Millennials and Gen Z love to travel and are often looking for a reason to quit a job. This may be because of job hopping, burnout or simply because they want to travel. In fact, one survey found that just under 50% of Millennials would quit their job in the next two years.

I am no different in this respect, especially when it comes down to the urge to travel. However, quitting my job with no source of income lined up may sound hypocritical for a personal finance blogger.

Just to clarify I am not Financially Independent / Retired Early either (FIRE), so you may be wondering what on earth I’m doing.. Therefore, I wanted to explain why at 27 and 28 we quit our full-time jobs, gave up our rented flat, and decided to travel and why you could do it too!

Which Of These Common Categories Do You Fall Into?

  1. People who regret not travelling more or taking this leap when they were younger.
  2. People who are happy in their careers and love their jobs.
  3. People who feel uninspired by their careers, the current housing market and having a limited holiday allowance with which to travel.
  4. People who just love to travel, so they design their lives around this.

If you are reading this, then like me, you may fallen into category 3 and would like to be in the 4th category.

Feeling Uninspired By The Housing Crisis?

Millennials, in particular, are often told we face some unique economical challenges. The housing market, with it’s high rents and purchase prices seems to be a global problem. Wages have not risen in line with house prices and as such there is mass unaffordability.

For me personally, although I can afford a house, I don’t see the value for money. I think one of the real turning points was when we went to view some houses as prospective buyers but were left feeling uninspired by what we saw.

I would prefer to bide my time and wait for the house price correction that is due. For example, in 2018 it was reported that house prices are 7.77 times the average salary, which is more than double what it was 20 years ago. Even back in 2007, it was just over 5.4 times your earnings.

You can also see the interactive UK geographical view of the price to earnings ratio by year on the ONS website embeded below.

Waiting For The Workplace Paradigm Shift?

We are also often told that we are looking for something different in the workplace compared to previous generations. Millennials, like the snowflakes we are, are reported to want:

  • Purpose In Our Work
  • Autonomy
  • Flexibility: Remote working, flexible hours, 4 day work week
  • Offices designed to energise rather than demoralise us
  • The opportunity to travel more

Often, employers are not building towards this, but still see the workforce as a disposal resource to be spent and ground down. For many, this is the core reason to quit a job and one of the reasons I have done so previously.

This is not just my perspective, it was a major finding in Deloitte’s 2019 survey that Millennials are sceptical of business’s motives.

If you want to read more about what Millenials want in the workplace, then click here to read Deloittes 2019 report.

Balancing Your Time & Money With Travel

Travel is my kryptonite and for many of you out there, it’s yours too. In fact, Millennials are more likely to prioritise travel than any other generation and also spend the most on travel. Although Gen Z isn’t far behind in this respect and are catching up fast.

The difficulty lies in being able to get the time off work for travel and also to be able to save for travel. Especially when you are trying to be responsible and meet other savings goals. For example, financial independence/retirement or saving for a house deposit.

If you, like many people out there, are feeling pessimistic about your career and want to take a break, or maybe you just want to save more for travel then keep reading.

How Much Do You Need In Savings To Quit A Job And Travel

This is all relative to what type of lifestyle you want to able to have when you travel and how long you want to travel for. Our plan was to travel to for two to three months before landing in Australia.

On average we are spending around £30 per night on accommodation (mid-range hotel), £10 per person on food with additional spending for transport and activities.

Since leaving on 05/02/20, so far we have visited:

Vietnam: Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Dalat, Saigon and Phu Quoc.

Malaysia: Kualur Lumpur, Penang/Georgetown, Borneo.

Indonesia: Sanur, Ubud, Amed (Bali) , Gili Trawangan

We have a working holiday visa for Australia which allows us to work while travelling. This is a great way to travel while also being able to settle in a few places and really experience living there.

It’s also a good opportunity to earn some money and keep us on track with our long-term financial goals. As we intend to travel more extensively after leaving Australia it will be nice to top up the travel fund.

Before I go on to reveal the financials that are the foundation of this trip, I want to point out a few things about myself. Just to simply point out that if I can save enough money to do this then you can do.

I am …

  • From a very working-class background.
  • With a family history of debt.
  • I was a C grade student during my GCSEs.
  • Earned an average income of between £23,000 – £27,000.

I have never …

  • Been a software engineer earning £100,000.
  • Worked two jobs at the same time.
  • Had a rental property
  • Had a lodger.
  • Eaten rice and beans for a prolonged period of time to save money.

How Much Do I Have In Savings For My Career Break / Micro-Retirement

At the time I originally wrote this post my personal net worth was:

  • Stocks and Shares ISA: £26,0000
  • Workplace Pension: £15,000
  • Help To Buy ISA: £8,1000
  • Current Account: £4,000

Total: £53,000 or $69,000 USD ( £38,000 accessible)

We Haven’t Only Been Saving We Have Travelled To:

Paris, Brussels, Lanzarote, The Algarve (Portugal), Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Milan, Barcelona, Dublin, Madeira, Ibiza, Dalaman & Antalya, Rome, Gdansk, Iceland, Hamburg, Seville, Valencia, Malaga. Bangkok, Khao Lak, Krabi & Thai Islands, Singapore, Bali. Havana & Varadero (Cuba), Boston, New York, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Big Sur, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Las Vegas.

Reasons To Quit A Job To Travel Full-Time

  • Save money on long-haul flights for holidays.
  • Better experience of the country because of a less rushed experience.
  • Time to recover from burnout, stress and motivation work dips.
  • Experience living and working in another country.
  • More time to work on passion projects, freelancing and side-hustles.

One Main Reason To Quit A Job To Travel & Live Abroad

There are many examples of people who choose to live and remote work in another country to reduce their cost of living. A by-product of this is that they spend less time in the office and more time enjoying what they want. Consequently they live a better life than they would in the own country.

There are also people out there that simply choose to travel, and this has springboarded into a main source of income. So it is possible to have both. I stress the word possible here. This obviously takes intelligence, creativity, determinations, adaptability and maybe a little luck to put into practice.

I am not advising you to suddenly take a leap of faith but saving enough money can give you the option to do this.

Do These Reasons To Quit Your Job And Go Travelling Resonate With You?

  • Want to save more money to travel
  • Want to quit your job to go travelling
  • Want to have more time to travel
  • Want to save in a healthy way with minimal pain
  • Want to spend money guilt-free
  • Do not earn £100,000 p/a
  • Are just a regular person on an average income

Then subscribe to MSU and get a free #6 step guide to help you get started with putting your finances in an upward trajectory. With this guide you can:

  • Understand where and how to automate your finances
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  • Know which banks you can get free money from
  • Find out the secret to doubling your retirement savings

Having a solid financial foundation is key if you are someone who loves to travel and would consider quiting a job to travel more. So learn the 5 steps to creating passive income.

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