The Travelling Fund; £10,000 in 10 months!!!

NinjaSavingKat

PheoniX wrote: »

Hullo chick :wave:

Its getting close now with less than 30 weeks to go! :T

I have had two similar experiences of major changes myself, although the first was more of a baby step dipping my toe in the water which gave me the confidence to bring about the second plunge! I have found each time after a lot of thought, that if a decision feels right in head and heart you cant go far wrong..

The wonderful thing about life is that we can start all over again and live as many different lives and lifestyles as we like in our lifetime.

The quote 'The new life you are about to create is a masterpiece and you can't create a masterpiece without a blank canvas' is a beautiful one.

Pheonix thank you for this post. It is lovely and exactly what I needed to hear. I have cut and past it for the important bits that stood out to me.

Firstly seeing it written as weeks makes it all the more real. I think I need to make a chart and start ticking off days. It's one thing having it in my diary but another looking at it every time I wake up on my wall. It might make things easier to plan as well.

Can you tell me about these experiances? I have realised that with friends / boyfriends / sitations and plans there are warning signals. Sometimes I have ignored them and paid the price. there is a lot to be said for intuition and gut instinct and I am not longer willing to ignore the signs. Following my heart is easy, getting my head to realize the potential and capability takes a little longer as I am a planner but you are right - listen to yourself and you can't go wrong!

If things don't go to plan at least I have tried. I aimed for something I want and perhaps circumstances might not allow it to happen but I have tried. If I quit life on the road after Australia because I miss home then so be it. Like you said - we can create so many lives over if we ignore the norm and live as we like.

Your quote is going in my notebook!

stewby

Behind with everything as always but I am an INFJ apparently.

The questions were a bit difficult for me to answer as I have two completely different personalities.
When I feel awkward or nervous or am at work, I have an almost OTT personality where I seem completely at ease with everyone, joke around, chat away, seem to enjoy being the centre of attention... when really I just want to hide.
:embarasse

My personality with my family is one of complete comfort where I can be myself and talk openly. There is no nerves as I know that they won't pick up on my lisp (can't say th as in THursday properly, was tormented at school and in my last workplace for it). I also know that regardless of how I try to say something (I tend to know what I want to say, I just can't explain it properly), my family will understand and not make a point of "oh you mean that", "why didn't you just say that", etc.


I am loving reading about your plans. I am really jealous of you for having the guts (for want of a better word) to give up everything and go travelling.
Although I would love to do that... or to move to France or New Zealand or America, I am too much of a family person. I know that I would get two months down the line and want to come home.


I can't believe the cost difference between the train/ferry and a plane. You are basically only paying a pound for your ferry trip. It's amazing.


Erm... I will go back to lurking now. I am currently on page 9 or 10 I think as I have missed a bit somehow. Did see you only had 30 weeks to go.
I can't think on the name of the website but you get some amazing countdowns that will tell you the number of days, hours and minutes until you leave. My OH set one up for me and it kept me going through work.

Good luck with your journey kat.
Hugs.

PheoniX

Hullo :wave:

Well my drastic changes weren't half as exciting as what yours will be Kat but they were meaningful and life changing to me at the time :j

The first was just before the Millenium, when i was very unhappy in a relationship and stuck in a soul destroying monotonous job which I desperately needed to do something about! So the relationship ended and I left the job when a career opportunity presented itself. On the first day of the Millenium I found myself getting rid of everything I owned and moved away (only about 10 miles though mind ) and started a new career.

The second time around I found myself getting bored again and wanting more! I wanted to see and learn more so I got rid of my possessions once again and transferred up to the big smoke to work and studied part time at uni for 5 years. This was a big decision for me at the time, leaving family behind, leaving a well paid secure job, not knowing if I was academically capable of doing a degree, not knowing anyone, having debt from the onset which I had to juggle to get by..

Getting a degree was important to me and even though I had family to fall back on and a job to go back to if things didn't work out, this was an opportunity I couldn't miss. I was driven.. and I was going to make it work, I had to make it work after sacrificing so much

Needless to say the first couple of weeks felt a little wobbly and I missed family but I quickly settled in and absolutely loved feeling alive again.. Once I felt like I was moving on, I was gradually able to let go of the safety net that was my home and job to fall back on..

Even though I am an INFJ, I am realising that I need quite a lot of stimulation and thrive on change! I have learnt to recognise the signs when I am getting unhappy with a situation and when I need to take action. The hardest thing at times is identifying the signs and then knowing what the right action is that we need to take.. But once that becomes clear and reinforced, we feel almost driven to the point we are prepared to make sacrifices for what we want and we believe in, even though people around us may not fully understand..

