How to Start Traveling

What’s up guys?  How is your week going? I’m currently in Virigina, working and visiting my boyfriend. I drove up with him last weekend and have been here for about a week. I’m finally starting to feel settled. It always takes me a minute to get adjusted.

On to today’s topic- TRAVELING! I started dreaming about travel five years ago, which I think was ignited from watching Mimi Ikonn’s travel videos on YouTube. I watched video after video and dreamed of being in those places myself, but never actually made it happen. Until last year.

Traveling the world at one point in my life seemed like something I would do when I had enough time, money, experience… blah, blah, blah, I’m boring myself. You name it, I had an excuse for why I wasn’t ready. The bottom line was that I was too scared to do it.

This past year was the year that I finally decided that would change. Travel would become a priority. It’s funny how when you prioritize things in life and get rid of the clutter, that your dreams can start to take shape.

Last year, with my boyfriend and number one travel buddy, I visited Iceland, the UK, France, Greece, and South Africa. We also did some fun weekend trips to LA, San Francisco, Lousiana, and Miami. It was an awesome year and completely changed my perspective on so many things. This perspective change is one of the reasons I view traveling as so invaluable. It feeds you, inspires you, and ignites you in so many ways- emotionally, mentally, creatively. I’m obsessed.

So back to today’s video. I’m basically breaking down how I made travel a reality last year. There’s a few straightforward steps:

1. Find the money
2. Find the time
3. Find your travel mate (which can absoutely be yourself)
4. Search for deals
5. Book the tickets!

For me, finding the money meant giving up my expensive lifestyle in Philly which included a 3 bedroom apartment and a frequent shopping habit. I made the change in 2016 when I left my corporate job and started freelancing. I also moved in with my parents. Yep, I live with my parents. Not what I had pictured for myself 10 years ago, but absolutely necssary to give myself the time and space I need to build the life I want.

Finding the time became infinitely easier when I moved to freelancing and working digitally. But traveling is still possible with a corporate job. Be upfront with your employer about your desired vacation time and figure out what you can get and the timeframe you’ll be working with. Then, look for deals in that timeframe.

After you find the time, find your travel mate, who can be anyone from your boo to your bff to yourself. My boyfriend loves to explore probably even more than I do, so we’re able to incorpoarte travel into a big chunk of our lives. If your significant other doesn’t travel, don’t let that stop you. If it’s something you want to experience in life, give yourself the gift of figuring out how to make it happen. Prioritize it, focus on it, and do it. With or without your bae.

Finding great airfare and lodging deals is an important part of my equation for traveling frequently. Check out deal sites to find cheap airfare. (I’d much rather save money on plane tickets and spend on experiences.) If you have a particular place in mind that you’d like to go, check the deal sites daily. My favorite is secretflying.com – when we’re looking to book a trip, we check this site daily! We also use Airbnb to find great deals on lodging. It’s usually cheaper than hotels and feels so much more like you’re actually staying in the place that you’re visiting.

Lastly, just book the tickets. Figure out logistics later. Don’t wait, because you might back out and regret it. The only thing I ever have regrets about is something that I didn’t do, even when one of our recent trips included getting stuck in Ethopia for a night with insanely bad food poisoning. (I’ll tell that story later. ????)

Just book the ticket. ❤