8 Money Tips to Fund Your Next Adventure
Life is too short to not take opportunities. Explore the world and seek out new experiences in confidence with your Personal Finance. Learn how in with these 8 Money Tips to Fund Your Next Adventure.
I am not in agreement with most websites that push the acronym of YOLO ( you only live once ) upon the masses. I feel it is too reckless and the word freedom is equally benefited by having the yin to it’s yang via just a bit of structure. One exception to this is in Steve’s post at ThinkSaveRetire. He shares my perspective and uses it nicely in regards to financial independence and the path I am following.
Rather I feel if we just make small tweaks to how we deal with our personal finance in our daily lives then not only will we be able to seek out more adventures but we might just have a less stressful life to enjoy those times. I started a few years back and it improved my outlook on life and quality of living dramatically, read Who Gives a Buck . My hope is that you get started earlier than I did.
Personal Finance for Adventure
Below I have put together 8 Simple Money Tips to start working on that will put some structure into your personal finances, like a simple map to chart your course. We wouldn’t go on a trek into the wilderness without doing the researching the trail, picking the gear we will need and taking our map. So why would you do so in your daily life?
8 Simple Money Tips to Fund Your Next Adventure and Improve Your Financial Health
1 – Track Everything You Spend Money On
All good plans start with a solid foundation and here is the first of my money tips. In personal finance this begins with tracking all your money coming in and going out. Get a detailed view on exactly where everything is going. I personally use MINT to track and budget every detail of my finances. For more in depth info on how to get started with MINT check out Carrie Smith’s post over at Careful Cents .
2 – Evaluate Your Purchases
The easiest way to save money is spend less, yup a no brainer. Of course we need things to buys things and I’m not telling you to stop. I just want you to examine your purchases and stop buying “stuff” that has no purpose or you won’t even use in a couple weeks. Make sure you actually need that item, consider if you own an alternative that will do the job and lastly buy the best quality item that you can afford so it lasts. We can be happy with a lot less things in our house . My friend Cait Flanders can teach you more on this subject on her amazing website.
3 – Sell Your Old Stuff
Now that you you’ve got your budget figured out and realize you need less things in your life it’s time to look at everything that is laying around the house. If you haven’t touched it in 6 months time to pull out the laptop and start cracking on the used sites and sell those items. You have a lot of money tied up in things around the house they will be better suited as cash in the bank if they no longer have a purpose in your life. The side benefit will be that getting rid of clutter around the house will feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Start selling like J.Money did and her are his Craigslist tips Budgets are Sexy
4 – Adventure isn’t Indoors
Well if you are planning the next trip or a new adventure means you are probably already quite the outdoor enthusiast. If that’s the case why do you need cable tv? First it eats up our time and is a brain drain and secondly it is probably costing you $600/yr , that alone right there is enough to fund a frugal weeklong outdoor adventure easily. Heck I might as well stop now 🙂 but let’s not stop here. Do you need a house phone when you probably have a cell phone?, cut that cord if you haven’t already. Do you need that ultra high speed internet account?, have you tried dropping to a cheaper slower connection and see how it works for you? You could be overpaying for service you don’t really need.
5 – Review your Driving habits
This little tip does two goals for us. First let’s save gas money by not driving the car for every single errand we need. Let’s drive less and if we do drive then consolidate tasks into one big trip. Second, the exercise benefit of walking or biking to get groceries, commute to work or visit friends will be great for our health and help us better get in shape for our planned hikes and trips into the wilderness. To finish this point also realize we don’t care if you have a big fancy vehicle, I sold my new truck and bought a vehicle 5 years older. It saved me years of payments not to mention cheaper insurance.
Here is a terrific article from Mr. Money Mustache on driving, The True Cost of Commuting
6 – Evaluate Your Housing Needs
In North America the number one personal finance expense for individuals is their housing. Our passion is in the great outdoors so why do we need a massive house with multiple rooms. A smaller home will cost less, encourage us to own less and cost us less to maintain. If you are single maybe get a roommate to cut costs and consider the location also. Living closer to work can decrease commute costs or maybe you could even walk or bike now. This is one of those money tips that scares people lately in society. I really like what Steve at Think Save Retire wrote about housing and also here is a small bit of what I did to choose our home current home, Shrink Your Pond .
I really enjoyed this most recent Youtube video from Kristen Dirksen and her husband for the Fair Companies series on Adrian Cook ( his website is https://5kids1condo.com/ ) who as an amazing outlook on life and housing.
Adrian Crook lives with his five kids in a condo in downtown Vancouver. When he separated from his wife, he left the suburbs – bucking the pressure in North America that kids need a house and a backyard – and rented a 29th-floor penthouse in the very dense Yaletown district.
