Archive for October, 2007
Avoiding The Scarcity Mentality Whilst Cutting Down Your Outgoings
In the process of creating our LIP life, we went through a period of having to cut down our expenses and tighten our belts – especially immediately after Jonathan was made redundant.
At the same time, we were aiming to create a fabulously abundant life for ourselves as location independent professionals. Problem was, the two goals were conflicting.
One required an abundant outlook on life – the belief that we could afford to do everything we wanted, achieve our dreams and that we had everything we already wanted. The other required us to restrict what we could have, constantly question what we could afford (and then naturally, what we couldn’t) and focus on cutting back.
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Becoming A LIP: The What Ifs
What if…?
- You get ill
- You hate it
- You run out of money
- You can’t make it work
- War breaks out
- You fail
Are these some of the things you’re scared might happen if you become a location independent professional and travel the world permanently? (They were for me).
But what if…?
- You succeed
- You love it
- You wish you’d done it sooner
- You regret never having even tried to make it work
This post is an excerpt from the book, X Marks The Spot: The Indispensable Guide To Living As a LIP And Working From Anywhere.
5 Ways To Make Your Money Stretch Further Whilst Travelling
Prefer to watch this? Check out the Videocast at the end of the post!
One of the reasons we became Location Independent Professionals was to give us a bit more breathing space when J was made redundant and our expenses in the UK seemed to have the potential to drown us.
Living in a place with a far lower cost of living seemed very appealing right then – and it still does now. Not only does it take the pressure off fledgling (and even mature) businesses, it’s also very satisfying to feel that your money is going a lot further than it normally would back at ‘home’. We still catch ourselves saying, “Oooh, now that fresh coconut would have cost £3 in the UK, it’s so cheap here” or “What? Only EC$2 (approx. £0.30) – in the UK that organic mango would have cost us £2″.
And even if the cost of living is lower in the LIP places you choose to visit, there are still things you can do to make your money stretch even futher. Here are 5 things we’ve learned that will have you, your bank manager & your accountant smiling: Read the rest of this entry
Escaping The Rat Race To Become A LIP
“Escaping the rat race”…phew, now there’s a phrase that’s gained some momentum in recent years.
I too used to sit at my hotdesk in my company’s offices (if I were lucky) or on a client site somewhere in the wilds of the M4 corridor (if I were unlucky) and wonder just what else I could be doing with my life…
“Surely, I won’t be doing this forever? Surely, there’s more to working than being on this treadmill for the next few years? Or am I destined to be here until I (a) leave (b) get kicked out (c) have a baby (d) retire?”
Ugh, very depressing thoughts. And yet, the rat race for me was not one grey, dull, never-ending cycle of days which ran into each other; it was actually quite exciting. Mostly smart and ambitious people to work with, a job that changed all the time (I was a management consultant), fun and very drunken nights in London and a nice salary to spend when I wasn’t working or commuting. It was actually pretty cool but I knew right after my first year there, that it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. Read the rest of this entry
