Round the World (RTW) Month-by-Month Planning Breakdown
We gave ourselves approximately one year to take all of the necessary steps to plan our RTW life reset – saving money, researching destinations, figuring out international banking, determining what gear to bring, etc. Each month we will outline the steps that we take below, along with links to related articles if we posted about that particular topic. If you have any questions about any of the steps, please don’t hesitate to comment below or contact us!
August 2017 (Month 1)
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- Established Our Tentative Departure Date (originally August 1, but we shifted it to July 5) – we gave ourselves one year to allow for ample planning, savings, etc.
- Registered Domain Name & Established Blog
- Emailed Experienced Travelers We Knew
- Researched Travel Point Credit Cards
- Began Researching Destinations
- Started Telling Family
- Cut Unnecessary Expenses
- Stopped All Retirement Savings
- Annual Doctor Visit – both of our doctors told us to come back 6 months prior to departure with a list of destinations to best determine vaccine requirements
- Sold Some Belongings at Neighbor’s Yard Sale
- Unsuccessfully Tried to Win the Lottery
September 2017 (Month 2)
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- Started Selling Higher Value Items on Craigslist
- Continued Researching Potential Destinations
- Converted to Paperless Billing – we know, we know, welcome to the modern world!
- Opened Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa to Earn Travel Points
- Started Evaluating Travel Technology Options
- Laptops
- Removable Hard Drive
- Digital Cameras
- Mobile Phones
- Benefited From Additional Tips & Advice From Friends
- Resisted the Urge to Tell People – we included a few more in our “inner circle”; the support is helpful!
- Tried to Stay Zen
October 2017 (Month 3)
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- Continued Selling Items on Craigslist
- Continued Researching Potential Destinations
- Renewed Our Passports – we opted for the “large book” 52-page version so that there were ample pages for stamps; we also used www.epassportphoto.com as a low-cost way to obtain passport photos.
- Opened Barclays Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard to Earn Travel Points
- Opened Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking Account
- Purchased a MacBook Pro; Installed Lightroom and Photoshop Elements
- Watched Lightroom and Photoshop Tutorials on YouTube
- Watched iMovie Tutorials on YouTube – vlog preparation!
November 2017 (Month 4)
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- Had a Few “Craigslist Adventures”
- Continued Researching Potential Destinations
- Practiced Using Our Digital Cameras
- Researched Mobile Phone Options
- Researched Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and Online Security
- Researched Vaccinations
December 2017 (Month 5)
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- Continued Researching Potential Destinations
- Signed up for a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
- Scheduled Vaccines – give 6 months prior to departure!
- Recorded our First VLOG on Internet Security Tips
- Researched Travel Gear – backpacks, clothing, first aid gear, etc.
January 2018 (Month 6)
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- Continued Researching Potential Destinations
- Vaccines – First Round Administered
- Finalized Camera Gear
- Researched Travel Gear – backpacks, clothing, first aid, gear, etc.
February 2018 (Month 7)
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- Notified Our Employers of Our Plans
- Explained to friends that we are merely “shifting” our retirement years
- Completed Researching Potential Destinations
- Vaccines – Peter got a second round of the Hepatitis A/B Combination
- Shifted our anticipated departure date from August 1 to July 5
- Researched Travel Gear – backpacks, clothing, first aid, gear, etc.
- Purchased several backpacks and did some practice packing to see what worked best
March 2018 (Month 8)
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- Published our last “Potential Destinations” country profile
- Purchased 1-way airplane tickets to Sydney, Australia
- Applied for Australia travel Visa
- Purchased our backpacks
- Took care of pre-travel dental and eye care
- Made linen travel towels
- Started finalizing our clothing, gear, etc.
- Officially activated our Twitter and Instagram accounts
April 2018 (Month 9)
Click here for all of our APRIL posts
- Established a TrustedHousesitters.com account for potential house and pet sitting opportunities
- Signed up for Christian Healthcare Ministries rather than traditional health insurance
- Signed up for World Nomads travel insurance
- Got our motorcycle licenses and researched motorcycle travel insurance
- Went to our doctors to discuss things like malaria, traveler’s diarrhea, vaccines, etc.
- Had our first media interview and story published about our life reset
- Realized that we needed to be careful about overplanning and overbooking
May 2018 (Month 10)
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- Figured out what we are going to do about mail and our taxes
- Finalized our file back-up procedures
- Rachel figured out what pants she plans to bring
- Peter figured out what pants he plans to bring
- Figured our a better way to travel with a Zhiyun Crane M gimbal
- We were interviewed by a local television station who wanted to feature our story
- Invited several experienced travel bloggers to share tips and stories
June 2018 (Month 11)
Click here for all of our JUNE posts
- Finalized our packing list
- Rachel streamlined her makeup regimen to make it travel friendly
- Peter finalized his RTW travel clothing
- Rachel finalized her RTW travel clothing
- We finished our jobs and became unemployed
- Invited several experienced travel bloggers to share tips and stories
- Got our last round of travel vaccinations
- Put together our travel medical and first aid kit
- Packed up belongings and put them in storage or at friends’ houses
- Prepaid our storage unit for a full year
- Prepaid our life insurance policies for a full year
- Scanned important documents that we wanted electronic versions of
- Sold our vehicles
- Got an International Driving Permit at AAA
- Notified our banks and credit cards of our travel plans
- Cancelled Netflix, Amazon Prime, and EZ Pass
- Figured out what we were doing about our mobile phone plans
- Updated our resumes so they’re ready for when we return
July 2018 (Month 12)
- Published our final RTW travel planning and preparation post
- On July 5, got on an airplane with one-way tickets to Sydney, Australia
2 Comments
Rachel · September 9, 2018 at 12:12 pm
This was super helpful. I didn’t realize I would need to start the travel vaccine process so far in advance. Thank you for posting!
Rachel · September 15, 2018 at 5:54 am
Hi Rachel from another Rachel who spells her name the same way! 🙂 We have heard from other people that the vaccine timeframe took them by surprise…the other surprise was the expense. Yikes! We’re very glad that the article was helpful to you!! Safe travels!
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