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Entry 2 in the Q and A session... after this one we'll get to talking about fun stuff...!
3. HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO SAVE FOR THIS!?
This is actually often the first question that people ask. I think that the question itself is really just a thinly disguised 'lure', not-so-subtly designed to draw out the answer to the 'real' question (
"How much is this costing you!?" ->
"How much money do you have!?")
Kind of like when a woman asks his husband
"What are you doing tonight?", when really she means
"What are WE doing tonight?" ->
"What are YOU doing for ME tonight?".
In fact, several people have been bold enough to just ask it outright. I appreciate that. But no-one should feel bad about wanting to know this... it's natural... or at least, in our society it is. People have bills, which give birth to bills, which in turn breed more bills. We're told all the time to finance, and buy, and finance some more.
'Interest' nowadays is pretty much synonymous with
'Income Tax'. It is an unavoidable part of life. Or at least that's what they want us to think, so that we'll be content in defeat and accept it... and pay them. With all this going on, money becomes paramount to the everyday thought... so it is a very valid question.
But you'll have to remain disappointed if you expect a numerical value here. We're not telling! After all, there is a reason that people don't go around asking everyone how much they make, and how much they have in savings etc. It's just not right... BUT... we will tell you this... it is going to be FAR cheaper than many people seem to think. By as much as half or more... life is far cheaper where we're going... assuming that you don't bring along the same expectations of luxury as we all have in our daily lives in the US and UK. Take airplane tickets as an example. Fly from Chicago to London (~4500 miles) for say $400. Fly from Bangkok to LA (~8500 miles) for say $500. It's almost twice as far! And of course just general cost of living... $10 will put you in good stead for a day in a lot of places like India and Thailand... we're talking room for a night, AND food for a day, assuming you don't want a penguin-suited waiter and tuck-down service. We've seen some pretty swank resort-looking places on remote Thai beaches that advertise as little as $7 a night. We'll see, and we'll report back... regardless, we're sure that we will spend less this coming year than we have on any previous year in the states... by a long way.
But yes... we did have to save. A lot. We've always lived a 'frugal' life (cue the tight Scot jokes). A 1 bedroom apt, sharing a car, for example. Not that these have been massive sacrifices; we genuinely enjoy entangling our lives to this degree; it forces us to always know what's going on in our respective lives, and we have to actually talk to each other about our plans and so on. It works really well for us. We both enjoy the ride to work together, and the loud rant we can have on the way home, taking turns to shout "cheezits!", or "crrrrrrrrrap!" out of the window when we've had a hard day. Doing this alone would make you look insane. If someone else is there alongside you, it's no big deal...! But basically, all we did was not leak cash needlessly. We have both still taken trips to go places, together and separately. We've both spent money on things, allbeit with perhaps a bit more thought than do others. We just haven't bought a lot of stuff that we don't need. Brigid once got a fortune from a chinese cookie that read
"Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens". She always gets the good ones (maybe we'll start a list someplace; post a comment if you;re interested in that). We always have thought that way though. Our point is, that if you can prevent yourself from following the path that gets slammed down in front of you, and ignore the empty promises of the immortal salesman, then something like this is open to you all. All you need is commitment, over a few years. And it helps to have someone to do it alongside to be fair, but surely not essential. Maybe your RTW trip is really a nice big house... maybe it's a kick-ass college fund for your kid... it doesn't have to be a 10 month march of madness like it is for us... but it can always be done.
4. WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT YOUR JOBS!?
Well... it isn't 100%!d(MISSING)ecided yet I guess. We went into this on the assumption that we'd both have to outright quit. Not an easy decision to make at all, but that's how we prepared ourselves. We figure that we are young enough (just!), with few enough long term commitments (only one in fact - each other!), that we could take the hit. We also think that 5 years for Lachlan, and 6 years for Brigid, in their first jobs out of university, isn't too bad a service record if it ended there either. So... we just took the risk. It turns out that having spoken to our respective places of employment, it perhaps needn't be quite so cut and dry as that. There's a long way ahead of us, and things change at any place of work, but there is a good chance that one or both of us may find our way back 'from whence we came'... it is more than a little reassuring that such an option may be available to us. It would be nice too, if things worked out that way... many variables in this equation, but we're planning on coming back to Saint Louis, so we'll just wait and see I guess...
5. WHAT ABOUT ALL YOUR STUFF!!!!!? RENT? CAR PAYMENTS? STUDENT LOANS?
Well we don't have much stuff. Not really. Not compared to other couples that have been living together for 5+ years and been married for almost 2! And we're not keeping up our apartment - that would be silly. So, no rent payments, but nowhere to leave our stuff. Our friends and family are all supremely brilliant people, and by breaking our mound into smaller heaps, and taking up a room here, and a room there, we're getting away with storing our stuff for free, with people we trust. 'Very excellent situation, and we are more than a little appreciative of everyone's help and support here; big thanks to Nathan, Lee, Teresa, Mary and Doug, and Grandpa Lindy!
Our car is paid off too. It took a hefty chunk to do but it'll be easier than trying to make payments while we're away.
Sidenote: we were
supposed to still be driving our paid-off Mercury POS... and we could just abandon it when we left. But of course, it wouldn't cooperate, choosing instead to roll over and die with a resounding mechanical haemorrhage (during a torrential downpour), the day before family flew in for the wedding. Of course, the little turd of a piece of work had also just had $400 of maintenance ploughed into it's festering frame... but we're not bitter... not at all. I do remember being impressed by the big oilslick that flowed with the rainwater from beneath the engine... ahhh the memories... but... yeah...
... the car is paid off. We'll store it in a disused garage, and cover minimal (very cheap) insurance on it in case it gets stolen.
We've overpaid student loans too (or at least Brigid has; Lachlan is still frantically avoiding his... they'll catch up with him one day surely?), and secured periods of deferment where possible. So we don't have to pay any of them while we're away either... writing this, I feel like the guy from Office Space right now... "What about bills? And rent?"... "Well, I've decided I don't much like them either...." Ha ha ha ha! If you've ever had a job, and never seen that movie, then you should. Do it now, and this blog will already have served a beneficial purpose to humanity!
All pretty tidy really. Leave some trustworthy (not Lee) people with access to important documents etc, and really, it's all taken care of...
So... I guess that's it. Post a comment to this one if you got it through your subscription or what not, or if you didn't and you can't work out why... and we encourage you all to give feedback... and ask questions etc. This can be somewhat interactive... we can try to answer stuff that you're interested in...
We only have 3 weeks (almost to the minute!) before we leave, so get it in now while we still have regular access to the email machine...!
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Blog entry number 2 is finally over!
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Ariadne
non-member comment
Gosh...that was some speech!
Well, I guess I haven't been asking the right questions, cos I didn't ask even one of the ones you answered up there! Sounds like you have it pretty sorted... you'll need to let me know what your first set of plans are e.g when you in Scotland so that I can actually catch up with you mad kids?!!