We worked hard, putting in as many overtime shifts as we could. We eliminated as many expenses as we could, paid off all our debt and shared a small rental with multiple roommates while saving up. There's no big secret here, it's just a self-funded journey the old-fashioned way. Not everyone chooses this direction, but we find it the most rewarding and it gives us the most freedom. In hindsight, we probably should have invested in a multi-unit rental property before we left Austin. Some passive income would have been nice, but it can also be distracting to manage remotely.
For approximately one year leading up to our journey, we lived entirely off of Brenton’s salary as a firefighter and put every penny of Shannon’s salary directly into our travel fund.
We found that we actually spent less money while traveling than we did while living an “average” lifestyle in Austin, TX. The two of us were able to live relatively comfortably abroad for two years. The entire two year journey cost us just under $65,000 USD for the two of us. This cost combines all of our living expenses with travel expenses including food/water, shelter, vehicle shipping (twice), recreation (access fees), insurance, etc. We saved a lot of money by camping as much as possible instead of seeking out hotels and we avoided campgrounds if at all possible.
