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Today I have decided that I am going to be a digital nomad!
What is a digital nomad?
Basically someone who works online. Fully online. This means that they are another of the new terms that seems to be popping up all over the internet which is location independent.
I have been thinking about this for awhile, ever since I got addicted to family travel blogs where the families where travelling indefinitely thanks to being digital nomads. I was jealous. Very jealous. I read so many different stories of how people managed to fund this lifestyle, and I always walked away thinking that I couldn’t do it.
I love travel and would love to be able to do it whenever.
I am also unsatisfied with our lifestyle here in Australia where my husband has a good job and earns good money, but yet we never seem to have any money. I am sick of just getting by while feeling like I work so hard. The answer on these blogs is to earn an online income then move somewhere where your money goes further and have an easier life. It sounds great and perfect for me and my family. However, it is easy to just decide that it’s all too hard, that we couldn’t make it work, and then go back to moaning about our current lifestyle. This is going to change. Today. We are going to make this work.
Who wouldn’t want this for an office?!
If others can do it, then I don’t see why we can’t. My husband is a computer programmer, and I used to be one. Obviously a skill that lends itself well to being a digital nomad. I am currently just finishing off my secondary school teaching diploma which means: 1. I am a qualified teacher which could also lead to opportunities online; and 2. I am no longer tied down trying to get this completed.
We are a bit handicapped compared to others I have seen with this lifestyle in that we don’t want to give up our house. It is currently rented but the difference between rent and our mortgage repayments is a massive AUD$1000. Plus, there are bills. So we need to not only make enough to support a family of four overseas, but to pay these costs. We also need money spare to cover us in case we have any periods when it’s not rented out or if something goes wrong with the house.
The big question is how we are going to do this.
I’m going to finish this post by listing our goals.
Overall, we feel we need to make $3500 a month. Enough to keep our house going and live relatively well in many Asian countries with our children. We would like to do this by the end of next year. It seems like a good time as we have one full year after that before our oldest child should start school. We have a halfway goal – half of this amount in total, with each of us being responsible for half of that (so $875 each) per month by July next year. We also need a bit of money saved as well, to cover us in off months and in case our house becomes vacant or has a problem. Is this impossible? Who knows, but I’m going to do my best to find out 🙂
So this is where we are today. I plan to use this blog to track my plans and progress in the hope that it can be a useful resource to others. I am not going to be able to devote as much attention as I like to this endeavor in the next few weeks while I finish off my teaching diploma, but I hope to devote most my spare time to it after this.
