"Every morning we jump out of bed to a brand new vista and a new place. The freedom to do what we want, when we want and where we want. Letting go of the 9-5 routine is liberating yeah, but it isn't an easy decision especially when you have a well-paid job and the rewards...uncertainty and zero income. Here's our story...

We are two ordinary people who had a dream of traveling the world. The dream often coincided with talks of our retirement plans or whenever we got chatting about spending more time together, enjoying a stress-free life, doing things we’d always dreamed of etc. You know the kind of things we are talking about, right? Well, one day in 2013 we’d had enough, decided life was too short and took the plunge to live our dream.

I think it is fair to say that in 2013, we went through a period of nothing but bad luck and it really made us reflect on what was important to us and what we wanted out of life.  The rat race, the material things, the fine dining suddenly didn’t appeal anymore.  When faced with losing each other and the people you love, it makes you realise what is important. This was our turning point.  We took a long hard look at what we had, made a few tweaks and decided to take early retirement and… live our dream.

We spent a full year putting things into place and planning what we would do. This involved working 6 months notice, which was one of the hardest things we’ve done.  Both from a financial and mental point of view.  By this stage in our lives, we were enjoying a successful career with large 6 figure salary and benefits.  Handing in our notice took away our financial lifeline and giving that up was hard.  All of a sudden we had to think about our money in a very different way, yet all around us were our friends, still enjoying the benefits of a normal life.  At this stage, we felt trapped between two worlds and even though the new world was unknown, we never questioned our decision.  In our hearts, we know it was right and that kept us going.

In mid-2013, we bought our first Motorhome and did the usual stuff like going away at weekends. Each week we would do something new to the Motorhome like fit solar panels then spend the weekend trialing the gadget.  We spent hours researching what we needed and then spent the same amount of time installing it.  We optimised our storage to a fine tea and whittled things down to essential stuff except for my clothes, Craig would say. Well us women do love our clothes just as you men love your tools. By spring of 2014, we were ready for our first adventure and the rest is history.

Our new life means we do not have a regular income. This is the hardest mental obstacle to overcome because from a very young age we are programmed to work and earn.  The fact we don't leaves a great feeling of guilt.  We basically live a very basic (financially speaking) life, which is based on a number of earnings we get from our capital. This is not a huge amount but it is more than ample for our lifestyle and in return we have no stress, spend all our days together, meet new people and live our dream. Was it worth it...absolutely! 

Since setting off on April 14...and bar a couple of months back in the UK to change motorhomes we are still traveling and enjoying the adventure all the way.  As at July 2016, we have covered a total of 33,432 kilometres or 20,774 miles over 606 days.  Traveling an average of 55 km per day with the longest journey being 780 km. We have traveled to and visited 20 countries and consumed 4,346 litres of diesel from 88 fuel stations with an average of 22 mpg. We've filled our LPG bottles 55 times and used 1,139 litres of gas to heat our home, run the fridge and freezer, hot water, oven, grill, hob and last but not least our BBQ at an average cost of €0.94 per day. We have paid 40 tolls, tunnels and mountain passes, 17 ferries and 11 flights.  We've had 1 break in, 1 bump, 2 reversing eeks and 1 oops when the garage door flew off at 2,425 m above sea level. Overnight, we have stayed on 91 campsites or aires but we have grown to love wild camping and spent 515 nights where ever the road takes us. 305 supermarket sweeps and 45 evenings of fine dining.A total of 354 days with nothing but sunshine, 122 overcast days, 67 mixed, 3 thunderstorms and 61 days of rain.

So how much has it cost….£19,959.52 for everything, which equates to £32.94 per day for 2 people and 2 dogs. Oh and we forgot to mention, killed each other 16 times, spent 10 days in silence and 580 days loving each other to bits!"

Find out more about this couple ono http://ourbumble.com/

Want to change your life for the better like Joanne and Craig? 

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Live your dream!