Travelling the world full-time is something many of us can only dream of, but one US couple made it a reality by selling everything they own.
Shelly Peterson was inspired to take the leap of faith with her husband Shayne, having tragically lost her mother to cancer as she prepared to retire, after years of work.
Following a health scare of her own, Shelly knew that the time was right to head abroad, even if it meant turning their life upside down, selling a beautiful family home and luxury possessions they'd acquired over the years.
But two years on, the couple have absolutely no regrets about travelling full-time, even if there are some harsh realities of the lifestyle, including leaving family behind in the US.
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After urging others to consider doing the same, Shelly has now revealed just how much she and her husband have to spend each month in order to survive abroad.
Speaking to LADbible, the 55-year-old said: "We have a budget for travel which covers food, lodging, entertainment and transportation. We try to stay in $3,000 (£2,266) a month. We’ve been pretty much able to stick to that, and sometimes even less, especially in Southeast Asia.
"We have home costs like a phone or our condo, but $3,000 a month has got us all around the world, pretty comfortably. It’s a mind shift, we take public transportation instead of renting a car, we don’t eat out every meal.
"We cook a lot at home. We find free or low-cost things to do, which is why we love going to beach destinations. It’s just about making trade-offs in order to be able to afford this lifestyle."
After spending a month in Tulum, a beach town on the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Shelly broke down exactly how much she and Shayne spent, and where the money went.
Shelly revealed that they spent just $475 (£360) on rent for the month, after offering cash in person.
She explained: "We originally booked the first few weeks through Airbnb, but then negotiated a significantly lower rate by paying cash in person. It was the off-season, which helped, and while we don’t typically do this, it worked out well in this case!"
As previously mentioned, the two prefer to sort their own transport rather than hiring a car, but on this occasion they opted to rent a scooter from Facebook Marketplace, which set them back $300 (£227).
Rather than eating out for every meal, as a lot of us are often guilty of doing on holiday, the couple instead preferred to spend their budget on groceries, and $520 (£394) was enough to secure a wide range of healthy meals, including salmon or chicken with rice and vegetables, veggie omelettes and protein smoothies.
However, they did also treat themselves every now and then, spending $450 (£341) eating out, on 'everything from $1 (75p) roadside tacos to a few splurges at beach clubs, where we’d spend up to $75 for a day of food and drinks by the ocean.'
As with any holiday, it's important to enjoy the local culture, and they spent $275 (£208) on tours to visit some of Mexico's secret underwater Cenotes, and the Mayan Ruins.
A further $100 (£75) was spent on personal and miscellaneous items, taking the overall total to just $2,120 (£1,600), which depressingly is what most of us spend on rent and bills alone in the UK.
But Shelly urged youngsters to pursue their travel dreams before it's too late, and their budget shows that it can be possible as long as you're financially sensible.
She added: “If it’s something that’s important to you, then I always say just go for it. It’s important to be financially responsible and set yourself up for success in the future, and be comfortable.
"But also, you can’t wait until you have enough money or until your health is better, or your kids are grown. If you keep putting things off, sometimes that day never comes. I’m a big believer in living your life today."
Topics: Travel
James Moorhouse