How We Afford to Vork Travel
We work remotely so we go on long road trips where we work our 9-5’s and then have our evenings and weekends to explore. We have a work hard to play hard mentality. Our first vork trip was in the summer of 2021, and we have gone on two of these a year since then. The shortest has been three weeks, and the longest has been three months. We stay in short term rentals, hotels, and occasionally unique places on our vork trips.
You may ask how we can afford to do this. People have asked us this bluntly and subtly. Both of us come from humble beginnings, and we have worked hard to get to where we are now. In the beginning of our relationship, we struggled financially. We were going to college at this time, and we were paying for it 100% ourselves (still paying on our student loans). We started with community college to save money, and we worked the entire time we were getting our degrees. It was hard, but we made it through and were fortunate enough to get good jobs after graduation.
We have paid for our homes 100% ourselves too. To be clear, we have a mortgage. Prior to buying our first place, we were renting a house. We knew we wanted to own property, but we were unable to save a lot of money due to the cost of rent. We decided the only way we would be able to save enough money for a downpayment was to rent a cheaper place. The inexpensive apartment we rented was terrible, but we made it work for the time that we were there. It was also a good motivator to save as much as we could to get out of there as soon as possible. Sacrifices are sometimes needed to obtain your financial goals. Of course, there should be a balance between sacrificing and enjoying life. This balance can and should change based on your goals.
You may have heard of the FIRE movement. We see our lifestyle as an alternative to FIRE, but there are some similarities. We could be living frugally, investing all the money that we spend on these trips (we do invest some), and/or paying off all our debt to retire as soon as possible. However, our perspective is that we do not know how long we have on this earth so we want to have these amazing trips now, while we are still young and able. Traveling when you are able is the advice that our grandparents have preached to us for years, and it is a common theme for many older adults to say they wish they traveled more often when they were younger.
Here is how we can do this financially:
Live frugally: We are frugal and live below our means in our everyday life. We simply do not buy materialistic things unless they are needed, give us great joy, or greatly improve our lives. We are low maintenance people.
Another example is we only have one car and have only had one car for most of the time we have been together. This meant dropping off/picking up one another, and Mr. Vork rode the bus when possible. We have had two cars when we really needed them, but the second car was always a cheaper “junker” vehicle. We saved so much by only having one vehicle financed at a time. We drove the same car as our main, “nicer” vehicle from 2016 until fall 2023. The car was a 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback that we bought used, and while we could have purchased a newer car earlier, we preferred to maintain what we had to save money. The little hatchback was a workhorse, easily fitting everything we needed for three months on the road.
We also keep our phones for as long as they work reasonably well (usually a few years). You do not always need the latest and greatest if you keep it in good condition. We really keep anything and everything until it does not work for us anymore and cannot be repaired. We have taught ourselves how to repair or mend things as much as possible from house maintenance to mending clothing. Thrifting or upcycling are other great ways to save money, and we do this when it makes sense. It is not just good for the bank account, it is also wonderful for the environment!
Pay off high interest loans: When our student loan payments were on hold due to the pandemic, we paid off the loans that were the highest interest or not in deferment.
Downsize and fix up: We sold our house for a nice profit after doing extensive remodeling and timing the market. We watched YouTube to learn how to do everything ourselves. Our only cost was materials. We then bought a less expensive townhouse which works better for us since we do not need to maintain a yard while we are traveling. We could afford a nicer or larger home with our income, but we would prefer to spend our money traveling. We are currently looking to find a fixer-upper to further reduce our monthly expenses.
Be brand loyal: When we travel, our largest expense is lodging. We leverage free nights to offset costs by staying brand loyal for the most part. This is advice that you see all over the internet, and it really holds true. It does take time to build up points so this is a more long-term plan. We suggest trying a few brands to determine what is best for you.
We have been loyal to the Marriott brand for many years now. We stay at other hotels when it is better suited to our needs, but we look for Marriotts first. We also use Airbnb, VRBO, and other short term rental companies like Vacasa. We have stayed at independent motels and hotels too which can be fun and are usually less expensive. We always try to stay in the national parks when possible. This can be more expensive, but the experience is worth it to us. When planning the trips, our budget is based on the average amount per night. If we spend more than our average amount per night on one stay, for another stay, we will use points to stay for free, or we find a less expensive stay that balances out our average. For most of our stays, we try to find the cheapest option where we will be comfortable and that meets our standards.
Utilize travel credit cards: Using travel credit cards is extremely beneficial to increase points which you can use for airfare. We have done this occasionally, but we most often use the rewards for free nights. We have had a couple of different rewards cards, and there are tons of options out there. It is important to pay off your credit card each month and never spend more than you can pay off at the end of the month. Carrying a balance completely diminishes any gains you get from points unless you have 0% interest, and we all know that most cards have a really high interest rate (after introductory promotional rates).
Cook for ourselves: On our trips, we go out to dinner more than we do at home, but we usually cook dinner for ourselves more nights than we go out to eat. When we do go out, we often split an entrée and get an appetizer or dessert. This saves tons of money and is always enough food for us. Plus, if we are out exploring, we do not have to carry to go containers or waste food. During the week, we always stay at places that have kitchen/kitchenettes so we can easily prepare good meals which works for us because we both enjoy cooking. On the weekends, we occasionally go out for breakfast/brunch (if it is not provided by a hotel). Lunch is usually food that we already have with us that we have bought from a grocery store. When shopping at a new grocery store, find out if they offer cheaper prices for rewards members even if you will only be shopping there once. A cashier once suggested we sign up even if we were not going to be visiting again, and the receipt showed we saved over $30.
Have our money make money: Our savings is in a money market account that has a decent interest rate, and we occasionally compare the current options to ensure we have our savings in the best place. There are lots of options available so take the time to find the option that works best for you and your situation.
This is how we are able to travel like we do. What has worked for us will not apply to everyone, but we hope to provide ideas on how you can achieve your goals as well. The one method that does apply to everyone is to live as frugally as possible. Keep things in good condition, repair things when broken, reuse things, buy used items when it makes sense, and do not buy things that do not add value to your life. This is our best advice if you are trying to save money for anything! Plus, these practices also help the environment which we care about greatly.