How To Guide
How To Fund Your Adventure: The Blueprint
How are we affording all of this? We had just gotten married in Mexico, paid off our wedding, I paid off my car, and Kendall paid off his student loans. So, how did we scrape together enough funds for a year of travel?
How We’re Funding Our Year of Travel
We’ve been asked the same question a lot lately: "How can you afford to travel for an entire year?" The truth isn't a lottery win or a secret inheritance—it’s a mix of aggressive lifestyle changes and one very timely credit card strategy. Here is exactly how we went from "dreaming" in December 2024 to "boarding" in August 2025.
1. The "Trim the Fat" Phase (Started Dec 2024)
We started by looking at where our money was "leaking." It’s amazing how much you can find when you stop living on autopilot. We focused on four main areas:
The Subscription Purge: If we weren't watching it or using it daily, it was canceled. Rocket Money helped us a lot by identifying our hidden bills. You can imagine our surprise when we found over 10 active subscriptions! If you have a smart TV, do yourself a favor and audit your accounts.
Dining In vs. Out: We traded $70 dinners for $15 home-cooked meals. Eating the same thing can be boring, but so is an $80 tab for two drinks and two entrees. We also stopped drinking. We love the occasional beer and Pacific Northwest brewery culture, but it was taking a massive hit on our wallets.
The Mindless Spending (Target) Breakup: I stopped those "weekly runs" where you go in for milk and leave with $150 of home decor and new clothes. We also cut out late-night Amazon shopping. I swear that "Buy Now" button is a tactic that works every time. Often, the things we "could afford" just ended up sitting on a shelf or in an empty room for over a year.
Do I Use It? Do I Want It? Do I Need It?: We had furniture, decor, kitchen gadgets, gym equipment, and clothes still with tags on them. We had to assess everything. Look in the closets you never open, under the bed, the "Seasonal Decor" totes, and that silly junk drawer. Have a real talk with yourself and ask: "Does this spark joy?" - Marie Kondo
2. Turning "Stuff" into Cash
We decided that if it wasn't coming with us on the trip, it didn't need to stay at the in-laws! We turned Facebook Marketplace and eBay into our second jobs. Selling furniture, old clothes, and gadgets didn't just clear our physical space; it padded our travel fund faster than we expected.
3. The Travel Hack: The Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
At the end of April 2025, we hit the jackpot with a massive promotion. I was approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card during a 100,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) point offer.
- The Requirement: Spend $6,000 within three months.
- The Reward: $1,000+ in free travel or airfare.
The Pro Move: We didn't spend extra money to get the bonus. We simply shifted our $2,100 monthly rent onto the card for the last three months of our lease. Since we already had that money set aside in our savings, we paid the card off immediately. By July, we had hit the goal without spending a single penny we didn't already owe!
The Results
By being "boring" for a few months and getting strategic with our largest expenses, we officially hit our target goal this July. We headed into our year of travel with a solid nest egg and $1,000 in "free money" thanks to smart points-earning.
The takeaway? You don’t need a massive salary to travel the world; you just need a massive plan.
Quick Tips for Readers:
- Be Patient: It took us about eight months of saying "no" to spending before we reached our "Yes, we did it!" phase.
- Be Smarter Than Us: Automate. Put the money you save from subscriptions directly into a high-yield savings account or a "fun fund" piggy bank.
- Think Outside the Box: Use large, inevitable bills (like rent or insurance) to hit credit card sign-up bonuses. Look for travel card promotions; they happen all the time. We recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture cards.
Overwhelmed yet? Trust me, I understand. Start with one small thing, then work your way up to the bigger stuff. As Kendall tells me repeatedly: it’s all part of the journey.
— Hannah