.) The other major contribution to our simple lifestyle is some great advice I received right around the time I graduated from college (go broncos!) Here is the gist.

As a working professional, live at the same level as the broke college student you were 2 months before. You graduated college. So what? A lot of people have shown that to be possible. You don’t deserve a new car, a new wardrobe or really anything new to celebrate. All you proved is that you are capable of going to school. During the time when you attempting to prove that you really are an adult, save your money. You are accustom to being broke and not having nice stuff. If you live that way for another 4 or 5 years and invest that money instead, you can eliminate your debt and create a solid financial foundation.

This way of thinking has proved to be a solid guiding principle and has helped Natalie and I develop a healthy way of looking at, and spending, money. At the same time, in order to save enough money for this trip (we are leaving in 170 days), we need to figure out a way to cut our expenses and increase our income.

In my next post, I will discuss, in detail, the methods Natalie and I will use to drastically cut our expenses and increase our incom

Tags | money