Planning A Next Adventure: #5. Build Your Financial and Logistical Base

Part #5 of 8 in: Thoughts On Planning A Next Adventure

In all reality, it’s your money that enables your travel aspirations and desires. Your secure financial base needs to be quietly reliable & available: bills are paid, cards work, monies flow as planned, and you know which card at the ATM contains actual funds.

Think in terms of financial independence (FI) first, travel itinerary second. Ask what flavour of FI you are carrying into the journey. Some travellers are fully FI & retired from traditional work. Others are semi-retired with a modest drawdown plan. Many are FI-lean, using part-time or remote work to keep the engine turning. Whichever camp you are in; own it and recognise it for what it is. Then plan how to protect your FI…

Create two simple structures.

• Runway: one-off costs that get you out the door, with a margin for the unexpected. Financial setup that runs smoothly.
• Sustain: the repeatable pattern that keeps you moving without eroding financial independence: conservative drawdown rules, rent or dividend trickles, a few retainer clients, or geographic arbitrage through longer lets. Make cash flow boring. Boring is durable.

Wrap logistics tightly around these two structure. Insurance that matches actual activity. Visas mapped to intended locations and stays. Health care that works in the places you will be, with prescriptions managed sensibly. Personal safety & security; emergency contacts, personal safety code words*, etc. Banking & Payments that function across borders, backups for identity documents, and a calm protocol for when something goes missing. And finally, your backup team: your people, your family, your friends who can help at a moments notice (keep these people informed of your travels, it may save your life).

These practicalities are there to ensure the ever present checks & red tape do not de-rail your travel plans.

Your FI plan will look slightly different depending on your travel style.

• Sailing:
  • Runway: cost of your sailing vessel of choice; not necessarily the one you want, but the one you need. Yes, we all want the fancy new one, but at what cost?
  • Sustain: budget for maintenance, safety equipment, and marina fees, which can fluctuate wildly.
    
• Overland:
  • Runway: cost of an RV. Buy new or fit one out (some DIY can keep the cost down, AND you get to learn how things work before you leave)
  • Sustain: account for fuel, border fees, and mechanical contingencies.
    
• Road Trip:
  • Runway: you probably have the vehicle already; learn the basic maintenance & checks
  • Sustain: factor in fluctuating accommodation and fuel costs, and keep a buffer for breakdowns.
    
• Slow travel:
  • Runway: that first flight / train / boat out of town, and your first month of accomodation.
  • Sustain: plan for long-term rentals, utilities, and the occasional visa run.
    
• Volunteering:
  • Runway: travel to get to the destination and confirmation on accomodation.
  • Sustain: cover living costs yourself so you are not dependent on the project for essentials.
    
• Digital Nomad:
  • Runway: tech setup; laptop (maybe 2), mobile phones, sim cards. Work agreements: contracts, work deliverables, etc. Admin, always the admin!
  • Sustain: ongoing internet access, VPN, etc, secure income streams that are location-independent and stable across time zones.
    

And a note for Solo travellers: budget for private spaces when you need a break from dorms or shared living.

One thought to take with you: Financial Independence is not the getaway car*, it’s the road surface. It helps the wheels turning smoothly, lets you steer rather than swerve, and ensures the trip feels like a choice, a beautiful winding road . . . not a struggle, not a goat track.

(*) For couples traveling, a personal safety code word should be a unique word that is easy to say but unlikely to be used in normal conversation, like “pineapple” or “ballet”. This code word can be used to alert each other to an uncomfortable or unsafe situation without raising suspicion to others by subtly incorporating it into a sentence or text, for example: “Hey, did you remember to buy the pineapple for tonight?” or by directly texting the word to signal an urgent need to leave or for one partner to “check in” via a message. It is also crucial for couples to have a “code word” to use on phone calls with an unknown number to confirm the caller is not an imposter, especially with advancements in voice-cloning technology. (from Google AI Overview)