Where have you always dreamed of going? Do you want to visit Antarctica, take a month-long road trip across the country, go on a round-the-world cruise or walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain? If you’ve long treasured a dream of traveling somewhere that’s outside the bounds of the usual two-week vacation, you might assume you’ll have to wait for retirement to accomplish it, but that’s not always the case. Below are several ways to overcome the obstacles and make your dream happen sooner rather than later.
Deal With Time
This is generally the biggest hurdle along with money. The fact of the matter is that most jobs don’t want you to take off for several weeks or months. If you’re not one of the few lucky people in a profession or company that offers sabbaticals, you may need to get creative. Can you take leave without pay? It doesn’t hurt to ask.
Or maybe there’s another way to get extra vacation time, putting in extra hours or days during the rest of the year. Depending on the nature of both your dream trip and your job, is telecommuting an option? If your employer won’t negotiate, step back and take a look at your industry. How difficult is it to get another job? If the job market is healthy and you have a good financial cushion, are you willing to take the risk of quitting? Only you can decide if it’s worth it.
Deal With Money
Even if you get things squared away with your job, there’s the practical matter of how to finance your big trip. You can make a budget to see if there are places where you can spend less. You could pick up a second job or some gig work. Some people take big steps, like selling their home. You may have other assets of value, such as a life insurance policy. You can review a guide that includes everything you need to know about selling your policy in a life settlement and whether you are eligible. One important thing to keep in mind is that travel is often not nearly as expensive as people imagine it will be. You can be frugal and still have a memorable trip.
Make Your Plan
Once you’ve got the time and money taken care of, the biggest difficulties are usually behind you. However, as you start to research and plan your trip, make sure that you don’t get overwhelmed with information. You can get some great advice on the internet from social media, blogs, and articles, but take everything you read with a grain of salt. Be specific in your searches, if you are traveling with a pet, look that up specifically because general searches may not yield the results that you need.
If you’re an inveterate planner, don’t worry about the people who insist that the spontaneity of your trip will be ruined if you consult guidebooks. If you feel better joining a tour group, ignore anyone who tells you that you won’t have an authentic experience. On the other hand, if you’re more adventurous, find out what you need to know for safety’s sake, but don’t hesitate to take a looser approach to your planning if that’s what you prefer.
