Become a World Traveler: Tips and Resources for Making it Happen

Want to become a world traveler? It's actually easier than you think.

Here's the key:

Overcome the faulty assumption that only the rich have enough money to travel, and get creative by using the principles of lifestyle design.

Specifically, here are some things to consider as you seek to become a world traveler:

Simplify Your Life to Free Up Money and Time
The number one thing holding people back from world travel is they think it's expensive. And, it is expensive if you try to live like a millionaire abroad, stay in the fanciest hotels, and eat gourmet meals every night. If you did that at home it would be expensive, and doing that on the road is no different.

But, if you can simplify your existing life and your desires, then you open up tremendous possibilities for time, money, and mobility. Here's what I mean:

• Money: If you buy less crap that you don't need (bigger house, car, electronics, etc) then you will have more money to travel. Period.

• Time and Mobility: As you simplify your life, you also free up more time for travel. More importantly, more time brings more options and easier ways to stretch your money further.

Here's an example how this might work: Suppose you move from a high-stress-can't-take-your-vacation job to a job that pays less but has more flexible vacation arrangements. Flexibility with time allows you to consider more options. With larger blocks of time and more flexibility, you can find cheaper flights, last minute deals, and better lodging rates.

So, ironically, sometimes making less salary actually allows you to travel more!

Save Up Money or. . . Create a Passive-Income Web-Business
Traveling doesn't have to be expensive, but it's unfortunately not free. You will need some money. The first obvious solution is to save up some money. As mentioned above, if you simplify your life and thus have more flexibility with time, you can stretch your saved money further. You can find the best deals, travel in the offseason, and stay for longer (for example, paying $500/week for an apartment instead of $200/night for a hotel).

For longer term travel, I recommend creating a business that runs without you to fund your adventures. Now, creating a web-business online may sound really easy - just get a product, put up a site, and then sell it. Unfortunately, it's rarely that easy because there is just so much stuff for sale on the internet.

So, to create a solid business online I recommend Site Build It, which is what I use to build this site. It's an e-commerce system that allows you to turn your passion and knowledge into a business. They provide all the technology you need to build the web-business; you supply the brains and motivation.

Visit the Site Build It Home Page or my SBI review for more information.

Use Geo-Arbitrage
Did you know that you can live like a king in Argentina for $2500 a month? Or in Asia for even less? Even in Europe, if you're flexible with your time you can find great deals for extended stay in some awesome places. By making money in one place (like the US/Canada) and traveling to places with weaker currencies, you can open up tremendous possibilities for long-term traveling and adventure.

If you're looking for more resources to become a world traveler or even a long-term-world-traveling-vagabond, I recommend checking out Tim Ferris's travel section on the Four Hour Blog and Rolf Pott's site on vagabonding abroad.

Go With the Flow
This is a pretty good life strategy overall, but it's also important for those who want to become a world traveler. First, when you're traveling, nothing ever goes according to plan. That just seems to be a natural law that you can't get away from. Secondly, and more important, when you don't go with the flow - and you absolutely have to fly on a certain date, do something a particular way, etc. it get's expensive. For example, if you fly on Sunday it will be more expensive. If you fly on Tuesday morning, it will generally be less expensive, sometimes several hundred dollars less.

By not going with the flow and getting obsessive about where you are when, you'll rack up some serious costs. And, you won't enjoy where you are. Being "present" and enjoying where you are is the most important part of a successful adventure.

Bon voyage and good luck as you become a world traveler!
Adam

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