Blog update: Our preparations for world travel 🌍✈️

For the past few weeks we have been busy preparing for our world trip. Although our trip won’t start until next September, a lot of work has already been done behind the scenes. It feels like step by step we are getting closer to our dream adventure! Here’s an update on where we are now and what’s going on.

To support our world trip financially, we want to rent out our house through Airbnb. We have created a new Airbnb listing for this purpose and will be testing it soon during the upcoming school vacations, when we will be going to our apartment in Spain. You can already take a look at our house via this Airbnb link and check out our vacation apartment in Murcia here. Did you know that in Flanders, you have to meet several conditions to rent out your home through Airbnb in a regulatory manner? I’m going to write a more extensive blog article about this soon. Because we are still discovering it ourselves … It is not so clear (as we are used to in Belgium) We also had a real estate agent visit us to discuss the rental possibilities. However, the difference between the rental price through an agent and Airbnb was significant – Airbnb offers much more potential! So we decided to rent out our house through Airbnb ourselves. In addition, we have taken care of some essential matters over the past few weeks, such as:

• Restoring our electricity.
• Performing a gas and electricity inspection (must-do’s for rentals through Airbnb).
• De-cluttering: We are intensively decluttering to get our house rental-ready. It’s incredible how much stuff you accumulate, even after only four years of living in the same house! I plan to write a separate blog about this soon, with tips on how to efficiently declutter.
• We also found someone we trust who can do the cleaning etc for us when we are away. Super nice this!
  

While preparing for our trip, I am taking the Smart Savings course. It is an incredibly comprehensive course, so I have not yet acquired all the knowledge, but so far I have learned the following:

• that money you need in the short term (like our trip) is better left in a savings account. Therefore, we are leaving our savings untouched in our savings account for now. This is because investing in stocks/crypto is always going to be somewhat risk involved – especially in the short term.
• However, we did make some smart financial moves in the long run:
  • We will invest our son Noah’s savings in ETFs from now on, instead of leaving the money in his savings account.
  • We ourselves invest a small amount monthly in stocks and crypto. Diversification = less risk, so this seemed like a good move!

An extra financial boost is my temporary job. Since the end of November, I have been working full-time as an administrative assistant at a school. The money I earn from this is used as follows:

• 80% goes to our trip.
• 20% we invest in long-term investments.

Starting in January, I am going to work half-time so that I also have enough time for my photography and other projects. Again, we are going to keep the same distribution key in saving the money.

To generate additional income during our trip, we are working on several projects. Some of our ideas:

• Online courses in photography: I want to share my knowledge through practical online courses. For example, I have an e-book and an online course “Memory Makers” for enchanting photos of your kids with a smartphone. Also a photo editing course with Lightroom and presets are available in the meantime!
• Photo sales through Shutterstock, werkaandemuur.nl and our own website: During our trip, I want to take unique images and make them available as prints (both digital and physical wall art). Of course, photos from previous trips are already available.
• Digital products on Etsy: Think travel planners, templates and inspirational e-books.
• Affiliate marketing: We have already set up a number of affiliate accounts. I will write a separate blog article about this later.
• Travel guides and e-books: I am currently working on a comprehensive e-book about Curaçao, with insider tips, travel advice and practical information. This will be the first in a series of travel guides we plan to offer through our site & Etsy.

I am also considering buying a drone so I can take and sell aerial photos. Original images are always in demand!

Our first e-book, on Curaçao, is beginning to take shape! The goal is to complete it before the end of this year. The book will be a comprehensive guide with 100+ pages full of insider tips and inspiration. Curaçao will also become the first written out section of the Destinations page on this website, where much of the information will already be available for free. During the upcoming Christmas vacations in Spain, we are working on a new project: an e-book about Murcia, Spain. We have been there many times and have a lot of tips to share. This vacation we will be testing local restaurants, discovering new places and taking cool photos.

Another important step we have taken is finding a tenant for my photography studio. Starting in January, Verena from Free Mind Free Soul will move into my studio. So from then on we will be sharing my space! This is ideal to significantly reduce the fixed costs of my business. It gives me more financial breathing space, so I can focus on other projects. And apart from that, it will undoubtedly be extra cozy in our studio!

With the holidays approaching, we tailored our gifts to travel. Our son Noah already received some handy items he can use on the road, such as:

• A Nintendo Switch (for traveling).
• Games for the Nintendo Switch of course (such as Mario Kart 8 deluxe, FC 25 (Fifa), Minecraft…)
• Small & fun board games like Uno No Mercy.
• A travel journal for children.
• And other travel-friendly gifts.

We want to travel as light as possible, so soon we will put together a complete minimalist packing list. It’s all about quality and functionality – more on that soon!

Daily life in Belgium sometimes feels dull and monotonous during these dark winter months. Working, sitting inside through the rain and watching TV – it feels like we are wasting our time. This trip will be a way for us to prove that dreams can become reality. Where there is a will, there is a way. If you really want something badly enough, you can achieve it. We choose to invest in our dream life and hope that our journey inspires others to do the same.

Curious about more updates, tips and inspiration? Take a look at our blog. Here we share everything about our preparations, our projects and soon our adventures during the world trip! ✨ Traveling is dreaming with your eyes open. ✨