Episode Details

What a wonderful era that we live in where holidays and travel are a regular feature in our lives. I don't imagine that through the bulk of human history there was enough surplus of time, food, and resources to allow you to just take time off to explore the world or relax, unless you were super rich. Even as recently as my grandparent's era the only international travel done was to fight in World War 2.

So we're in an incredibly privileged time, where a return flight to one of our Asian neighbours costs less than your annual car rego. For the adventurous or curious, opportunities certainly abound.

But there's two key ingredients you need to truly satisfy that travel bug within you. One is money and the other is time. And that's where financial autonomy becomes relevant because the choices it enables, can be the solution to both.

My hopefully fairly uncontroversial observation is that people who listen to podcasts and read blog posts are those who like to learn - they're hungry for knowledge. And for many people with that trait, a curiosity of the wider world fits hand in glove.

Many people that I speak to with ambitions to achieve financial autonomy have a goal of regular overseas travel. So what's needed to make that happen? Well the first is the flexibility to be able to take the time to travel. If you're an employee you'll have your normal 4 weeks leave entitlement, but is that enough, especially if you're in a role where at least 1 week of that is gobbled up with compulsory Christmas shutdowns?

The second requirement is of course money. Sure, there are parts of the world where you can travel quite cheaply. But you still need to get there, and cheap living doesn't mean costless living – you still need money for food and shelter no matter where you are.

So what could you do to realise your travel bug dreams, and how could a financial autonomy mindset help you succeed? Well, here's a few ideas for you.

1. Rent out your place while traveling

Of course anyone with the slightest travel bug inclination will have considered using AirBnB to solve their accommodation needs when on the road. But have you thought of flipping the equation and using AirBnB (or one of their many competitors), to rent out your house while traveling? The income generated through renting your place out could cover many a night on foreign shores.

1. Could a Side Hustle help?

Regular readers and listeners will know that very rarely can I get through a post without mentioning Side Hustles. So how could they help you achieve your travel goals?

Well, for one you could direct all earnings from your side hustle to your holiday account, so your normal day gig can continue to be devoted to things like paying off the mortgage or saving a deposit for a home.

Your side hustle could perhaps also provide you with the flexibility needed to travel. Imagine if you built up a drop-shipping internet business that generated $2,000 per month in income for you for instance. You could run that business whilst travelling, and while $2,000 a month would barely get a roof over your head in the capital cities of Australia, in much of the world it would be enough to live a frugal but totally satisfying and fun life.

If you haven't already done so, download my 50 Side Hustle Opportunities for Australians pdf to find a Side Hustle with your name on it.

1. Credit card points

Now I know credit cards are playing with fire, but we're grown-ups here so I'm going to make the assumption that readers and listeners of Financial Autonomy are smart enough to manage a credi