How to Live a Life of Travel – Guidebook by Wandering Earl – Book Review

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1. How to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 1 - The Three Components » LashWorldTour

   2013/03/19 at 3:17 pm (UTC 8) Link to this comment

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   […] LashWorldTourTravel Blog offering Cultural Insights, Travel Tips, and Tales of Adventure from 14+ years of world travelsHOMEABOUTAbout LashWorldTourAbout LashContactWhat’s in a name?LashWorldTour Travel MapLash’s Travel Fast FactsMissionsWorld Travels Overview: 1991-2011PressDisclaimerCOUNTRIESASIABALI- INDONESIABalinese CultureDiving in BaliBicycling in BaliAmedSanurBali MiscBANGLADESHBRUNEICAMBODIASHANGHAI- CHINAHONG KONGINDONESIABaliJavaLombokJAPANLAOSMALAYSIAKuala LumpurPenangLangkawiBorneoDiving in MalaysiaMalaysia MiscMYANMARNEPALPHILIPPINESSINGAPORESRI LANKATHAILANDVIETNAMAUSTRALIAEUROPEENGLANDSPAINS AMERICABRAZILUSAAdventuresBicycle TravelCycling in Bali SeriesHikingMotorbike TravelScuba DivingSky DivingSurvivor TV CrewTravel DisastersWWOOFCruisesTravel TalesCulturePhoto GalleriesTravel Tips10 Free Things to do in… SeriesHow To Afford Long-Term World Travel SeriesWhy Living Overseas is Better SeriesAccommodation TipsFlight TipsLuxury Travel TipsMoney TipsSafety TipsMisc Travel TipsBeyond GuidebooksTravel ResourcesTRAVEL INTERVIEWSBook ReviewsHotel – Tour – Museum ReviewsLINKSTravel StoreFREE eBookTravel Books StoreLash’s Guidebooks to Bali wp_flash_img_show will display here (config: default)« LashWorldTour NEWS: My Interview About Teaching English in Japan for 6 YearsChoose the Best Wardrobe For Your Next Cruise Holiday » How to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 1 – The Three Components 2013/02/27 by Lash WorldTourenjoying views from Koh Phi Phi viewpoint – ThailandHow to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 1 – The Three ComponentsThe most frequent question hopeful world travelers ask me is how I can afford to travel, especially long-term. This seems to be the major question asked not only to myself, but to many other travel bloggers and long-term world travelers.I recently read a survey in which dozens of travel bloggers were asked what they perceived to be the major fear or hesitation people have about traveling the world. Their perceptions were based on questions, feedback and comments they receive from their readers and followers. Over 90% of the travel bloggers taking part listed money as the main concern/fear of people who would love to travel.Since I’ve been traveling the world continuously for over 14 years, I’m one of many living examples that long-term world travel is financially possible as an ongoing lifestyle. Besides myself, there are dozens of other travelers, some bloggers, who have been roaming the world for a few years, a decade, even two or three decades.hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal – HimalayasMeanwhile, based on questions would-be travelers keep asking, this topic of how to afford traveling is obviously still elusive to many. So I’ve decided to launch a series of travel tips explaining how to afford long term travel.I’m going to explain exactly how I personally have continued paying for my travels. I will also give concrete examples of how other travel bloggers have been earning a living. I’ll then make suggestions on dozens of potential ways to earn a living while traveling, including passive income sources, jobs and entrepreneurial ventures. My suggestions are based on my own personal experiences as well as people I’ve met out on the road who are earning their way.The series will go as follows:pt 1 – The Three Componentspt 2 – How I, Lash, have been able to afford 14 years of world travelspt 3 – Concrete Examples of how other travel bloggers are earning a livingpt 4- Suggestions on ways to earn a living while travelingIn addition to this series, some of my posts in LashWorldTour Money Travel Tips, Accommodation Tips and my series Why Living Overseas is Better explain expenses in more detail. I will also have a series on how to  minimize travel and living costs.This post being pt 1, here are the three components of affording long-term world travel:budget guest houses in Sapa – Vietnam1. It’s a lot cheaper to live around the world that in Europe or USA!One important fact to know about traveling the world is that it can be much cheaper than you think. World Travel has an image of being expensive and exclusive, something that only wealthy people can afford to do. World travel is prestigious, something that many people dream of while believing it’s just not possible or affordable for them.Certainly there are luxury vacations available. And luxury hotels, luxury resorts, luxury cruises, luxury tours and so on. Of course world travel CAN be very expensive and luxurious. But that type of travel is only one of many ways to travel the world. It’s definitely not the only way to travel.In contrast, budget world travel is actually MUCH MUCH cheaper than living in USA or Europe. I kid you not. Just think about that for a minute. It can cost LESS to travel around the world continuously than to live in your current country with your current job, house, car and possessions.hiking in Sabah – BorneoI am living proof. I have been traveling the world on $400 – 500 per month since 1998. That’s all inclusive: accommodation, food and drinks, personal necessities, minor medical needs, transportation (even flights) everything. That’s only $5000-6000 US per year.In 2012, I increased my budget to $600 per month, or $7500 per year. But I fell short of my budget! My average monthly budget for 2012 was $548 US. Last year I spent a total of $6576 US traveling continuously.  