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 ...