Travel gear – getting equipped to travel long term has been a huge job!
When you make a decision to go full-time travelling, it’s not quite as simple as booking a flight, packing a bag and off you go. We really wish it was, but there’s generally a few little things to sort out before you move on – like the whole job situation. The housing situation. The what on earth do we do with all our accumulated rubbish and belongings situation?!
With less than two weeks to go before we take off, we’re just about near the end of the list of countless things we’ve had to do prior to leaving. It’s been a huge job, and just when we think we’ve covered all our bases – we think of something else that needs to be done.
It’s also been quite an emotional journey. Whilst rummaging through our cupboards full of childhood treasures and memories, we find ourselves deciding whether to throw things out or simply ‘let it go’. How much do we really need to keep? What if we don’t ever come back? Regardless of emotional attachment, the reality is that when going away for an extended period of time – changes need to be made. Here’s a bit of an overview of what’s been involved so far:
Employment
If you’re lucky enough to have a position where you can take a ‘career break’ or take a period of time off to travel and have your role covered by someone else – fantastic! However, 18 months off isn’t going to usually go down too well with most managers. I ceased my employment, giving my company two months notice – it was the best thing to do considering how much time we planned to travel, and the very real possibility of relocating at the end of this trip.
Budgeting
Even though Mike is still working throughout our travels and we do have an income, in today’s economic climate it’s always wise to have a back up plan or funds for a rainy day. At least 12 months out, we both put a savings plan in place for our travels – we’ve barely spent a cent since then on things like household items and clothing – it’s been tough, but should anything happen to our income source – we know we have enough savings to continue travelling for this trip and still have a reserve left.
Living Arrangements
Luckily for us we are yet to venture into the business of owning our own home – therefore simply not renewing our lease on our rental property was fairly straightforward. On the last renewal we ensured that we lined up the vacate date with our trip so we didn’t have to break our lease and incur extra costs.
Household Goods and Belongings
Together, we had SO. MUCH. STUFF. It took us much longer than we expected to go through all our belongings and determine what to keep and what not to keep. In the end, everything went. Furniture, electronics, appliances, clothing – it all went. Larger, newer items in great condition were sold on Gumtree, with smaller pieces and clothing donated to the Salvation Army. Together, we have reduced all our belongings (mainly childhood items, previous travel mementos and items of sentimental value) to just twenty 60L plastic tubs.
Vehicles
Whilst definitely handy to keep one to do any running around in, the reality is that a vehicle is something that will always cost you – both with insurance and licensing and fuel. Travelling on a budget and leaving your life behind is all about reducing your expenses to a minimum. We have sold rone car and motorbike, with the second car to be sold shortly.
Monthly Expenses
It’s not until you review your accounts that your realise how many recurring expenses you’ll have any given month. Car insurance, contents insurance, gym memberships, phone contracts, financed items, extra credit cards – the list goes on and on! We’ve managed to either cancel or reduce all of these costs.
Health
When you are faced with not having access to western medicine and healthcare for awhile – you finally get your backside into gear and make all those appointments that you should have made a long time ago! We’ve had check ups at the GP, visited the dentist and had our skin checked. Not only that, but we also had to look into travel health – having required vaccinations and purchasing certain antibiotics and medicines for being on the road.
Travel Gear
When you’re heading off long term, throwing a few cotton t-shirts, a bikini and a pair of thongs into an old suitcase doesn’t quite cut it. You have to cater for different weather, different dress standards and the reality that you may not be able to wash all that often. We have spent months researching and purchasing the best backpacks, clothing and equipment for travelling long-term – the subject of travel gear is an entire blog post on it’s own!
So, are you exhausted yet? We are too! It’s been tiring and required a lot of planning and research, but we know it will all pay off in the end! Twelve days to go…
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