7 – Eating and Drinking : Watch Your Food Budget
This is the silent budget killer. Once you get MINT up and running you will see those food costs, coffee shop stops and weekly suppers out dining at the pub add up very quickly. Let’s drastically cut back our eating out and drinking too, opt instead for maybe a potluck at a friends house and bring your own beer. You’ll have a better time at a fraction of the cost. Also evaluate your grocery shopping, start eating better and buy less processed food. You will feel better and if you start cooking like Grandma used to then you will see a drop in your grocery bills I promise you, it worked for me.
8 – Make More Money : Find a Side Hustle
The last of my money tips is a pretty simple one, earn more money. Work hard at your job and do what you can to earn raises or bonuses, don’t be afraid to ask your employer. Do you have some spare time to pick up a side hustle ? Maybe bartend once a week , help out at the lumber yard on weekend or indulge your coffee addiction as a barista. What I’m trying to say if you want something badly enough you should look at your spare time and if it’s not being put to good use then maybe it’s time to find a productive side hustle. The only caveat is that you only do so if it is healthy for your mind to do so and we don’t allow our jobs to control us and we become mindless robots slaving to the beat of the work drum. Ensure you still keep time for getting into the outdoors to recharge from our work.
Be a Financial Rockstar and Follow These Money Tips Starting Today
This list may be straight forward and simple to some yet fresh and new to others. The take away is that you examine all aspects of your income and expenses responsibility. It isn’t wise to just run away into the forest and mountains leaving these items unattended to. Don’t forget to pack your personal finance 🙂
Check out these other outdoor enthusiasts that shared their own personal financial independence stories of what is possible when you start implementing these tips.
Simple Life With Less : A Mindful Happy Healthy Lifestyle
Once you have your budgets dialled in like a Rockstar you will quickly realize you can do more than you imagined. Self control and dedication to the path are sure fire ways to see you ready to plan that next big adventure or maybe even a hiatus for that dream trip to Thailand or Nepal. Maybe you can do a big roadtrip like this one; Affordable Ultimate Western National Parks Road Trip .
Have you ever thought about your budget? If so what is your best Personal Finance tip that helped make a difference for you? I love comments and would like to hear from you below.
Love these tips! We are currently doing a No-Spend November challenge (inspired by reddit r/financialindependence) and cut our spending to the bare minimum. So far, we spent 230$ on groceries when we usually spent $600/month!
All these little tweaks really add up and speeds up your journey to financial freedom!
Wow that is some great winning at your personal challenge. I have been trying to do some cut back but needing two winter tires on the vehicle bumped me up. That being said the month is going relatively well and by supporting each other we can accomplish our goals.. Well done and keep saving XYZ !
Gorgeous photo! Tracking has really given me the biggest boost in my path to FI. It made me aware of the silly choices I was making regarding spending (food/wine) that didn’t match up with my overall goals. I am happy to say I am on a shorter path to the life I want while still enjoying my time getting there. It helps to be spend as much time outdoors as possible and, when stuck inside on crappy days, have inspirational photos such as yours to look at! 🙂
Even if we didn’t track and only spent more time outdoors it would distract us hopefully long enough to avoid the “pitfalls” of society. As for my photos, it is my passion, it fills me with happiness to share with others. Your words are so kind and appreciated.
Hey Chris, solid advice presented in a very clear fashion. These tips were the foundation upon which I constructed my financial health plan many years ago. I would like to add one more though … with all the money I found myself saving in general life, I realized a strong advantage in making my money work harder for me than I do for it. Invest in your future by keeping an eye on your money. Everyone knows that it is not healthy for us to just sit around, doing nothing. The same is true when it comes to your money, do not let it just sit there, put it to work … think like a breeder and make it reproduce!
Absolutely Ernest, I am a huge advocate of the Canadian Couch Potato Vanguard index fund investment strategy. My TFSA and RRSP are invested completely in these low MER broad base funds. I am a big follower of the Financial Independence and Early Retirement blogs but don’t delve too deep into that here on my blog although I would like to. Thanks for the comment
Great advice Chris! I like the “adventure is not indoors” advice. But watching something can indeed be inspiring, and the cool thing is there’s so much free great content on YouTube and Vimeo that’s outdoor related, you don’t need to spend a dime. With cheap cameras and drones people are creating awesome short films about their Outdoor Adventures and putting them on those platforms, and there’s plenty to watch to get inspired, and it’s all free!
Honestly I do have to agree with you as I don’t have cable and a good selection of Youtube vloggers daily. From mountain bike to climbing videos and video/photo how to shows there is a lot to enjoy. I guess my point was for those that don’t spend anytime out doors and need to make that big shift in their lives. Cheers