Really.I was hanging out on beaches and tropical islands, hiking through jungles, climbing volcanoes, driving motorbikes around new places, visiting museums, exploring cities., even staying in a few luxury resorts. All for just $6576 US.Can you live on that in your current life? I doubt it. But you can in many other countries!Here are two other living examples of how inexpensive continuous world travel is:Earl Baron of Wandering Earl has been traveling the world nearly as long as I have. He’s been averaging $1000 US per month in total expenses. That’s $12,000 per year. Now that’s more than double what I live on. Compared to me, Earl is a ‘middle class’ budget traveler. Even traveling as Earl does, I’ll bet his expenses are a lot cheaper than your sedentary lifestyle. Yes?Nomadic Matt, one of the world’s most famous and successful travel bloggers, has been roaming the world since 2008. He just wrote a book entitled, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day. That’s $1500 per month. Now if I were spending that much money during my world travels, I’d be living like a princess! I could really bump up my standard of living from comfortable to luxurious.Even that generous yearly travel budget of $18,000 US is probably still much less than you must spend to live at home.Right?Lash in Laos about to ride an elephantSo, once again, I ask you to pause and consider these financial facts. You can literally travel the world for as long as you want on less than you must spend to not travel the world. So, for the same amount of money, which would you rather do? Continue your current life? Or go travel?So, as a first step in figuring out how it’s possible to travel the world long-term, know that you don’t need to find a job that pays $30,000 or $60,000 or $100,000 / year. You just need to make $6,000-18,000 US, depending on how and where you want to travel. Financially, it’s easier to travel, not harder!Exactly how much you’ll need to travel, of course, depends on your ‘required’ standard of living while overseas/traveling. If you require luxury hotels, gourmet meals daily, designer clothes, riding in taxis… then it’s going to cost you a lot more than what I’ve just said. Also any expensive habits like drinking, smoking, drugs… are going to make traveling a lot more expensive. Do you need a/c? Hot showers? Rack up the room costs.That brings us to component number two:cycling at Khao Luang National Park – Thailand 2. Minimize Costs = Live Much Cheaper Fewer possessionsWhen you’re traveling, especially if you’re traveling long-term, there are only so many possessions you can (and want to) carry. You don’t need a house, a car, a TV, a bunch of electronic gadgets, a collection of sports equipment, two closets worth of clothing or shoes, three drawers full of toiletries. You simply can’t carry that much with you.All you can take is what fits in your backpack or suitcase. And as you’ll quickly learn when you start lugging around a heavy backpack or two, you’ll actually want to minimize even more than you thought. You’ll want to drop as much unnecessary weight as possible. You’ll quickly discover that you don’t actually need most stuff you’re used to having.You also will no longer have any reason to continue buying more new gadgets, appliances, equipment, clothes or electronics. How are you going to carry them? Where are you going to keep them? What could you possibly need them for?taking a boat cruise through Halong Bay – VietnamIn addition to less weight, a lack of possessions means no monthly bills. When you’re traveling the world, you don’t have a mortgage, rent, utility payments, car payments and insurance or any other monthly expenses.Just stop to consider how much cheaper your life would be if you suddenly eliminated ALL your monthly expenses!Owning fewer possessions is one major reason why traveling the world is less expensive than living a sedentary lifestyle.Now you might have already realized that instead of a mortgage or rent you’ll have to pay for rooms in hotels, guest houses, hostels or other accommodation. And instead of car payments, you’ll have to pay for public transportation to get around: buses, trains, boats, airplanes. And you’ll be correct. seaside budget bungalow in BaliMuch lower costs overseasHowever, in most countries of the world those accommodation and transportation expenses