“How do you do it?”

“How can you live without working?”

“Where does the money come from?”

People ask me these questions all the time (especially former colleagues who are still stuck with a full-time job). So you want to travel the world but don’t have money, what are your options? Here are the most popular ones:

I never did that, as I would (almost) prefer working in a cubicle than sleeping in an creepy hostel. Life is meant to be enjoyed, with proper accommodation, good food, quality transportation etc. This “El Cheapo” option is viable only if you are very young and flexible, and want to take a temporary sabbatical to visit the world.

Again, I never did that, as I do not come from a wealthy family, and anyway I didn’t want to depend on anybody. I did have rich girlfriends but never asked for anything. According to your personality, physical appearance and family background, this could be another viable option.

I did that for about 15 years, from graduation until early retirement. You have two choices here: working in harsh countries with high-paying 9-to-5 consultancies (easy to find, as these countries greatly need qualified expats), or working in nicer countries as an online freelancer. I chose the first option because a) I already had living experiences in difficult countries b) I wanted to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible c) in the late 90s’ internet freelancing didn’t exist yet. At first I had to work in real dumps, because I couldn’t find lucrative jobs anywhere else; then, as I developed my skills and contacts, the quality of my working destinations greatly improved: for example, I worked a couple of years in Vietnam, an “easy” country by African standards, with an “easy” job - speaking about the benefits of accessing the World Trade Organization to crowds of hardcore communists, under the watchful eyes of the bust of Ho Chi Minh.

This is my current model, but it requires initial funds (obtained through one of methods above), and, as described in the About page, some serious preparation. Personally, I chose real estate investments and online trading (I graduated in statistical economics), but any kind of business would work, as long as it is properly outsourced and can be managed with a minimum of online supervision.

I won’t write any treatise on early retirement or financial independence, but plan to provide plenty of useful resources and links in this page, including information on travel planning, saving/budgeting, packing, booking transportation and accommodation etc. Subscribe to my free newsletter below and stay tuned!