The Dream Gets Bigger - Saving Up for the Second Sabbatical

It’s been 2 years and 6 months since I came back from my first sabbatical.

1 year 6 months since I started this blog.

How do a traveler gives up his backpack and settle back in life, work a routine job, and somehow don’t get the urge to throw it all away and do it all over again? 

One day when it does happens and I could say for certain that my exploring days are over maybe I’ll put a post up then but for now the feet is still on fire.

Saving Up the Second Time

While I have read my fair share of how to save up TIPs from the internet and find them most helpful but doing it a second time is a whole new ball game. 

The first time is the easy part. Life’s saving are there to be used, unnecessary assets to be sold, things to cut down and get rid off and lifestyle to be change to save more money.

My lonely Backpack

Saving up the second time however after coming back nearly broke the first time when you don’t have any of those extra layers of fats (i.e. things to burn / sell / cut down) can be challenging. 

You have learned the basics the first time so the second time saving should be easy right?? Not quite so … when there is no sudden plus to your saving for let say cutting back on Starbucks coffee or cancelling that useless subscription that you don’t need, and you are already living on bare minimum; suddenly saving becomes a grinding task

Saving is not going to get faster and there is no more ways to optimized. Years of saving is needed if you ever want to get enough for that second trip …. OMG

Temptation of Finding Alternative Cash

This one was real. I was already optimizing my living lifestyle to bare minimum with the occasional spurge to keep my mind from going insane. 

So what was next? 

What could I do to speed up the process allowing me to hit the road a second time? Naturally I started looking for ways to earn additional income. 

Was it even possible??? 

Would that be a clash in interest with my current job role??

Am I even violating any of my obligation to my current job?? T

The dilemma was always there while thinking of means to make more cash. Well humans are interesting creatures, if you want something bad enough you will find away. 

So I started looking for alternative income source. Seriously started looking but there is only so much hours a week one can work his ass off. Nope! Taking on two jobs was out of the question.

What about get rich gimmicks ?? 

Investment or even those work at home with an internet connection marketing which is everywhere nowadays. Too bad I was still a wuss when it comes to using internet to make money and have no sense or rather will not risk investing hard earned save money on a possibility ….

At present my adventure is under countdown and in exactly 2 years I will have saved enough to kick start a second adventure. I look at it this way. Every bad decision will delay the departure. 

Countdown is set but a bad investment that ties you down can set back that dream a few years. Even a few months can be a disaster since one can never predict the future and there are so much temptation out there that the longer one procrastinate the further the dream will be.

So it happened to me as well. Why it took 2 years and 6 months instead of exactly 2 years? Well many reasons I would say. Indulgence, occasional splurge else I would go insane … 

One must keep his social life active to stay sane or at lease for me but more than that I was trying to get additional income the only legal way I knew that would not infringe any of my working ethics or my contract with my company. 

GAMBLING …

Casino. All the hopes and dreams of a lifetime. If only that magical $100 and with some skill and some luck maybe, just maybe I could double it and maybe again just win enough to travel the world another time.

I told myself this justification every time I step foot into the casino. Also indirectly the casino trips serve as an indulgence to keep me sane and with some hope of setting off early but oh well 6 months late is still better than never …

Hope is all there is

I can say this to those who are struggling to lift off the ground after the first big journey. Make your choices carefully. It is easy to settle in and somehow before you knew it you are tied up and are unable to travel due to obligation but there is always a way, never give up …. 

Remember the dream … 

if its precious enough … 

one will find a way