are way less expensive than what you have to pay back home in USA, Canada, Europe or Australia. And much less than a mortgage, car payments and monthly utilites. In fact, you can even find all sorts of free accommodation if you want. Besides that, everything else is less expensive too: food, drinks, toiletries, clothes, medical expenses.. everything.Lower costs in other countries is another major reason why world travel is cheaper than living a sedentary life in the western world.Spending habitsfree beach camping in Thailand – a great way to cut costs!Finally, there are many other ways / habits to cut costs even further on all your travel living expenses, such as:* Stay in less expensive places* Buy less expensive things- less expensive clothes, accessories, jewelry, toiletries* Buy things in the least expensive countries* Cut out expensive habits (drinking, smoking, gourmet coffees or meals, luxury treatments)* Enjoy free and inexpensive activities* Don’t have kids or petsteaching scuba diving in Thailand 3. Earning an Income – Where does the money come from?Ok, so traveling the world can be very inexpensive and there are many tips for cutting down on expenses even more.But still, every traveler needs an income to continue traveling. How do we long-term travelers earn money to sustain our traveling lives?The short answer is that there are dozens and dozens of ways out in the world, while traveling, to earn a living. There are dozens and dozens of ways that real long-term travelers, like myself, are currently earning a living while traveling. They include passive income sources, jobs (ie. working for other people / companies ) and working for yourself.I’ll delve into this vast topic in upcoming posts in this series.————————————————————————————————————————————-QUESTIONS:What are your main money concerns about world travel? If you’ve taken a long trip, how much did you spend monthly? ————————————————————————————————————————————If you want to learn everything about how to travel long-term, I highly recommend Wandering Earl’s latest book:How to Live a Life of Travel Earl’s guidebook tells you all you need to get rolling and follow the travel life of your dreams. If Earl and I can do it, you can too! Find out how with this guide. Read my review of How To Live a Life of Travel——————————————————————————————————————————– /* /* 12 comments1 ping Michelle D. says: 2013/02/28 at 1:34 am (UTC 8 ) ReplyLash, Thanks for taking the time to write this story. I am soaking every word in. In appreciation, Michelle in Marin. CA Lash WorldTour says: 2013/02/28 at 11:43 am (UTC 8 ) ReplyHi Michelle,YOu are most welcome! Glad to hear you’re taking it all in. :)) Make sure you catch the rest of this series, then.cheers, Lash Jo (the Blond) says: 2013/03/02 at 1:28 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyGreat article and great advice. I don’t travel long term (have a husband in the uk to come back to) but I always travel on a budget and I know for sure that you can easily live on $30 a day. I know it’s not post-related, but how do you stay in shape during your travels? You look fab! Lash WorldTour says: 2013/03/02 at 3:56 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyHi Jo and welcome!Thanks. Glad you find it useful. wow, $30 per day, eh? THat’s much more than I budget for! YOu’re living luxuriously or else traveling in more expensive countries than me. Currently, I live on under/up to $20 per day, all inclusive.Aw, thanks. To stay in shape, I think the 1st and most important factor is to be committed to staying in shape. Only then will you be SURE to do the things to need to do to stay fit. Those include eating healthy food, not junk; exercising regularly; drinking lots of water.I’ve been a fitness nut since I started studing ballet at age 12. No matter where I go, no matter what else is happening in my life, I always make sure I exercise almost every day. It’s a part of my life.I can see a great contrast in mentality about exercise and fitting it in to your life whenever I visit my mom! She keeps saying she needs to exercise, but she doesn’t do it. Always finds too many other things to do. For me, I fit in exercise first then fit the other things in around that.If you are committed to staying fit and healthy, it’s just as easy to do while traveling than when at home. Can walk, swim, snorkel, hike, cycle, go dancing… stretch, do sit ups… anywhere. :))Are you into fitness, too, Jo?cheers, Lash Scott says: 2013/03/03 at 1:18 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyLash, Thanks for your great in-sights. Am currently traveling in S.E. Asia recovering from spinal fusion surgery and have’t got back to a regular exersise routine yet but started doing the Tibeten monks 5 Rites for about 15 minutes a day 5 months ago. While I am 70 y.o. I look like a young in shape 50 y.o. My 22 y.o. African girl friend thinks they work wonders. Check out “The Tibeten Secrets of the Foutain of Youth”. Africa Scott Lash WorldTour says: 2013/03/09 at 5:26 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyHey African Scott,Nice to know you!I’m glad to hear you’re recovering from your surgery. I had a slipped disc in mid December, so I’m on a recovery program myself right now. :))Good for you on staying fit and youthful! 