Well I'm gonna chime in here, if I may.

@ xfiltrate, CalDriver, mollydog, Tony LEE, tmotten, mcguyver .. et al.

You are all right guys! Yep, every one of you is bang-on the money (for want of a better expression!) in your very own personal way.

See, back in 2005, when I had turned 50-yo the year before, it dawned on me that I had reached - and had gotten there really far too fast - the beginning of my 'third age' ..

.. and I still had the burning ambition to see what was 'over the horizon'. Now I know you'all know exactly what I mean by that. If you don't, then WTF are you doing here on this forum?

Back then (at age 51), I started seriously asking people, anyone and everyone who I came across that was travelling at the time, and travelling by any means, "How does one afford this lifestyle?" .. which, coincidentally, is the title of this particular thread.

One ageing couple in their late 60s, who I stumbled across by accident, were exploring my neighbourhood in an old beaten-up VW camper-van - [her] a not-too-rich former client of mine; and [him] a recently discharged bankrupt, and self-confessed unsuccessful businessman (obviously!) - said 'just go for it Keith' .. 'you can realise enough money to do it, surely?' .. 'when you get back home, be happy to eat bread and jam, but just GO FOR IT!'

I've never forgotten those words, '.. just go for it!'

A year after that chance encounter with her and him, I had a massive argument with my boss. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was a greedy useless w@nker, absolutely crap at his job .. and worst of all, a dishonest b@stard into the bargain.

Career over! With no chance of any sort of decent reference, after that untimely (or do I mean very 'timely'?) confrontation.

I had a few quid in the bank - not enough to retire on, but enough to see me through the next 5-6 years.

F**k it. Let's just go for it! - And so off I went to see what was really 'over the horizon'. I'll eat bread and jam if needs be when I get back home.

10 years .. and 200,000+ RTW kilometres later.

My travels have given, and continue to give me complete peace of mind. I have no more travel ambitions left to accomplish. And I'm saying, for the record; you can't have peace of mind, if you still have lifetime ambitions to fulfil .. which I now don't. THAT's what it's all about my friends. That's what we're all chasing.

How did I fund it all? Well I can tell you:

• I didn't sell or re-mortgage my home. I didn't need to. I still own it outright
• I'm definitely not monetarily 'rich', but I still have some money in the bank. Certainly 'enough' to help me get by comfortably, with dignity
• I'm working again, albeit part-time .. but on MY terms. And I love what I do. I'll carry-on doing what I do for as long as I can .. because I'm a real fan of work. Work really is a good and decent activity. A privilege (especially if you enjoy doing what you do.)

And Nowadays:

• I don't eat bread & jam .. because I don't have to
• I DO eat a lot of steak
• I drink beer and wine whenever I feel like it.

Life is pretty darn good, actually.

I won't go into the details of how I made it all happen, financially-wise. Suffice it to say, if you are of just average intelligence (and have a little bit of 'nouse') you can usually work it all out as you go along.

It generally ALWAYS works out .. at the end of the day.

Summary: If you have the wanderlust - Just go for it!

thanks

Keith

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Right Way Round ...

Well put. I’m getting that now. I used to very angsty about it. Had to get another mad trip in. The madder the better. Don't think I pushed it as far as I wanted, but far enough for me now. Lucky I did all that in my 20’s. No way would I do that now. I’m hoping I can keep my travel fatigue at bay on my upcoming trip but doing so was another reason I’ve put so much planning in.

As for affording it. You can do it on a shoe string or you can do it more comfortable. If you can’t save a good % of your salary in a year then you should think about what you can give up or how you can invest in yourself to get more senior and better paying jobs. In some cases it’s a pipe dream too. There are other cool things you can do in your life to give fulfillment. Motorcycle travel isn’t the be all and end all. I think I’m done with it after this one.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

After reading several complaints criticizing posts on this thread, I posted #361
a very practical analysis of three ways to earn money, with the inclusion of a definition of "trustafarians" and criminals.

Then, realizing that earning money is not enough to "afford this Lifestyle" I posted #364 this thread with a Financial Plan explaining that money was like a flow and it flowed in and flowed out and then I provided a plan of how to outflow the money you earn so you will be able to afford this lifestyle.

To my dismay, no one had any questions, no yeahs or nays , no nothing, so I now understand that it is not a practical application that those who criticize here are demanding, it is just a playing field for criticism they seek.
And, that is fine with me if they really want to play and not just take pot shots and vanish.


Eat, Drink and if you want to afford this lifestyle, have a financial plan.

xfiltrate

I don't think it's about affording the life style but more about having the need for it and the determination to pursue it. Money can be earned but if you don't make the step, the affording part just becomes meaningless.

I started planning my next trip at the beginning of last year, roughly 1,5 years before the start. All so that I could get everything done - prep the vehicle, improve language skills, gather the budget and to have even the slimmest chance of finding a friend to join me on the 4 month trip.

I remember that about 15 months before the start date someone told me that he would really love to do it, but he doesn't have the money. There's like 15 months to gather it! As I understood that finding anyone to join me on the entire trip was hopeless, I sat down and started the dreadful budgeting and calculations. The resulting numbers pretty much have defined my life since that moment. I worked on the verge of burnout for a year and only last month eased off the workload. Now I just need to get the car done in two months. But that is a bit of a challenge as it is a rust bucket. Pretty much every mechanic has said that the car should be scrapped instead of fixing it. But I'm stubborn. I just hope I make it in time.

Affording the travelling life style is a fairly big part of the picture but not the defining one. You may have all the money in the world, but if you are afraid to go ...

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Frank

tmotten, considering your history of comments, I mistakenly inferred that you might notice the difference between practical and non practical posts and
acknowledge that this thread has recently drenched itself with practicality - perhaps to the point that the armchair observers - disclaiming same - like you perhaps, might actually note the difference in a comment.

I actually enjoyed reading the depiction of struggle and minor victories described so well in formet's post. Here is reality, here is an independent observation that yes, agreeing that being able to afford it is important, but the dream more important, for without the dream financing has no direction - an I agree whole heartedly.

You know who creates the destinies of corporations, of governments, of humanity, it is not the "bean counters," it is not the profiteers, it is not the elected political leaders, it is not the dictators, it is the dreamers, the artists... and when their dreams go dark we have chaos. Without the dreamers, survival potential is reduced. New products, new programs, new lifestyles are the balliwick of the dreamers. The Beginners, the Starters, the Changes, the implementers make it happen, and the Stoppers halt it - but when the stoppers gain control we are all in trouble.

Armies and Police are stoppers and their job is to stop things from happening, while stopping criminals is important.... all too often, the demented political leaders control the armies and the police and they try to stop everything. The first to be stopped are the dreamers - and when the dreamers are exterminated, the changers begin to follow the lead of the Stoppers. This is the demise of every civilization that has been.

Comments? xfiltrate