1. Student loans. Back in my day, student loans were an anomaly, now it’s normal protocol. Unless being a doctor, lawyer or engineer is your goal, save the liberal arts degree by experiencing art and culture firsthand - by traveling. A $30,000 loan equates to $45,000 with interest.
2. Credit cards are money. No, credit cards are an electronic figment of our imagination. Essentially you are purchasing products with ghost money and the added bonus is 18.5% interest per year. Credit cards aren’t useless, but too often they are factored into a person’s income.
3. You must buy real estate in order to be whole and solvent. Many of my friends purchased real estate. I suspect it’s the nesting instinct to procreate and plant on one spot. Nothing wrong with that, but if traveling is your desire, pouring money into square footage you probably don’t need, on top of $10,000 in renovations won’t get you any closer to Shanghai. Renting a swanky apartment is just as fulfilling and frees up money to save towards a trip.
4. You don’t own a BMW? Due to slick car commercials, the right kind of car melded with status eons ago. Maintenance costs $300 to $400 a year, gas ranges from $60 to $80 per month, and a car payment is well, not cheap. With the advent of carbon impact, car cooperatives are growing in numbers. Many employers offer discounted monthly bus passes. Furthermore, architects are building mixed use (live and shop) developments in droves, eliminating the need for a vehicle.
5. Live large. A few years ago I was laid off from a job and managed to collect unemployment insurance. I’m not trying to illustrate that I was a lazy malcontent on the dole, but simply pointing out the difference in my income. I was forced to live on less money, yet as the months went by my contentment level spiked. I lost weight, started writing again, and felt happier overall. Consuming more to maintain a standard doesn’t mean automatic happiness. If you live at your means, traveling frequently might become reality.
6. Any job is better than no job. I use to follow this motto to the letter, until one day I woke up with shooting pain in my right hip. After surmising it was all psychosomatic, it was time to tweak that philosophy. In North America, a person’s livelihood is tied to real estate, a car, material goods – you see where this is going. How about selecting a career that offers satisfaction and then build a lifestyle around it? If traveling is your passion, devise career choices that involve trotting the globe.
7. The 40-hour work week, and here’s your 2 weeks vacation. I’m being conservative, many people work 50 or 60 hours per week. When France shifted to the 35-hour work week studies showed no decrease in productivity. By law, at least 15 nations in the European Union must grant a minimum of 4 weeks vacation time. Not accrued or obtained through bloodletting, but routine. Don’t know about you, but I received a measly 3 weeks after 5 years of service. My peers relay a common story, working long hours is expected, even rewarded. There goes my sanity and 4 weeks in Spain.
8. Have kids early. A very sensitive subject. I included this because of the numerous comments I read from parents on other travel blogs who want to travel, yet feel trapped. I adore kids to the tenth degree, but mommy culture is prominent in North America. In that vein, it’s clearly a personal choice when to have children. I think it comes down to priorities, if being parents and traveling is paramount to your life, don’t fret. Check out The Wide Wide World or From Here to Uncertainty. Families do travel together; it can be done.
9. Work like a dog until retirement. In North America, retirement is a panicked situation. We must be productive in the earning years in order to have enough funds for old age. Who has time to enjoy traveling? I introduce International Living, a website devoted to overseas properties and an alternative option for retirement. They offer a free daily postcard e-letter aimed at retirees seeking desirable and affordable properties.
10. Buying stuff is good for the economy. This I can relate to 100%. Sometimes a weekend isn’t complete unless I’ve purchased something. If I haven’t bought anything, it feels odd. Think of it this way, buying stuff may boost the economy, but it’s bad for the individual. Christine Gilbert’s post on the unexpected costs of owning things conveys this articulately. The impact of the consumerist lifestyle adds up. Increased debt, societal pressure to keep with the Joneses, decreased value of the goods purchased, the stress of maintaining your stuff, are a few factors to consider. What you don’t spend on stuff could be added to a travel fund.
Source: Interesting Thing of the Day
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
@Crystal – I’d say you’re doing well. Credit card debt coupled with student loans is what sinks people. That is what happened to my brother. Your plan is brilliant, you can always build savings again as you pay off the loans. I wish you luck and drop a line – where are you heading?
My big hindrance will be #1, the student loans, as I’m about to graduate and don’t really have the other ones weighing on me yet. No mortgage, no kids, no car… and unlike many of my peers, no credit card debt.
The plan right now is to travel as much as I can on my savings before I have to start paying off loans. Luckily student loans don’t start accumulating interest until 6 months after your graduation. And who knows? By then, I may have found a job that’ll allow me to be fairly location-independent. :)
@Karol – Good catch. I just corrected it. Thanks for the assist!
Great list! Just a small fix: credit cards don’t charge 18.5% per month but per year. 18.5% per month is more on par with payday loan companies.
@Mike – Nice to see you here, and Lauren isn’t with you?? :) The retirement aspect has become very eye-opening for me too! It just never occurred to me that there are options, but hallelujah, there IS. Thanks for commenting and look forward to posting your Mongol Rally.
This is an awesome list and I couldn’t agree more. The lack of efficient trains in the North America also makes traveling quite difficult. Especially if you are returning from living abroad and do not have a car. Also, couldn’t agree more about our retirement culture mentality. I didn’t open my eyes to these misguiding until the last few years.
@Shanna – Thanks for motoring over to my site. I’ll have to look out for your take on this subject. :)
Fantastic post! I’m going to blog about it soon, because I think it’s so important for people to understand they’re making a choice as to whether or not to travel. Thanks so much for sharing! Best, s.
@Brian – Wow, you got out of the market in the nick of time. It’s pretty insidious how we’re taught these things have value. I know so many people in the loop of big debt, and if they did some obvious things, actually small measures, they could get closer to what they desire: travel.
Totally know how you feel here. I sold my house before the real estate market crashed in ’07 and I felt completely liberated. At the time I decided to sell I had not committed to a round the world trip, but selling gave me one less burden to think about back home. Sure I could have rented but, naw, I would still have to think about it too much.
Wow, again, thanks for the linkback/pingback!
@Slowly She Goes – So glad you stumbled and found me! It’s insidious how I use to cling to NA lifestyle markers, when inside I was dying to travel and explore. I couldn’t agree more on valuing things differently. Come by again. :)
I just stumbled across your site and this post and I couldn’t agree with you more. I used to buy into several of these beliefs myself. Traveling taught me to value things differently and I wouldn’t have traded the time I spent on the road for anything. Great post!
Why thanks, Hugh. Appreciate the comment. I hear you on the the title; however, if we take a second to think about it, North America and all its pleasures is a template that you and I have been weaned on since birth. The odds of an indigenous person from the Amazon coveting credit cards and cars is unlikely. Hence, these material things we’re taught to desire are normally associated with North America. I’m not implying such wants are bad, but if long term travel is a person’s goal, would these “things” bring you closer to the goal? I say nay. Therein follows the title of the post. :) Stop by again for more untemplating. :D
Hi Jeannie, I just discovered your blog and I like it and your concept. I like this post, in particular, because it sort of spells out all of the material things that we North Americans get so attached to and thus use as excuses for why we can’t travel. I disagree with the title of the post, however. All of these things you list are external factors. North America doesn’t prevent us from doing anything. We prevent ourselves from doing things by subscribing to a certain set of beliefs or “lifestyle”.
Keep up the great work!
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