When should you quit your job to travel the world?
That’s something I’ve been asking myself for a while now and I think I’m finally taking the leap of faith.
Yep that’s right! I’m quitting my job come May 31st and traveling the world, starting in Mother Russia.
My plan was to originally hit South America from Jan 2020- June 2020 and then head over to Eastern Europe for the rest of the year.
However, since my Russian Visa was approved, I’m going to Russia this summer (2019) instead of 2021.
And now I’m thinking about devoting most of 2020 to South America!
Now, traveling full time sounds pretty exciting, but it’s also a lot of work to get prepared to this point – not just in terms of money, but also planning.
Here are a few things to consider before you quite your job to travel full time.
Do I Really Want This?
From what I’ve read, traveling full time is another world than traveling somewhere on vacation.
When you’re actually living in another country for an extended period of time, it really is different.
Home sickness is a real thing…especially for long-term digital nomads.
So figure out if that’s something that you want.
Travel as much as you can and if it’s something you enjoy and can envision yourself doing, then you can take the plunge.
Personally, I think I’m ready for it. I want to explore the world and I want to do it when I’m still semi-young with no real responsibilities or debt.
1. Make Sure You Have Passive Income Streams
While this isn’t a requirement, having passive income streams to support your travels is an amazing thing to have.
I think I would be pretty stressed out if I only had my savings to fund my trip.
That would be stressful because you know your time abroad is limited – like an hourglass waiting to fill up.
When most people quit their jobs to travel full time, they don’t have any income coming in anymore.
Instead they have a savings account that will last them a certain amount of time on the road.
That’s not the ideal travel plan for me (and I hope for many of you as well).
Having passive income streams to support your travel takes a lot of the stress out of money on the road.
It’s a great feeling knowing you are still making money while hiking in Machu Pichu or relaxing on a beach in the Caribbean.
And if you don’t have any passive income coming in yet, at least try to get some consulting work.
It might not be passive, but income coming in is better than nothing at all!
One thing you can do is to see if your employer will let you work remotely. If that’s the case, awesome!
If not, there are a bunch of ways you can make additional money online, including:
- Blog posting/content writing
- Email marketing (working with brands)
- Serving as a freelance copy writer
- …and more!
Specifically in my circumstance, my hinted that they might want to bring me on for consulting work after I leave.
That’s cool if they do as I’ll just save that money. And if not, it’s no big deal since I have passive income coming in 🙂
2. Make Sure You Have Money Saved Up
Before you take the plunge and quit your job to travel full time, make sure you have some money saved up.
This isn’t money you’ll touch on your trip…unless it’s an absolute emergency.
I would make sure to have at least one year’s of expenses saved up.
Do not go on a long trip (or move abroad) if you don’t have any money saved up.
This little fund ensures you won’t get stranded anywhere if you run out of cash.
Anything could happen on a trip.
You could get injured and have to pay a medical bill (would probably still be cheaper than in the states haha) or someone could steal your luggage or computer.
Having money for a rainy day is important as you’ll never know what will happen.
3. Accumulate Travel Points
Before you leave for your trip, try to accumulate as many credit card points as you can. This will save you a ton of money with airfare.
In general, most credit cards will give you 50,000 – 80,000 points if you spend $3,000 – $5,000 within the first 3 months of opening the card.
50,000 – 60,000 points will cover round trip international tickets with most airlines.
Personally, I have over 200,000 credit card points saved up right now and ready to use when I quit my job.
Also, I recently opened my first business card – the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard (now that’s a big name!).
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to own a business to open up a business card.
Best of all? Business cards don’t go on your personal credit report. This is important if you want to skirt around the Chase 5/24 rule with cards.
My new business card will award me 70,000 points if I spend $4,000 within the first 4 months of account opening.
That’s basically $1,000 per month – totally doable without having to spend like a big baller!
Also, they waived the $99 annual fee for the first year. That’s a win-win for me!
4. Budget Your Daily Spending
The final thing to do is to get your budget in order.
I find it’s easiest to budget for your trip when you think about expenses on a daily basis.
In general, I would say $100 bucks per day will get you a lot of mileage in developing countries (Latin American and Eastern Europe).
Obviously, your 2 biggest expenses are going to be housing and food.
The good thing about hosing is you can pay for your apartment through Airbnb and earn big airline points with a credit card.
When I rent an apartment in the states, I can’t pay my rent with a credit card because they charge additional fees.
But when I go international, I can pay my rent with a credit card through AirBnb and earn 3x points with Chase Sapphire Reserve. Pretty cool right?
In fact, I estimate I’ll earn enough points over the course of a year to pay for a one way ticket anywhere!
In terms of food, I would say a balanced budget is the best between cooking and eating out.
If you’re going to be traveling (or living) abroad long-term like me, it’s not always a good idea to eat out health-wise.
And cooking your own meals will also cut down on your food costs.
P.S. check out this post to see how to properly budget for a trip.
Final Thoughts
Overall, quitting your job to travel sounds like of romantic.
…you know the stuff you see in movies.
But don’t do it if you don’t have a plan.
Sure, there have been some stories of some people who have been successful with this.
But if you don’t have your budget, passive income, or savings in check, you won’t be able to travel abroad long-term (3+ years).
Anyways, hope this guide is able to help you out.
For those of you who have already quit your job to travel, what other advice would you have to give?
Shoot me an email or leave a comment below; I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories!