Archive for October, 2007
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 [...]
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
LIP Dreams: Still A Long Way To Go
After a few of years of drifting through life in a small London flat and a corporate job Claudia and I made the decision to leave London for our first LIP year abroad.
When we finally made the decision it was as if a new lease of life flowed into our bodies. A burden had been [...]
After a few of years of drifting through life in a small London flat and a corporate job Claudia and I made the decision to leave London for our first LIP year abroad.
When we finally made the decision it was as if a new lease of life flowed into our bodies. A burden had been lifted off our shoulders and our perception of life has changed dramatically. With the help of Lea’s “X marks the spot” book our lists of action points grew, a little disconcertingly, long!!
Suddenly, time is flying by and the pressure to meet our targets is brewing. Our deadline to be on a flight to New Zealand in the first week of February 2008 seemed to be way off in the distance but now feels like it could be next week!
Our main concern is not where we will be but how long we can afford to stay in our favourite places. We’ve worked out that we need £2000 per month to comfortably afford all the places we want to see and live in them throughout the year. That means I need to find more clients than I currently have. I estimate I will need at least 12 clients on my three or six month wellbeing programme (and a few on my upcoming coaching programme) by the time February comes round.
Am I worried? Yes, a little. Claudia is concerned that she is too institutionalised to suddenly drop her job in publishing and work for herself, particularly as she hasn’t worked out how she is going to make money on a monthly basis whilst she writes fiction for teenagers.
Will we still go if I don’t have the minimum 12 clients? Well, we’ve made our decision. What would you do? Would you take the risk?
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 [...]
“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
5 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Becoming A LIP
Before I share these with you, there’s a bit of housekeeping to go over. I wrote yesterday on my personal blog about what I’m going to be doing over the next couple of months with regards to my businesses and blogs.
What it means for this blog, is that I shall no longer be posting daily [...]
Before I share these with you, there’s a bit of housekeeping to go over. I wrote yesterday on my personal blog about what I’m going to be doing over the next couple of months with regards to my businesses and blogs.
What it means for this blog, is that I shall no longer be posting daily here but will reduce posts to twice per week from me (on Mondays & Wednesdays), once from Greg (on Fridays) and possibly some additional guest posts in between.
And now on to 5 things I wish I’d known before becoming a Location Independent Professional: Read the rest of this entry
