“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
I’m not talking about just cutting back on eating out or going to the movies as a way to save money here and there for the trip (although we will be doing that too). I am talking about Tony and I downgrading from our lavish two-bedroom condo to a quaint one-bedroom place this past November in order to stash away some serious cash each month towards the trip.
It was a little heartbreaking to leave our luxurious pad that had ocean views and two walk-in closets (not one ladies, two). However, even though we are able to comfortably afford this place, we know that we are soon leaving our comfortable DINK (Double Income, No Kids) lifestyle to take a risk and travel the world as two passionate (yet broke) NINKs (no definition needed for this one).
And maybe we will be able to generate some income and avoid the whole “broke” status-quo while on this trip (again, later posts), but for now, we need a back-up plan – or a back-up bank account strictly dedicated for this trip.
So in a nutshell, we found an amazing deal on a one-bedroom place across the street from our old place that is going to save us $600 a month in rent. I am not sure if moving across the street was all that “dramatic” but I swear that we will be ready to move all the way across the ocean at the end of the year!
Anyways, with this extra money that we are saving, we decided to open up a separate savings account for this trip. We did our research and found out that opening an Ally Bank Online Savings Account was a great place to stick this extra cash. Ally was rated the #1 bank by Money Magazine in May 2010 and offers an APY of 1.09%…Woohoo! And while there are many other great banks out there, this one seems perfect for our needs.
$600 a month over the next year will allow Tony and I to save an extra $7,200 up for this trip without breaking a sweat. To top it all off, our new place might even be better than the old one!
Exhausted from traveling every week as a Business Management Consultant early in my career, I took a year off in 2012 to travel at my own pace. I am a high-energy girl that loves being active, eating food, drinking wine, and exploring the world with my partner-in-crime (and husband), Tony! I now reside in Portland, Oregon and continue to write about travel, food, wine, and the awesome adventures we have in the Pacific NW!
My partner and I really enjoyed reading this blog post, I was just itching to know do you trade featured posts? I am always trying to find someone to make trades with and merely thought I would ask.
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