RTW Planning Timeline

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)

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• 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)

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• 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