TURNING A DREAM INTO REALITY

Turning a dream into reality takes some serious effort. You will face many challenges along the way. Once you have made the decision that you will be traveling abroad for an extended period of time you need to begin the planning process. Work, money, plans, itineraries, family, and health all come into play. The longer the trip, the more time and effort is involved. In planning our yearlong Around The World (ATW) adventure we needed 8 months to pull things together. The process turned out to be extremely freeing, but it included many bumps along the way. The process of downsizing your home and possessions, saving money and creating an itinerary is a unique personal experience, that cannot be duplicated.

We began with a basic travel plan - one year and Around The World.  Then we set out to tackle all the details. We wrote things down, we took notes, we began to read, and we definitely began to budget and save. Our secrets included utilizing substantial upfront cost reduction in monthly expenses, using a professional consolidator for flight planning, extensive research on areas to visit, the use of Airbnb for home sharing and the use of Uber for destination ride sharing. All of these topics will be expanded on in later blogs or chapters.

Many other issues come into play during these early stages. Updated travel documents, visa preparation, wardrobe up dating, luggage and packing choices, medicines and toiletries all come up for review and work. The lists go on: cell phone choices, computer choices, app usage (and practice), cord and power management and more. That’s just the hardware side. Now think communicating with friends and family back home using social media, keeping journals, taking and sharing photo’s.

Move to the money side of things. Big decisions like cash handling, credit cards, ATM usage and foreign currencies all come into play. We have advice and experience for you all these financial topics.

Stay tuned folks! Your adventure is just beginning. This first blog is just too wet to your appetite and get the juices flowing.

Let your adventure begin…..