The struggle that happens between head and heart before an imminent change is a bit like giving birth to the next life.. If you follow your heart your head will soon follow too

One day, I'm sure you will feel it was the best decision you ever made

NinjaSavingKat

Heart Palpitations. MarBook Air 13 inch bought... GULP!

allybee101

Exciting stuff - new gadget to play with! Have you invested in a case for it, and a plug adaptor for the various continents you're visiting? You might want to think about Dropbox or other online storage for photos etc.
When I last went abroad I also scanned my passport and insurance docs and emailed them to myself. If you lose anything you can then always access them via a webcafe/consulate.


You were asking what my reformed habits were - well, I worked out my 'debt per day' - not as bad as it could be but still plenty to work on! It is definitely a stark reminder when I'm tempted! I need to put a note in my purse!
I'm also trying to rack up NSD's - I find an empty purse works well - no temptation to spend it on anything!
Last week I withdrew cash for all my planned spends - petrol, food, meal out, night out. I challenged myself not to spend it so the leftover will go in the debt repayment pot.
I need to get on the Ebaying wagon, but one thing at a time!

jackieblack

NinjaSavingKat wrote: »

Heart Palpitations. MarBook Air 13 inch bought... GULP!

Did you decide on new or refurbed?

NinjaSavingKat

allybee101 wrote: »

When I last went abroad I also scanned my passport and insurance docs and emailed them to myself. If you lose anything you can then always access them via a webcafe/consulate.

Such a good idea! I will do that after I have cleaned my horrific email inbox of the tat I haven't deleted.

I ordered a case called a Moshi Codex but I think I have ordered the wrong one (size wise) so have cancelled it but I am thinking it might arrive anyway. Many good reviews though especially from a guy who was in a car accident and had it thrown from the car - the cover was mushed but his laptop was intact with no scratches or dents.

I am also getting a hard shell for that extra protection - which means the 13.3 inch Air might be okay for the 15 inch Moshi case...However I had a good chat/giggle/flirt with the boy from Apple and asked for a free shell or anything he can throw in my package so I am not buying any more until it arrives on the 4th April - one day before the big 31st birthday....

I am looking at a rather expensive surge protector with USB addapters etc but it's £60 so I will shop around although I would rather be safe than sorry and its a world wide adapter. I intend to research this properly.

JackieBlack - there was very little difference between getting the refurbed one and the discounted-through-work brand new one so got the brand new one. I also got the RAM updated to 8GB and an extra two year warranty which means a nice £1142 price tag. :eek:

NinjaSavingKat

Afternoon to you all...


I have been making lists in a panic after purchasing such an expensive machine. Looks like I might just make it to my goal of £4000 in the Oz account and £7000 to take with me if I get an extra £300 a month in OT now until I leave...

Albeit I am hoping on £2000 for the bike, £100 for the push bike, £100 on random eBay sales, £2000 on my last pay packet which I won't need and £350 returned flat deposit....

Not much then..........:(:(:(:(

Found this cat basket... but got it in a different color cause orange is horrid. Moggy is gonna be so swish! Looks like a little alien carrier...

That's one thing off my mind.

Sent an email to Citilinks to see how much it would cost to send my massive cat climbing tree ( that I can't seem to dismantle ) and a few suitcases of things to Ireland... awaiting a response with bated breath.

Also booked my flight home to see my parents in May. This will be coming out of Aprils spend budget instead of the "Travel Fund". It's the time of year when my Dads hard work pays off and we get to see his enormous garden in full bloom - cherry blossom and all.

My friend can't come with me so I shall be lying in the garden doing nowt for a long weekend! Can't wait!!!

I will try and find a picture for you all from last years visit - considering I am going to miss it next year I want to get full appreciation of it and so I am hoping it doesn't rain!!

NinjaSavingKat

Hmmm little angry here in the NSK zone.

The course I was promised through work looks like it might not come to fruition. Albeit those in my department don't "need" it as it will just be aid to some work we get and not the focus of what we do - but we were told over the last 18 months that priority is given to another department hence we have had to wait for so long...

It now looks like this course now, that has been promised to 4 of us will be delayed in order to train others. Which means I won't be offered the course if I am leaving in precisely 187 days.

Not that I am counting.

It makes me more eager to get my mitts on the MBAir... I have to plan my blog, create my stamp on the independant-nomadic-travel arena. Time to create my own life-work and not rely on another entity or corporation.... :T:T:T

NinjaSavingKat

I have just "bought" my ride-to-work bike back from my employer for £99.26.

I intend to sell it the bike for £250.
My helmet and gloves for £10-£15
My extremely heavy duty lock for £50
and A fluorescent barely used riding jacket for £25 - £35

Total = £350 ( on the top end of the spectrum) = Malaria Tablets! :T:T

Fingers crossed I can do this through work as I don't really want to give eBay any money...