22 yrs GF, eh? I thought I was ‘naughty’ with a 23 yrs BF recently. :))keep up the great spirit and thanks for the tip on the Tibetan program…Where you in SE Asia? I’m currenlh in Langkawi and will be island hopping through Thailand soon… Would be cool to meet.cheers, Lash Jo (The Blond) says: 2013/03/05 at 3:24 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyI like exercising and do it when I’m at home. I go to the gym and for a run few times a week. I don’t look as fit as you, but I’m slim and try to keep it up. Most of all, I like healthy food and cook at home. But when I’m travelling…well, that’s a different story. I stil eat healthy, but don’t exercise. I do sightseeing mostly by walking, unless I need to go somwhere far away. I also love hiking. The thing is that I enjoy a pint or two of beer and like to relax on the beach. I don’t know if this is enough of keeping myself fit and healthy whille I’m on holiday. Lash WorldTour says: 2013/03/09 at 5:23 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyHey Jo,Sounds like you have excellent health, fitness and eating habits. Good for you!…and sounds like when you’re on vacation you like to skip the routines, the schedules and the stuff you ‘have to do’ and just relax. That’s a great way to vacation! I’m quite sure that going off your exercise and healthy eating program for 1-2 weeks isn’t going to hurt your fitness or health! Just enjoy your travels and don’t worry about it. :)) That’s what vacations are for.My case is different because I’m permanently traveling, not ‘vacationing’ for a couple weeks. :))cheers, Lash Suzy says: 2013/03/11 at 1:01 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyThese are all great tips and also words of encouragement to travelers that living abroad is not some far off dream. Lash WorldTour says: 2013/03/14 at 5:53 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyTHanks Suzy,I hope it will inspire some hopeful travelers to get out here in the world!cheers, Lash Jasmine says: 2013/03/11 at 2:46 pm (UTC 8 ) Replyhey – love your site – so inspirational ! i have recently graduated from uni in australia and plan to slow travel around many parts of the world starting in south east asia – and will be supporting my travels by teaching! one quick question for you – when you are backpacking around what type of exercise do you do – i like running and although i will be staying in apartment style accom for the most part of my travels i will be in hostels and backpacking other times, i have this image of trying to go for a run with a backpack :/ haha !! Lash WorldTour says: 2013/03/14 at 5:52 pm (UTC 8 ) ReplyHI Jasmine,Thanks. And congrats on your big upcoming trip! Awesome!As for running, of course you can leave all your things and your backpack in your hostel / hotel room / apartment while you go out running or other exercise. Just like you do at home. YOu don’t have to keep all your possessions on your body 24-7. lolThe great thing about running and walking is that you can do them anywhere! Cities, towns, villages, forests, islands, beaches. And they’re free!I do cardio exercises, stretching, and calisthenics. Cardio I vary depending on where I am and what’s available- trekking in national parks, walking on beaches or in forests or cities, swimming and snorkeling and diving at the sea. Stretching and calisthenics you can do anywhere too. EAsy.The most important factor in staying fit is your attitude. If you’re committed to staying fit, then you’ll find places, time and activities to do so. If you’re committed at home, it’s just as easy out on the road.Does that help? cheers, LashHow to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 2 – How I Do It – LashWorldTour » LashWorldTour says: 2013/03/09 at 4:59 pm (UTC 8 ) Reply[…] As a result, I’ve started this series to answer this important question.In part 1 I explained the three basic components to affording world travel. If you’re trying to figure out how you, too, can travel the world, I highly recommend reading […]Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published.Name:Email:Website:Message:You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> […]

2. How to Afford Long-Term World Travel pt 4 - How Travel Bloggers Do It » LashWorldTour

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   […] a Life of Travel.[Btw- I highly recommend this book if you're serious about traveling the world. Read my review of Earl's book.]Nomadic Matt is one of the most successful travel bloggers in the world. He’s written […]

3. travelling the world » LashWorldTour

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   […] Read my review of How To Live a Life of Travel […]

4. travel the world jobs » LashWorldTour

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   […] Read my review of Earl’s book […]